MLS is no longer gathering statistics for summer library programs. These numbers have been folded into your ARIS statistics. However, we do still want to know how your summer program went and where we can offer you support.
Intended audience: Sometimes you will have a mix of ages or you won’t know because your program was virtual. In these cases, go with the intended audience of the program.
Young Children: Birth – 5 years old (New this year)
School Children: Ages 6-11 (New this year)
Teen: Ages 12-18
Adult: Ages 19 and over
General Audience: (new this year) all ages/multigenerational
Registration: This is how many people registered for your Summer Library Program (or showed in some way that they intended to participate in your summer program). You may count registrations in whatever way works best for you. For example, if you gave away 100 reading logs you can count that as 100.
Program: A program is an event that has some interaction with library staff. It can be in-person or virtual.
Activity: An activity is also known as a “passive-program”. This includes activities that did not have real-time interaction with library staff. For example, Take & Make kits. Short recorded videos, such as a recording of a how-to video, would be counted as an activity.
Virtual attendance: will be measured by device. For instance, if you run a live stream program and your report tells you 10 people logged in, count it as 10, even if on screen you see more than 10 people. This will also be how you report numbers for recorded activities. You can still track individuals on-screen for your own records.
You will be asked for the number of people by age group (Children (0-11), Teen (12-18), Adult (19+) that registered online and/or on “paper”. You will also be asked which online tool was used: Wandoo, Beanstack, Read Squared, Google form, other.
In-person Programs
You will be asked how many in-person (performance and/or library-hosted) programs you had by age group: Young Children (0-5), School Children (6-11), Teen (12-18), Adult (19+), and general audience (all ages).
In-person Attendance
You will submit the total attendance for the programs listed above. You will be asked for numbers for each age group.
Virtual Programs
You will be asked how many virtual (live streaming) programs you had by age group: Young Children (0-5), School Children (6-11), Teen (12-18), Adult (19+), and general audience (all ages).
Virtual or Online Programs Attendance
You will submit the total number of devices that viewed the virtual programs listed above. You should only count live views. You do not need to know the ages of participants.
Activities (Passive Programs)
You will be asked how many activities (passive programs) you had over the summer. Only submit activities for which you can also submit attendance numbers.
Activity Participation
You will submit the total number of people who participated in the activities listed above. You do not need to know the ages of participants.
When in doubt, just make it count! Put it in the category you think best fits, better to do that than leave it out. And we always encourage you to record any other data you think is important for your library and stakeholders to know about, including outcome and impact information.
At the end of the stats survey you will be directed to a feedback survey which will ask the following questions:
If you used the iREAD slogan, "Read Beyond the Beaten Path"; manual; artwork; materials please share your feedback here.
If you used a different theme, slogan, or materials for your summer program, what did you use and why?
Please share your feedback regarding the Bruins Foundation partnership, especially if you ordered Bruins certificates, posters, and/or received a Bruins raffle prize.
Please share any other comments you have about the statewide summer library program (The Mrs. Baker and Blades Summer Reading Challenge, WMLA incentives, MLS Summer Program website, Project Bread partnership, etc.)
Please describe something exciting, funny, touching, or special that happened at your library during your Summer Library Program!
How did your summer program change because of the effects of COVID-19? Do you have any tips or program ideas to share with other libraries? If you did not run a program because of the impact of COVID-19 please indicate that here.
Are there any improvements you'd like to suggest? What's missing from your program to make it a success? How can MLS help?
If you evaluate your summer library program, please tell us how: (multiple choice)
Does your library provide free meals or snacks for your community on a regular basis during the summer? (multiple choice)