Does your data deliver for decision making?

Abstract

Purpose - To describe how data was used to design and evaluate new services at the University of Notre Dame and how data was used to evaluate changes in user behavior at Emory University. Design/methodology/approach - Each author describes sources, methods, and applications of data, gathered through a variety of sources used to plan new services and evaluate user satisfaction. Findings - There is no one perfect approach to data-informed decision making; every approach has advantages, costs, and disadvantages. What is important is that resource sharing practitioners become comfortable with a variety of assessment tools. Originality/value - The user experience is increasingly recognized as a critical part of any service or library product but most resource sharing practitioners have little to no background in assessment and statistics. This article provides an introduction to methods, sources, and applications of data specifically applied to interlibrary loan.