University of Illinois (University of Illinois, School of Information Sciences)

In partnership with the Indian Trails Public Library District, the University of Illinois proposes to provide the tools needed to develop an initial framework and future toolkit for measuring the impact and value of public library makerspaces in the lives of users and the communities that libraries serve. As public libraries evolve to meet the lifelong learning needs of the community, traditional library measurements and statistics do not accurately reflect the full economic, educational, and social impact of the services in the community. Public libraries need to seek new ways of telling the story of their use and the transformative effect a library has on the life of the community. The planning project will develop a baseline framework by analyzing a series of focus group sessions, as well as writing a white paper for evaluating a non-traditional service in public libraries. This framework will add to the professional knowledge of public librarians nationally and help them achieve excellence in service to their communities.