About This Site
Welcome to PLSTATREPORTS! This site contains general posts about reports, projects, articles, and news items related to work I have been doing in public library statistics. Please visit my WordPress blog also, where I have various ruminations and editorials on library assessment topics in general.
About Me
I am a recent graduate of the Kent State University School of Library and Information Science. I returned to graduate school after spending about twenty years in information technology project management. I received my Master of Public Administration degree from the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, where I specialized in quantitative methods and information systems. I pursued library science, for one thing, because my first job after receiving my MPA was as a programmer at OCLC in the mid-1980's. Another draw was a growing interest in the publishing field that I gained while working as IT director for a suburban newspaper chain owned by Advance Publications. Beyond these, my therapist and I are still sorting out the other reasons for this decision!
I also have had a rather peculiar love for statistics and statistical theory, applied behavioral research methods, and similar topics. While in library school I completed a graduate internship at the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science in Washington, D.C. under the guidance of Dr. Neal Kaske, Director of Statistics & Surveys. (Since then the Commission was merged with the Institute of Museum and Library Services.) My original project was a mini-survey of library assessment instruments--but something (I can't remember what) led Dr. Kaske to suggest I study the HAPLR rating methodology in depth. So, I did. Eventually, my thesis from that project was published in the Winter 2007 issue of Public Library Quarterly.
I consult with and provide training to library organizations in statistics, assessment, and performance measurement. With Dr. Keith Curry Lance, former Director of the Library Research Service, I am co-designer of national public library ratings for the Library Journal. Outside the library arena I do statistical (SAS, SPSS) programming and technical writing.