Analyzing and Using the Data

All of the data you collect, from asset mapping to conversations with the community, to gathering numbers and statistics, must be analyzed in order to understand the community and the assets and needs of teens. As you analyze the information you gather:

• Use an equity lens: Make sure not to just look at the big picture of the data. Dig into what you see by disaggregating the numbers and looking at how race, ethnicity, income, ability, education, and so on were (or weren’t) included in what is reported.
• Look for themes: As you review the data keep track of what you are noticing repeating itself. For example, do you see the same low or high numbers showing up in several different categories or data samples for a specific community? Do you see that there is data missing for a specific community over and over again? What do you notice across data sets that you could categorize as a theme about your community?
• Do not analyze data in a silo: Other people can be extremely helpful to you as you analyze the data you’ve gathered. Bring a group together - of colleagues and community members - to look through the data you’ve put together and discuss what each person sees in that data, how they interpret it in terms of learning about the community, and what questions they have based on what was gathered.
• What new questions arise: Research almost always starts with a particular question or sets of questions and as the research process takes place new questions arise based on what is learned. Keep track of the questions that come up as you analyze your data and consider how to find the answers and what the answers will help you to know and understand about your community.

Now what?

Now that you have a clear picture of the people and assets in your community, what do you do with this information?

• Reevaluate your priorities. Are there groups of teens you aren’t reaching? Do they have needs or interests you aren’t meeting? Are there associations or institutions doing work similar enough to one of your programs that you can stop duplicating efforts.
• Think about your library’s capacity. There may be resources in your community that you can take advantage of to extend your capacity or reach. Ask how, by building a partnership with one or more of those on your asset map, you can extend your capacity in support of teen services and connected learning
• Continue working with the community. Getting the community involved in your library is more than just talking to them and asking them questions, it is empowering them to help make a difference1. If a public library puts the community’s voices at the center of their planning, the library will in turn become the center of the community. Public libraries are ideally positioned to be leaders of civic engagement in the community, and thoroughly understanding that community is a key part of that role.
• Build with the Community: Identify who on your map is a potential partner in designing community-centered connected learning services. Build relationships and accept opportunities to share power in working to guarantee that teens have what they need to succeed.

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