Data Made Easy

“Kirstin [Krumsee] is passionate about making it easier for librarians to understand and use data to help drive decision-making and…tell their stories to staff, administrators, and external decision-makers and stakeholders,” says nominator [and boss] Beverly Cain, State Librarian of Ohio.

That passion motivated Krumsee to develop Libraries by the Numbers, an open source, online tool launched in 2018 that enables Ohio’s public libraries to create customized infographics that bring to life the data from their Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Public Library Surveys. Previously, many libraries across Ohio presented statistics about library use and finances via large, difficult-to-comprehend spreadsheets. Initially, Krumsee developed individual infographics for Ohio’s 251 public libraries, says Cain, “but it didn’t allow for any customization” by the institutions. Then, in 2016, working with a software developer, Krumsee designed Libraries by the Numbers after applying for, and receiving, an IMLS Sparks Ignition Grant.

Krumsee’s work isn’t just applicable to Ohio, and she hopes it will be replicated. Roughly 12 states have contacted her, asking for help making their data from Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA), IMLS, and other organizations more manageable. “Since launching the site, I’ve [spoken] to state librarians, data coordinators, and many others in the library community about adapting Libraries by the Numbers,” reports Krumsee, who says her goal is to “[help] librarians looking to better convey their value: to legislators, their boards, their patrons.”