A workshop highlighting how innovative “data visualistion” techniques can be used by employers and communities is being held.
Leicestershire County Council’s Library Service has organised the workshop at Loughborough University on Wednesday, 3 March.
The council had teamed up with experts from City University London to undertake a pioneering project to analyse how people use libraries, so it could improve services.
Rather than poring over tables of figures, data visualisation presents complex information through a series of graphics, making analysis easier and helping uncover previously unnoticed trends.
The initial research project – known as “vizLib” – made use of the technique to interpret 450,000 individual records of weekly library use in the county recorded over a two-year period, presenting them in a variety of novel maps and graphics.
”vizLib” determined how factors such as borrower location, library size, transport links and geography affect user habits and take-up.
This has led Leicestershire Library Services (LLS) to rethink its provision, in order to better address the needs of its users.
The workshop will present the case study with an opportunity for delegates to view some of the data that uses methods that challenge traditional viewpoints of community profiling – and to learn new techniques that can be put to use in their day to day work.
City University London and the County Council are now working on a further data visualisation scheme thanks to £32,000 from the Government as part of its “Timely Information to Citizens Pilot” project.
The aim is to use data visualization to better inform the public about the local authority’s work.
The two parties will now develop four online applications to clearly present in-depth information about a number of the council’s services to the public, the first two of which are the results of a satisfaction survey.
For further details about the workshop, including booking a place, email: rita.nathwani@leics.gov.uk or call 0116 305 7354.
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I hope to be there with a colleague – it sounds very useful and interesting.
Thanks John – we look forward to seeing you.
[...] A few observations from the group .. The abundance of resources and relationships made easily accessible via the Internet is increasingly challenging us to revisit our roles as educators in sense-making, coaching, and credential People expect to be able to work, learn, and study whenever and wherever they want to. The technologies we use are increasingly cloud-based, and our notions of IT support are decentralized. The work of students is increasingly seen as collaborative by nature, and there is more crosscampus collaboration between departments. Digital media literacy continues its rise in importance as a key skill in every discipline and profession. The authors then list key technologies and the expected time frames for ‘mainstream use’ Here’s an interesting one scheduled for 4 years out – Visual Data Analysis. Looks like our Library service forgot to read the script .. Leicestershire Libraries Leads the way? [...]
The link is from an international think tank report looking at the timescales for new technologies to be adopted. The rest of it also makes intersting reading