Thinking ahead to the 2023 Annual Report

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s Library Services Team released three announcements for systems and libraries regarding the 2023 Annual Report on Public Libraries. These announcements do not pertain to the upcoming 2022 Annual Report which opens in January 2023.

• No planned data element additions or significant revisions are expected for the 2023 Annual Report. The Library Services Team heard from the library community the need for clarification of electronic content collection and use statistics. A national workgroup under the direction of the Institute of Museum and Library Services has proposed several revisions to improve comparability of the e-content statistics and appropriateness of the statistics within this group for the 2024 collection. These proposals have been reviewed by all states and territories and will be finalized this summer.
• The 2023 Program and Activity Tracker is now available on the Annual Report web page.
• Coming in 2023, the Library Services Team is bringing library staff throughout the state together to form a Data Advisory Workgroup. The Library Services Team will be using feedback from the on-going Data Landscape Survey and focus groups to identify topics and find volunteers. The workgroup may discuss topics such as creating Annual Report training materials and recorded content, improving comparability of the Annual Report financial detail data (such as contract expenditures), and incorporating findings from the spring 2023 Compensation Study into the Annual Report. If you or any of your colleagues are interested, please contact Melissa Aro, melissa.aro@dpi.wi.gov.