Program Planning For Public Libraries In The Digital Age
As more programs move outside of the library or on a virtual platform, libraries are struggling to find ways to account for program attendance. A hodgepodge of meeting room scheduling software, excel spreadsheets and manual tabulations just isn’t meeting the needs of the modern library in the digital age. Libraries are seeing program attendance that’s higher than it’s ever been because online platforms can make programs available to more people, since there’s no space or time restrictions like…
Public Libraries Solution To Meeting New PLS Survey Reporting Requirements
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the way libraries offer programming, with more programs being made available online. With this change also came changes in reporting requirements related to programs. This year libraries will be required to submit additional information about program attendance for the PLS survey. Libraries will need a way to fulfill the upcoming PLS survey requirements that include programming type (in-person, online, or both), attendance numbers, and categories. You may…
Public Library Insights Q2 of 2021
When analyzing WiFi insights data and looking for usage trends over the past year, we’ve identified clear fluctuations in use that seem to correlate with particular service areas, important timelines in the pandemic, and/or library outreach efforts. As we look at the data for Q2, there are some interesting changes to these numbers, along with a steady increase in WiFi usage across service areas. The COVID-19 pandemic certainly brought about many changes in the way patrons interact with their…
Monthly At A Glance Report Simplifies Board Reporting
WhoFi is happy to announce the release of the monthly At A Glance Report for all partner libraries. Through conversations with our public library partners, it became clear that there was a need for a simplified board report surrounding their patron WiFi usage. Previously library directors used another WhoFi report, the Trend Summary, to show WiFi usage. The Trend Summary Report is a detailed view of the monthly usage and is great for digging deeper into usage patterns. While directors enjoy the…
Public Library Insights One Year Into The COVID-19 Pandemic
The past year has brought many changes and challenges. And it’s also created an environment for growth. Faced with uncertainty, libraries rose to the challenge and adapted their services to meet the changing needs of their communities. In many ways, libraries are able to meet patrons' needs now even better than before. The flexibility of these new offerings made it easier to reach additional community members, and our library partners think these changes are here to stay. It’s helped libraries…
How the time of day patrons use WiFi is changing
Free WiFi at public libraries is an often used resource for many patrons. The pandemic is causing changes in how libraries operate and how patrons use library resources. This post covers how the pandemic has caused changes in the times of day that Free WiFi at public libraries is utilized. We show the WiFi usage times from before the pandemic in March of 2020. We then further show how the times have changed throughout the year 2020. The Data WhoFi is a leading provider of Wireless Session…
The Economic Impact Of WiFi Connection
Providing free WiFi in public libraries improves communities. Internet should be viewed as an investment, not a cost, to public institutions. This blog explores the theories that support these statements and outlines the research that proves the economic impact of a WiFi connection. More than 200 hundred years ago, Adam Smith stated that “the wealth of nations included the acquired and useful abilities of all the inhabitants or members of the society.” Acquired abilities that are useful for…
WhoFi Customers Can Download WiFi Analytics Book For Free
Exciting news for our WhoFi partners: our recently published book, WiFi Analytics: Track, Improve, Grow, is now available to all customers as our gift to you. You can access your digital copy of the WiFi analytics book by logging into your WhoFi dashboard and going to the monthly report section. At WhoFi, we strongly believe that insights gained through WiFi analytics can improve communities and strengthen public spaces. This is why our co-founder, John Kerber, recently published a book about…
Urban and Rural Comparison Analysis: Effects of COVID-19 on Public Library WiFi Use
As we set out to gather data on the library WiFi usage numbers amid the COVID-19 health crisis, we analyzed the effects of COVID-19 on public library WiFi use in urban and rural areas. We wanted to know the effects of COVID-19 on public library WiFi use by population size. For this comparison, we consolidated data from our library partners to identify trends in service areas based on population size. We want to know if library WiFi usage changed by population size and if so by how much. Did…
Timeline: Effects of COVID-19 on Public Library WiFi Use
We analyzed data from our library partners to understand the effects of COVID-19 on public library WiFi use. We intended to determine how, or if, the spread of COVID-19 affected public library WiFi usage and patron behavior. And if it did, how, when, and why did patron behavior change. This analysis includes all population sizes and service areas of our library partners. Our data shows that between the first week and last week of March, visitor usage dropped significantly, then leveled. It’s…