Publish Library Events To Your Website With Community Calendar
Scheduling and publishing your library’s events is getting much easier! Now you can streamline your event planning processes and eliminate double entry with the WhoFi Community Calendar website integration — a new feature that allows you to publish events from your WhoFi Community Calendar dashboard directly to your library’s public facing websites. Website Integrations are now generally available for WhoFi customers using the Community Calendar tool. Integrate the Community Calendar onto your…
2021 Annual Analysis of Public Library WiFi Usage
WhoFi analyzed data from our library partners to identify WiFi usage trends. This report includes our findings for 2021. Public Library Insights for 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 2021, there are some interesting changes to these numbers, along…
WiFi Analytics Gave Brenda Tools To Help Patrons
Brenda Miller is the director of New Madison Public Library. The pandemic changed the way her library’s patrons interacted with the library and used its resources. Before COVID-19 caused the library to close its doors, patrons would come into the library building to sit and use the free WiFi, browse books, enjoy children’s programming or just have a safe place to hang out. So when the library doors closed because of the pandemic, Brenda noticed different patron behavior, like outdoor and after…
How Community Calendar Helped Lola
Lola DeWall is the library director for Pocahontas Public Library. The pandemic transformed the way her library, like many across the country, offered programming. Before March 2020, Pocahontas Public Library offered in-person programming and got by using old methods of tracking attendance like hand tallying on paper. That method of tracking program attendance was already arduous and time consuming, and with all of the upheaval the pandemic caused, it quickly became very difficult to keep up.…
Community Calendar Makes Library Program Planning Easy
Libraries across the country are adapting to the digital age with more online programming and digital resources available for patrons. This growth can make it complicated to plan, track and manage programs in various formats and on various platforms. While libraries advance and grow their programs, the way they account for attendance is stuck in the past. Hand tallying and paper trails are cumbersome and time consuming. There’s a better way! At WhoFi, we want to make your job easier by…
Public Library Insights Q3 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 Q3, 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…
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…
How Libraries Can Keep Loaner Devices Safe With The New Emergency Connectivity Fund Program
In an effort to bridge the digital divide, part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 includes $7.17 billion for the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) program. This program provides funding for public and tribal libraries and K-12 schools to purchase devices like hotspots and laptops for use away from library and school grounds. The ECF presents an extraordinary and unprecedented funding opportunity for libraries to expand broadband equity to those who need it most beyond the confines…
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…