A Spotlight on Frederick County Public Libraries’ Data-Driven Systems and Evolution

BECKY BUCZEK: Welcome back to Cherry Bekaert's Government and Public Sector Podcast Series. This is the second in our mini-series about library systems. My name is Becky Buczek, and I am a client success manager at Cherry Bekaert.

BECKY BUCZEK: Cherry Bekaert's Government and Public Sector Group has been working with the Maryland State Libraries for over seven years. We helped them implement Tableau, develop a data strategy and architecture, and build out reporting to help run the library successfully. This work has built a footprint of Tableau within the Maryland library system.

BECKY BUCZEK: Today, we have Courtney Brohawn from Frederick County Public Libraries to speak with us about her experience in libraries and working with Tableau. Courtney, would you like to introduce yourself?


COURTNEY BROHAWN: Sure. Hi, Becky. Thanks for having me. I am Frederick County Public Libraries project coordinator, and I've been in this position for about seven years.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: My duties include assisting with system-wide projects focused on operations management and back-of-house work. One core aspect of my job is collecting our systems data and turning it into reports to provide insights for directing operations. I love my job.


BECKY BUCZEK: Great. We're excited to have you. I'll start asking you some questions so our listeners can hear about your experience. Can you talk about Frederick County Public Libraries and the communities you serve?


COURTNEY BROHAWN: I was born and raised in Frederick County, so I've seen it change quite a bit. It's unique because it's the largest county by area, though not by population; there are about 270,000 residents. Being so large presents the challenge of a wide service area.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: Communities are diverse and becoming more so, especially over the past ten years. We still have many active farms and pockets of rural areas in the north and southwest. In the center is Frederick City, which has grown significantly, about 20% in the past year.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: The eastern part of the county is closer to D.C. and Baltimore, and we're seeing residents move here for lower prices despite being more rural. We have nine library locations, two bookmobiles, a transit vehicle for outreach events, and a new book bike that we ride along downtown creek bike paths. We're a mid-sized library with about 250 staff members and are planning a tenth location to be built within the next three years.


BECKY BUCZEK: Given the system's growth and the many data sources, what challenges have you faced in gathering and utilizing data effectively?


COURTNEY BROHAWN: There's a surprising amount of data. We try to collect and measure everything to better serve customers, pivot operations, and advocate for funding.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: One big challenge is digital resources from many vendors, each measuring usage differently, so we must find consistent metrics. Much of the work is manual; staff must pull data from websites monthly or weekly, and one person currently manages that monthly reporting.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: We do a lot of programming and don't require attendees to have a library card, which means we don't always know who attends programs; that information would help tailor programming. We migrated to a new integrated library system in the past two years, which houses everything, and that has been a big project.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: The system helps us understand staffing needs, busy days and hours, and service points. It supports program development by tracking attendance by day, program type, intended audience, location, and average attendees per program.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: Cherry Bekaert created a dashboard that ties these factors together, letting us view children's programming by location, audience type, days of the week, and average attendance. That's been helpful in planning when to schedule programming.


BECKY BUCZEK: How do you use that data to assist in serving your communities?


COURTNEY BROHAWN: We look outward to the community to see what's changing and pivot operations to meet needs. We're focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and analyze data for language needs; our Hispanic and non-English-speaking populations have been growing, which informs our world language collection so everyone can access services.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: We want our staffing to reflect community diversity. Digital resource usage has increased as customers become more comfortable with digital content, so we allocate more resources to that collection.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: Tech needs are significant; many rural areas lack reliable Wi-Fi, so we provide Wi-Fi hotspots and laptop kits with hotspots in our collection. These tools help bridge access gaps for patrons who need internet and devices.


BECKY BUCZEK: What trends did you see prior to the pandemic?


COURTNEY BROHAWN: In 2019-2020 we had a strong year for metrics: highest circulation to date and many new cardholders. Digital circulation accounted for about a quarter of total circulation, but patrons still primarily wanted physical materials like books, audiobooks, and CDs.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: Libraries were increasingly a place to connect with community, attend programming, and use meeting spaces, a trend that was evident before COVID.


BECKY BUCZEK: How did the pandemic affect those trends and what adjustments did the library make?


COURTNEY BROHAWN: The pandemic forced us to pivot quickly since we relied on building-based services. The day after we closed, we offered our first virtual program on Facebook, starting with children's programming and expanding to teen and adult programs, thanks to our creative staff.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: We developed curbside service so customers could pick up physical materials. Digital resource usage increased because many patrons avoided leaving home, so we allocated more resources to digital content and implemented digital library cards on our website.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: We also expanded our Wi-Fi signal to reach outside each library so patrons could access internet from parking lots. Overall, we continued to provide key services successfully.


BECKY BUCZEK: Some reporting done with Tableau includes circulation reports, visiting habits, programming, and board reports. Looking ahead, where do you see data and reporting enhancing the library experience?


COURTNEY BROHAWN: It's exciting to think about future reports, which we've discussed with Cherry Bekaert. We want a deeper view into our collections because we have a large physical collection and need that information at our fingertips.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: With changing policies, we initiated auto renewals late last year, which affects turnover; materials are being held longer, and shelves are emptier in some areas. I'm developing a checkout report to see, by collection, location, and age group, what's on the shelf and what's checked out so collections staff can purchase materials where needed.

COURTNEY BROHAWN: We're also focusing on DEI efforts and reaching new customers by developing a mapping tool that shows where our customers are located and where they aren't, helping us target outreach.


BECKY BUCZEK: If there's one thing listeners should take away from today's podcast, what would it be?


COURTNEY BROHAWN: Libraries are deeply committed to their communities. I've enjoyed working for our library system the past seven years; we use every resource available to tailor services to meet the unique needs of all customers, and our staff deeply cares about the community. It's a rewarding job, and we do a lot of good.


BECKY BUCZEK: Thank you, Courtney. Please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and stay tuned for the next Government and Public Sector episode. If you have questions, you can reach us by email or check us out at cbh.com and fill out the contact form. My email is Rebecca.Buczek@cbh.com. Courtney can be reached at cbrohawn@frederickcountymd.gov.


COURTNEY BROHAWN: Thanks so much for having me.


BECKY BUCZEK: Bye.