{"id":33442,"date":"2025-08-19T11:40:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T16:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/?p=33442"},"modified":"2025-08-22T07:42:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T12:42:51","slug":"mckinney-public-library-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/2025\/08\/19\/mckinney-public-library-data\/","title":{"rendered":"McKinney Public Library Turns Data Into Better Service for Patrons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At McKinney Public Library<\/a>, data isn\u2019t an afterthought; it\u2019s the backbone of decision-making, from library hours to programming to collection development. Director Spencer Smith and his team have made a habit of asking, What do the numbers say?<\/em>, and the results speak for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaping hours to match community needs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before renovating the downtown branch, Smith and his team analyzed usage patterns. They discovered something surprising: from 7:00 \u2013 9:00 p.m., staff outnumbered patrons, while mornings had untapped potential. The library shifted to open at 8:00 a.m. instead of 10:00 a.m., and attendance from 9:00 \u201311:00 a.m. surged. \u201cPeople were coming in to grab their holds, use computers, and get what they needed before work,\u201d Smith explained. \u201cData showed us we could serve more people earlier in the day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collections with a purpose<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Data drives what stays, what goes, and what gets purchased. By tracking turnover rates, age of materials, and subject popularity, the library identifies underperforming areas and invests in high-demand ones. For example, plant-based cookbooks are soaring in circulation, so the library purchases more, while outdated titles get replaced. Demographic data<\/a> also shapes the collection as recent growth in McKinney\u2019s South and East Asian communities prompted the addition of Hindi and bilingual Hindi\/English books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Programming guided by numbers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

McKinney uses Metabase<\/a>, an open-source data visualization tool, to track program titles, attendance, and survey feedback. \u201cWe can see trends, like our chess club pulling 100 people on weekends\u2014so we adjust accordingly,\u201d Smith said. The library focuses on fewer, bigger programs when attendance patterns shift, maximizing staff time while still drawing large crowds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aforementioned demographic data also led to more programming to coincide with South and East Asian holidays. \u201cWe did a Vietnamese night market and a lunar festival. Those cultural events are great and draw big crowds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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A big crowd showed up for the Lunar New Year Festival at McKinney Public Library<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Smith also urges patrons to register and sign in for events to get more data. He also sends out surveys afterward to gather more information to inform future programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qualitative data also matters. The staff got some feedback after a baby program, and Smith recalled a request for name tags, so they added them\u2014not for the babies, but for parents to connect. The name tags helped the new parents break the ice. \u201cIt\u2019s about building relationships,\u201d Smith said, \u201cAnd data, both numbers and feedback, tells us what\u2019s working. A simple thing like having nametags made a huge difference for the patrons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the library tried to start a teen mystery club, they had a tough time getting it off the ground. \u201cThe data showed us that the average age for mystery borrowers was far beyond retirement, and the majority were women. Our collection was geared towards them.\u201d That information allowed them to pivot towards books that would appeal to teens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another program, patron feedback informed Smith that having a microphone would have improved the experience. When staff take the time to consider this data thoughtfully, the library offers better service, and the patrons benefit from it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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More Than Just Books<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Data influences everything from computer printing policies to large-scale investments. When a new planetarium was projected to generate 100,000 additional annual visits, the library used those figures to justify adding staff positions. \u201cSometimes data doesn\u2019t answer the question,\u201d Smith said, \u201cBut it gives you the right question to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith hopes other Texas libraries embrace the possibilities. \u201cWe share our live statistics right on our website,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s transparent, it\u2019s ongoing, and it helps us stay accountable to our community.\u201d
Whether it\u2019s tweaking hours, refining a program, or planning for a growing population, McKinney Public Library proves that when libraries use data well, they serve people better. As Smith puts it, \u201cI could talk about data all day long\u2026 some of my best friends are spreadsheets.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At McKinney Public Library, data isn\u2019t an afterthought; it\u2019s the backbone of decision-making, from library hours to programming to collection development. Director Spencer Smith and his team have made a habit of asking, What do the numbers say?, and the results speak for themselves. Shaping hours to match community needs Before renovating the downtown branch,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":33445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1010,59,15],"tags":[635,1178,1180,980,1176,1182,1177,1181,1179],"class_list":["post-33442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-literacy","category-public-libraries","category-technology","tag-data","tag-data-driven-libraries","tag-data-use-in-libraries","tag-library-technology","tag-mckinney-public-library","tag-mckinney-texas","tag-spencer-smith","tag-texas-library-programming","tag-texas-public-library-data"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33442"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33477,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33442\/revisions\/33477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}