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Keeping statistics (and proof of life)



I agree with Tom and others that keeping statistics on your archives' use is of vital importance.

At VMT, our board was comprised primarily of business people who rarely (if ever) had the need to use public archives, so I constantly had to "pitch" and educate them on how archives were used.  I reported quarterly and annual statistics, showed how the predominant number of users came from the Internet or phone (not walking through the door), and I even did a show-and-tell at every annual meeting--presenting the newest samples of published materials that featured our photographs, etc.

For the most part, I'm preaching to the choir, but in these troubling times when walk-in visitation is down, it is so important to account for every single person who uses your archives or library as a resource--no matter how they arrive at your "door."  By keeping detailed stats, you can provide proof of life in the archives--despite the lack of visible, physical bodies.


--
D. Darlene Richardson
Archivist, Oral Historian, & Independent Scholar
Home:  (540) 343-0301



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