In the summer of 2020, the Field Guide project team worked with 137 library staff in the United States to learn how they are supporting their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, when library buildings were fully or partially closed. COVID-19 was the impetus for this work, however, as the process launched, the country saw increased civic unrest resulting from the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and Dion Johnson. As a result of the multiple crises facing the nation, this work took on an expanded role with a focus on the multiple crises facing the country.The project team created a Field Guide that maps the essential tasks that public library staff must enact before and during crises. While this Field Guide focuses on supporting non-dominant youth and families, the Field Guide can be adapted to serve the needs of other age groups at any time.
There are a variety of evaluation tools and methods for collecting outcome based data. Outcomes are the knowledge transferred or behaviors changed as evidenced by the target audience’s changed or improved skills, attitudes, knowledge, behaviors, status, or life conditions brought about by experiencing a program. In developing a plan for collecting outcomes you may consider: