Telling your library story: tableau public for data visualization
| Pages | 6-8 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-02-2018-0008 |
| Published date | 04 June 2018 |
| Date | 04 June 2018 |
| Author | Ilka Datig,Paul Whiting |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Library & information services |
Telling your library story: tableau public for
data visualization
Ilka Datig and Paul Whiting
What is data visualization?
Data visualization can be defined as
“the use of computer-supported,
interactive, visual representations of
abstract data to amplify cognition”
(Card et al., 2007). Oftentimes in
libraries, data, in the form of a variety of
library statistics, are kept in
spreadsheets. Although spreadsheets
can be a good way to collect data and
statistics, this is only half the battle. If
statistics are not used to provide
context, or factored into decision-
making processes, then there is no
purpose in taking them in the first place.
For meaningful information to be
gleaned from statistics, they often need
to be presented or viewed as more than
rows of numbers; this is where data
visualization comes in.
The purpose of visualization is take
information, usually large data sets, and
aggregate the information so that it can
be visually displayed in an image, chart
or graph. This process increases the
usability of typical data sources, such as
Excel spreadsheets, by allowing
viewers to spot trends and patterns that
are not readily visible in a column of
numbers.
Tableau public
In recent years, Tableau has emerged
as one of the leading providers of data
visualization software. Tableau Public
is the free version of the paid Tableau
software, which has additional features
that will not be discussed here. Tableau
Public is a data visualization software
package with multiple interactive
features. Librarians can use Tableau
Public with a number of different data
sources, including Microsoft Excel,
spatial and text files. There are a wide
variety of charts available, including
standard bar, line and pie charts, heat
maps, highlight tables and tree maps.
There are a number of reasons why
Tableau Public has become popular
among libraries. First, there is no expert
knowledge needed to create data
visualizations. Even a novice researcher
can create charts relatively quickly
upon downloading the tool. Second, it is
free; in an era of shrinking library
budgets, this is extremely important.
Third, it allows for rapid large-scale
analysis and can make sense of huge
and complex data sources. Finally, the
high-impact visuals that can be created
in Tableau Public have great potential
to improve stakeholder communications
(Figure 1).
Deep dive: library headcount data
Academic libraries have been using
Tableau and Tableau Public in a number
of interesting ways, including
collections and acquisitions, outreach
and public services[1]. At Nazareth
College, we have used Tableau to look
at our library instruction learning
outcomes, reference desk statistics,
space usage and more. One of our most
illuminating projects has been with our
library headcount data, which we began
collecting a few years ago. Using
Google Forms, we created a simple
spreadsheet to track usage of various
locations throughout the library that are
designed for patron use, such as the
browsing lounge, library cafe
´, computer
stations, reading room, study carrels and
study rooms. The headcount is
primarily done by library student
workers every odd hour, and every hour
of the extended evening hours during
finals week. The purpose of the
headcount was to gain a better
understanding of the usage of different
locations in the library, and to
supplement gate count and circulation
statistics. To gain a better understanding
of the data, it was transferred to an
Excel spreadsheet, where different
variations of sums and averages for
different locations, or groups of
locations, could be performed, as well
as the creation of some basic charts.
Creating charts in Excel did not prove to
be intuitive, user-friendly or easy to
accomplish.
In 2017, we decided to explore using
Tableau Public. Creating data
visualizations using Tableau has
allowed librarians to easily compile
statistics and data into various charts,
create different configurations of the
data and apply a wide range of filters.
Statistics and data are now more
accessible, more informative and seem
more like potential answers to
questions, as opposed to an intimidating
stack or jumble of numbers that can be
hard to decipher and draw conclusions
from.
The headcount data have been used
to inform some decisions about the
operation of the library. The Friday and
Saturday evening hours for the 2017 fall
semester were shortened because of a
steep drop-off in patron usage from
9 p.m. until closing. Also, the headcount
data showed the evening extended hours
during finals week are a success, with
large numbers of students taking
advantage of the extra hours on a
majority of the nights. When looking at
visualizations of the data, both of these
trends were quite obvious. It is also
anticipated that headcount data will be
incorporated into other decision-making
processes regarding the library. For
example, the library not only offers
students access to information,
resources and materials but also
provides students with a physical space
to study and work on assignments,
whether it be by themselves or in a
group. Examining headcount data to
determine the use of different study
spaces, from quiet study areas to group
study rooms, can help in making
6LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 4 2018, pp. 6-8, V
CEmerald Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/LHTN-02-2018-0008
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