Original Question 5/6/11

Jay Bank (KY, SDC)

I have had one of our librarians ask some questions about whether to count these as programs.  They asked:

• When you had an online Summer Reading Program for kids who can't come to the library, did you not count those folks as having attended a program?
• This summer you are having a adult summer reading program in which the patrons work on their own to complete requirements but don't come together.  Won't you get to count them?  Where?
• "If I have 5 laptops and spend an hour teaching patrons about Virtual Library I can count that as a program?  But since I don't have 5 laptops, and I spend 5 hrs. teaching one person at a time, I can't count that as a program? "

I’m not sure how to respond since the definition isn’t quite clear on these.  Any help is appreciated.

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SDC Comments:

Michael A. Golrick (LA, SDC)

I am not sure about your first two examples, but would be included to count attendance for each and count each of them as one program. However for the third, if you have a group it is a program. If you are teaching individuals (sequentially), I would count each as a reference transaction. [At least it is counted somewhere!]

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Diana J. Very (GA, SDC)

I agree with Michael on the first two. The third could be a tutoring session or a training session. I can't see someone giving 5 hours of training for a Virtual Library. But, I could see a reference question as a training session, just as Michael indicated.