Where eResource Professionals Learn, Connect, and Grow.

<-- back to Workshop Main Page

Visualizing Library Usage Data with Tableau Public

January 29-February 9, 2024

Asynchronous Course

Course participants will consume the videos on their own schedule during the above dates. Live Office Hours will be hosted during the 2 weeks, where participants are encouraged to share their progress.  Slack will be utilized for a discussion board. 

Ticket Cost: $175/ single ticket, $131/ group ticket 

A successful data visualization can tell a powerful story with numbers. In recent years many libraries have started to use the data visualization software Tableau to help analyze the library usage data we collect and to communicate library impact and values to the community: How many visitors do we have per year? How much money do we spend on electronic journals, and what is the usage? What is the circulation per capita for this branch library?

The workshop will begin with an introduction to library usage data that all libraries work with: gate counts, circulation statistics and COUNTER reports, etc. The participants will learn about the characteristics of the data and methods that are most suitable for visualizing them. The participants will learn how to use Tableau Public, a free version of Tableau software, to create interactive data visualization, including basic chart types, thematic maps, and data dashboards. Good data visualization comes from “clean” data. As such, this workshop will briefly introduce tools and procedures that can be applied to clean and prepare library usage data for visualization. The workshop will also introduce the participants to design principles for data visualization and different types of data visualization tools (free or commercial).

Following the workshop, participants will: 

  • understand key data types of library usage data and the appropriate techniques to prepare data for visualization.
  • use Tableau Public to create basic charts, graphs, thematic maps, and dashboards.
  • use Tableau Public to apply analytics and design principles for visualizing and communicating with library usage data.

AUDIENCE LEVEL: Foundation/ Beginner

PARTICIPATION: Course participants will consume the videos on their own schedule during the above dates. Live Office Hours will be hosted during the 2 weeks, where participants are encouraged to share their progress (dates TBD).  Slack will be utilized for a discussion board. 

COURSE OUTLINE: To be shared with registered course attendees prior to the course start date.

What Past Course Participants Have Said

I appreciated the videos in small topics and the excellent instructions.
Very clear, concise instructions – appropriate content for an intro. Well done!
Jen was always available for help through office hours, email, and slack.
The instructor is very knowledgeable and helpful – great explanations of Tableau!

Meet Your Course Instructor

default img

Jen-chien Yu
Director of Library Assessment
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Jen-chien Yu is the Director of Library Assessment at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jen joined the University Library in 2012 as the first Coordinator of Library Assessment and was promoted to the director level in 2018. She coordinates library assessment programs and works closely with faculty and staff across the Library, and around the Urbana-Champaign campus, to design and implement assessment activities that support data-informed decision making related to library services, collections, technology, and facilities. Prior to moving to Illinois, she was the Electronic Information Services Librarian/Data Specialist and Assessment Librarian at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio (2001-2012).

Jen received her B.A. in library and information science from Tamkang University (Taiwan), a MLIS from University of Pittsburgh, and a Master of Computer Science in Data Science (MCS-DS) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She calls herself a “data waitress” – proudly serving data since 2001.