Libraries in Community Systems asks what value the public library brings to the places and networks of which it is a part. One way to approach this question quantitatively, is to measure the association between library activity and non-library activity in a place. In the Social Wellbeing Index part of the project, our interest is in defining specific social wellbeing factors which, in general, are too complex to be directly observed or captured in one measure. Broadly, we can define social wellbeing as a quality of life measure for the agglomeration of people in a particular place. Conceptually, this lets us look at assets, structures, and engagements together, rather than just singular individual attributes. This work is in direct dialogue with the 2021 IMLS report ["Understanding the Social Wellbeing Impacts of the Nation's Libraries & Museums"][1](1), whose indexes we replicate, assess, and expand upon. There aren't many research works in the US cultural heritage / public libraries domain that have national scope, and examine multi-dimensional social wellbeing. This thin but impactful literature is what we pull from for our initial set of indexes and their definitions: - Civic & Political Voice: extent to which people participate in civic life - Cultural Assets: density and distribution of organizations and culture workers - [Economic Diversity][2]: spread of material wealth and diversity of industry - [Economic Wellbeing][3]: level of material wealth and education attainment - [Educational Effectiveness][4]: academic attachment and success - Environmental Assets: access, density, distribution, health canopy, land, and water - Health Access: density and distribution of health infrastructure and insurance - Health Outcomes: rates of behavioral, mental, and physical health characteristics - Housing Opportunity: affordability and density of housing - Safety & Security: risk of adverse interaction with another person This list includes factors from an earlier exploratory study report by the same lead author, "[Strengthening Networks, Sparking Change: Museums and Libraries as Community Catalysts][5]"(2). The Libraries in Community Systems approach to mixed-methods research has been to engage practicing public library workers in dialog on every aspect of the research - including statistical analysis. The indexes included in this component all result from the following process: 1. Replicate index at the smallest geography possible for years 2013 forward ("Understanding..." measured at the county boundary and for year 2016 alone) 2. Ask partners to define each social wellbeing factor in their own words 3. Create reports for each partner library community and share it as a conversation starting point 4. Ask partners for index specific guidance and elicit general opinions about how the measurements were read, understood, and felt 5. Search for appropriate data proxies for partner definitions of each factor where the comparison standard is national, rural/urban category within the nation, and rural/urban category within specific census defined geographic divisions 6. Standardize all data to be included in analysis 7. Exploratory factor analysis of the expanded set of data indicators for each factor 8. Create replication and expansion indexes based on county and one level smaller geography (where possible), and with data standardized at differing characteristics Specific index components will enumerate the included data indicators and their sources, along with detailed steps taken to develop the dataset used in factor analysis and rationale for which indicators are included in the final index value. Generally, the expansion of each index aimed at incorporating the themes of "for all" that ran through partner responses to the original set of factors. This equity orientation was also a dominant theme captured in the Libraries in Community Systems interviews and focus groups which took place in the winter 2021-2022. For each indexes measure, if it was available disaggregated by a population category, such as identified ethnicity, race, sex, or disability status, those disaggregated data were incorporated into the factor analysis. Even when such data exist at the desired geography, it was often missing too many observations to practically be included in analysis or the final index. These measures are still retained in the datasets for information purposes, and will be included in "Additional Measures not Indexed" tables in library data dashboards available in July 2024. (1) Norton, Michael, Elizabeth DeYoung. 2021. *Understanding the Social Wellbeing Impacts of the Nation's Libraries & Museums.* (2) Norton, Michael, Emily Dowdall. 2017. *Strengthening Networks, Sparking Change: Museums and Libraries as Community Catalysts.* [1]: https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/publications/documents/community-catalyst-report-january-2017.pdf [2]: https://osf.io/hjs6c/ [3]: https://osf.io/te4v2/ [4]: https://osf.io/byw4c/ [5]: https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/publications/documents/community-catalyst-report-january-2017.pdf