The Logbook
The Logbook is a web-based system for continuous documentation and follow up of youth work. It is an effective tool that gathers information needed for quality development.
The Logbook is designed by youth workers, for youth workers, and it is used by youth workers and youth work providers for the purpose of observing and developing youth work practice and outcomes. It supports them in their everyday documentation by gathering information and creating the reports needed to analyse their work.
How it works
The Logbook is available at https://thelogbook.eu/ and can be used on a computer, tablet or smartphone. Each organization creates their own structure in the system and adapts it to the number of activities, youth centres and groups that they want to document and follow up. They also decide who should have access to different parts of the system.
The following parameters can be documented and monitored:
- visits/visitors in open activities
- visits/visitors in group activities
- opening hours
- group hours
- youth-produced hours of activities
- number of young people who produce activities themselves
- total activities
- the age of visitors
- gender-segregated participant statistics – girls / boys / non-binary
Visits or visitors?
Visitors can create their own aliases that they check in with when they visit the organisation. The visitor is asked to fill in the alias name, age and gender the first visit. The next time they only have to check in with their alias. This allows, among other things, to see the number of actual visitors that the organisation attracts and not just the number of visits.
Facilitates communication and planning
In addition to running statistics, the youth workers can also keep notes of what happens in the activities and why it happens. It´s also possible to submit questions, for the youth workers to answer after each work session. This can be of great help when you reflect on the youth work together.
The Logbook also facilitates communication, for example, staff that have been away, can see what happened the previous nights, or find planning for group meetings if someone fills in for a co-worker. The users can also upload materials in ”My documents”, such as posters and meeting notes, for easy access.
Group activities can be followed over time and all documentation can be collected. When a group is created in The Logbook the youth worker enters needs, purpose, goals and planned effect, preferably together with the group. This facilitates the follow-up and evaluation of the group.
In the system’s report function you can search for everything that has been registered, including individual words. For example, the system can easily generate information about how the gender distribution among visitors varies between different weekdays or search the notes from the different events of the past year.
Quality observing system
The system documents work statistics and reflections of the activities. To complement that picture with the visitors’ experience of the organisation, there are two surveys aimed at young people integrated in the system; Meeting Place Survey and Group Survey. There is also a function to record quantitative key figures once a year. This means that in the same system you gather information regarding:
- Statistics (e.g. number of visits, hours of operation)
- Descriptions (e.g. diary for reflection)
- Results from surveys (e.g. experience of participation, learning, security)
- Key figures (e.g. target group individuals, costs)
In addition to the fact that the information collected can be analysed on an ongoing basis, it is also compiled once a year in a total presentation. In this, the overall results are presented per organization, partly in itself, but also broken down by gender and with comparisons over time and with the national average among all member organizations.
This gives the organisation a unique opportunity to see the connection between what is being done and what, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the results it is leading to. Based on the overall result, the organisation can then set clear goals for the coming year.
The Logbook is currently used by over 70 organisations in Sweden, Slovenia, Finland, Ireland and Romania.