SAMPLE LIBRARY SURVEY QUESTIONS

Judith Siess, Inform tion Brid!es Intern tion ", In#$

Finding Out About User Needs Describe some of the typical duties of your job. In what subject area(s) are you most interested? Which library services do you actually useand how often? (You may want to list the areas about which you would li e feedbac and have them chec them off or ran them.) What ind of boo s do you read re!ularly? (science" technolo!y" fiction" don#t read boo s) Which ma!a$ines or journals do you read re!ularly? Which do you read in the library and which do you subscribe to? %ell me about the problem you are facin!. &ow did the problem come to li!ht? What are some of the critical issues within the problem? ''()*+ What outcomes or chan!es are you hopin! for? ''()* What will you do with the resources,information provided? ''()* (&ow will the information be used?) What information or resources do you already have? Whom have you contactedare there any human e.perts" products" papers" reports" or documents relevant to this tas of which I should be aware? ''()* When do you need the information,resources? When is /too late0? ''()* Who will be my point person in this tas ? Is there someone else I should copy on communications? ''()* 1s new hires about their e.pectations of the library. You can !et ideas from their previous e.periences at other or!ani$ations. You could also re2visit them in a year or so to see how you#re doin! at meetin! their needs. How Users Find Information What information sources do you re!ularly consult or have at your des (or in your home)? If you don#t use the library" where do you !o? Why? (or what inds of information and for what purposes? 1re these other sources satisfactory? Why or why not? %hin bac to a recent time when you needed information. What information did you need? (or what purpose? &ow did you find it? Was it enou!h? &ow successful are you usually in findin! information? &ow often do you not even loo for informationor !o to the librarybecause you either thou!ht you wouldn#t find it or it would be too much trouble or cost too much? What sort of frustrations and time delays are you encounterin! in findin! information? How Users Use the Library Do you refer others to the library? Why or why not? Do you re3uest an analysis of the retrieved information by the librarian?

Does !ivin! your research problems to the librarians save you time? &ave you had a staff member spea to your !roup,class,department? 4n what subject(s)? Was it useful? If not" would you li e a staff member to contact you about a presentation? 4n what subject(s)? o 5ossible subjects- databases available in the library" other resources in the library" how to find a boo or journal" how to find an article" how to do research" how to use 6oo!le better" how to determine if what you find is !ood or bad (information literacy) What is your preferred method of communication with the library? %elephone? 7mail? 8emo? I8? In 5erson? 4ther? If offered" would you use I8 to contact the librarian for help with a research problem? Would you be interested in receivin! a tar!eted list of new items in the library? &ow fre3uently? (daily" wee ly" monthly) 9ia what medium? (email" I8" interoffice mail" other) &ave you used the library website? (or what purpose? (curiosity" answer a specific problem" find a person" find a boo or article in the library" access databasesfrom home" in office" elsewhere" find a policy" renew materials" other) Did you find what you needed? If not" what did you do ne.t? (as someone else" call the library" for!et it) What additional feature(s) or information would you li e to see on the website?

Examples of Open and Closed uestions !""FCN# 4pen 3uestionsWhat would you li e to have happen as a result of receivin! this information? &ow will this information enhance your wor ? &ow will we now when you have enou!h information to meet this particular need? What methods have you already tried to find this information? 1re there any products or other information sources of which I should be aware? &ow ur!ent is this re3uest? )losed 3uestionsWhat have you already found? &ow many e.amples do you need? What is your deadline? What is the e.act date the information is needed? %o whom should the information !o?

Users "ate the Library 4n a scale of : to :;" where :; is the hi!hest" please rate the followin!o %he library itself 1ttractiveness of the facilities )onvenience <uiet places to wor or study )omputer facilities (enou!h" up2to2date) =i!na!e (enou!h" clear" attractiveness) >ocation >i!htin! )omfort o %he staff (riendliness Willin!ness to help you ?nowled!e *umber (are there enou!h of them) o %he website 7ase of use 1bility to find needed information (was what you wanted there?) 1ttractiveness What one thin! could the library door improvethat would help you most? &ow will we now we#re doin! a !ood job" in your eyes? 'e!ional 'esource and (ederal )enter *etwor information =pecialists" @ust 1s %he Aest Way to 6et Your )lients the 'i!ht Information is to (ind 4ut 7.actly What %hey Want" Information Outlook :;(B)-CC2CD" 1pril E;;F.