[Publib] re: Customer surveys

[Sara Weissman]

>>I would like to do a survey (print; distributed to users as they check out, or exit, 
or enter) of adult users so that we can begin planning programs.  My main ideas at 
this point are that the survey page itself be attractive or eye-catching enough to 
perk interest in picking up the survey AND completing it, with questions short and 
specific enough that it inspires accurate and clear answers.

1) Find some way to also survey outside of the building. You need to hear from 
people who are NOT using the library (for whom you need different programming, 
perhaps?)
2) Eye catching is less important than, as you say, short!! Patrons will do a survey 
that looks as if it is no more than a 3 minute thing .. ours is never more than one-
page, doubled sided (back for general, open comments).
3) Generally, skip all the personal questions (age, sex, etc.) Since last municipal 
level data (Census 2000) is now 8 years old and considerably degraded by 
migration, there is no local profile against which to measure this stuff, so why 
irritate or offend people by asking? [Only question we'll ask this fall, in our Service 
Survey 2008, is "does someone in your family have a library card?"]
4) Short and specific answers are easiest to process (and always think about how 
you'll process returns as you design your survey), but leave room for open 
commentary.  That is consistently where we get our best planning information, 
from our patrons.

Focus groups: depends upon your community/financial situation. Can you hire a 
professional facilitator? or do you want to ask the local...Rotary, Kiwanis, Elks, 
PTAs, Women's Club(s) to give you a little time for open discussion of the library?
    In both cases:  it is VERY important, for library credibility, to report back out to 
the community promptly.  Tell them what you learned from your 
survey/discussions.  If you want folks to engage with you on forward planning, 
they need to know you are listening to them.

The thing we have consistently heard in our biennial Service Surveys, since we re-
opened expanded building, (2002, 2004, 2006 ..will survey again this fall) is that 
MOST important thing to patrons is the demeanor of the staff. Patrons value this 
above collection size/range, above the nature and condition of the building, above 
programming.  Friendly and helpful are two words used over and over and over 
again. It's that simple ...
  Partial, fragmentary, some now broken links, but .. Service Survey 2004. Let me 
have your fax # if you'd like the full report on Survey 2006.
http://www.mclib.info/survey    

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Reference Dept
Morris County Library
http://www.mclib.info
(973) 285-6969