[Publib] Getting feedback from patrons re collection development

[Meghan Miller Brawley]

Hi Sue,
I'm interested in seeing what you come up with, if you don't mind
sharing. I'm in the position of replacing/updating our entire
nonfiction collection -- we just moved from a 3000 sq ft (total)
building into a 15K sq ft building, and what seemed adequate, though
shabby, in the tiny (and shabby) old building is embarrassing in our
shiny new building.

One thing I've done is place forms by all the catalog computers that
simply say, "Didn't find what you were looking for? Help us improve
our collection" and with blanks for patrons to fill in subject, title,
author or more information. There's no line for name because we don't
want to scare anyone off, but there is a line saying if they want to
be notified of new material to include their name and number. They're
also scattered about at the ref. and circ. desks and throughout the
stacks, and they've been pretty successful so far. I probably get a
couple each day.

Good luck!
Meghan Brawley
Reference Librarian
Harker Heights, TX

On Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 8:25 AM, Meyers, Sue<Susan.Meyers at libraryweb.org> wrote:
> Here’s a question for the collective brain on a Friday morning:
>
>
>
> I’ve been buying large print for our Central library for the past two years
> and with the decrease in materials budgets, I want to make sure I’m buying
> what the patrons want.  After discussing ways in which to obtain direct
> feedback with my supervisor, we are thinking of having a short list of
> questions for the reference librarians to ask patrons browsing in the large
> print collection regarding their preferences: mystery, thrillers, romance,
> specific authors,  etc.
>
>
>
> If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for the kind of questions to ask or
> ways to approach the patrons, would you let me know?  Please be as specific
> as you can.  If you don’t want to publish to the list, please send your
> responses to me at the following email address:  smeyers at libraryweb.org.
>
>
>
> I’m also planning a short written survey for fiction audio books and TV
> shows on DVD which I also buy.  If you have any suggestions for those
> surveys, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
>
>
> Thanks.
>
> Susan Meyers
>
> Rochester Public Library
>
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