Librarians Team Up with Marketing Research Class

The Library Assessment Committee at Central Missouri State University has conducted numerous user surveys within the past three years. In an effort to come up with some creative new ideas, the Committee worked with one of the University's Marketing Research classes. The class's term project was to design a methodology to assess students' impressions of library service. Several of the ideas have been implemented, and an intern form the Marketing Department has been hired to assist with future surveys.     

Library Technical Services Face New Changes of Technology: A Student Survey of Electronic Course Reserve

ABSTRACT

The digitization of library materials has had a tremendous impact on libraries. By using the Internet, readers can access digital library materials from any place in the world. The BMCC Library started several programs to provide more digital materials to its patrons in the forms of electronic books, periodicals, full-text materials, and webpage links to other databases. A test program began in spring 2002 for course reserves, and electronic archiving was about to start in fall 2001. This paper describes a survey conducted to measure the response to the implementation of ERes for digitizing course reserves.     

Student Satisfaction with Electronic Library Resources at Wayne State University

ABSTRACT

This paper reports the results of a survey of student satisfaction with electronic library resources other than the online catalog at Wayne State University. Undertaken in Fall Term 2000 as a class project for a marketing course, a student team designed, administered, and analyzed a survey of a random sample of students. Almost 40% of the responding students said that they were unaware of electronic resources though 53.8% of these same students answered subsequent questions about use of these resources. Students aware of electronic resources learned about them much more from their professors (38.3%) than from library efforts to publicize them (18.5%). Students were generally satisfied (68%) except when things went wrong. A high percentage of all students (92.4%) answered that the library should continue to expand electronic resources.     

E-Mail Reference Evaluation

Abstract

E-mail reference has been utilized as a reference tool in academic libraries since the early 1980s. Today it is one of the most common media for providing digital reference service. An important aspect of providing any service is evaluating users' satisfaction levels with that service. Users of the Ask-A-Librarian e-mail reference service at a large academic library over a ten-month period voluntarily completed a seven item web-based questionnaire. The results indicated that the majority of respondents were satisfied with Ask-A-Librarian overall. This paper discusses how the library used the survey results to improve the existing service, and to implement a new one-chat reference. Reference service providers should not only ask users for feedback on existing services, but also should include them in the planning and design phase of new services. In doing so, they demonstrate their commitment to providing adequate and appropriate services to their patron community, and ultimately can save their institutions time and expense.     

Consortial Cataloging Guidelines for Electronic Resources: I-Share Survey and Recommendations

In 2009, the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) charged a task force to update and revise recommendations that address cataloging practice and catalog access to electronic resources for libraries participating in the I-Share union catalog. This article presents the results of a survey and recommendations developed by the 2009 Task Force that cover all types of e-resources. Issues covered include: single or separate records for electronic and print versions of a title; the use of aggregator-neutral and provider neutral records; the construction and placement of the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and notes; and the use of vendor records.     

Assessment of an iPad Loan Program in an Academic Medical Library: A Case Study

An academic medical library expanded its iPad loan service to multiple campus libraries and conducted an assessment of the service. iPads loaded with medical and educational apps were loaned for two-week checkouts from five library campus locations. Device circulation statistics were tracked and users were invited to complete an online survey about their experience. Data were gathered and analyzed for 11 months. The assessment informed the library on how best to adapt the service, including what resources to add to the iPads, and the decision to move devices to campuses with more frequent usage.     

FROM THE LITERATURE: Terry Henner,Column Editor

ABSTRACT

In spring 2015, a 45-question survey was e-mailed to 585 medical students at the University at Buffalo (UB) in order to gauge their use of library spaces, resources, equipment, and services at UB’s Health Sciences Library and plan for a library space located within a new medical school building. Students’ self-reported use of the library during the academic year is presented along with the features they would like to see in their ideal library space. The responses generated in the survey are a barometer of current use and will be used in the planning process.