About the User Needs Committee
The User Needs Committee is charged with gaining insight into the needs of the common user inside and outside the library environment. This knowledge will then be applied to the broader work of the Rethinking Resource Sharing Initiative. The User Needs Committee will also support the work of the other Rethinking Resource Sharing committees directly as charged.
| Chair | Beth Posner |
John Klima |
|
C. William Gee |
|
Sue Bennett |
|
Christine Tobias |
|
Amber Bice |
USER NEEDS BIBLIOGRAPHY
Catone, Josh, 9 Web Apps for Gathering Customer Feedback, Mashable, March 6, 2011.Fong, Y. S. The value of interlibrary loan: an analysis of customer satisfaction survey comments [Greater Midwest Research Library Consortium]. Journal of Library Administration v. 23 no. 1-2 (1996) p. 43-54
Frank, P. P., et. al., Assessing Undergraduate Interlibrary Loan Use. Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Information Supply v. 18 no. 1 (2007) p. 33-48.
Franklin, B., et. al., Successful Web Survey Methodologies for Measuring the Impact of Networked Electronic Services (MINES for Libraries). IFLA Journal v. 32 no. 1 (2006) p. 28-40.
Landes, S. Interlibrary loan survey: State University of New York College at Geneseo Libraries. Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Information Supply v. 11 no. 4 (2001) p. 75-80
Naylor, T. E., et. al., Interlibrary Loan Patron Satisfaction at the Wichita State University Libraries. Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Information Supply v. 18 no. 3 (2008) p. 347-74.
Perrault, Anna H.; Arseneau, Marjo, User satisfaction and interlibrary loan service: A study at Louisiana State University , RQ, Fall95, Vol. 35 Issue 1, p90+.
Sayed, E. N., et. al., User Satisfaction Survey and Usage of an Electronic Desktop Document Delivery Service at an Academic Medical Library. Medical Reference Services Quarterly v. 22 no. 4 (Winter 2003) p. 21-9.
Storey, Tom, “Are you asking the ultimate question?’ NextSpace: The OCLC Newsletter, Dec 2006, No. 5.
Ward, S. M. The client satisfaction survey as a tool for evaluating library fee-based information services [at Purdue University]. Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Information Supply v. 10 no. 3 (2000) p. 63-76.
Sample Survey Questions
What do you wish you – and/or your library administration – really understood what your patrons think of your Interlibrary Loan service? Is there information about your services that you wish your patrons know about but may not?
Online “60 second surveys” or one question polls are a way to get information from (and also to) a lot of people in a quick, easy way. You can also let people know what you offer through surveys. Here are some examples of questions you may be interested in asking. Even just one question can provide you with information about what people need and/or help you market your services.
- You might be interested in knowing who uses your services…demographic information can help you consider your user population and how different groups might have different needs depending on:
- Age
- Year of School
- What other types of libraries they use
- There are many old and new ways to communicate with library users so you can serve them better if you know which they prefer:
- Phone call
- Postcard
- Text message
- Social media
- Other _______________
- How do you like to read?
- I only read printed books and articles
- I prefer print
- Cellphone/smartphone
- ITouch
- IPad
- Laptop
- EReader (ir Kindle, Sony eReader, Nook…)
- How do you find information?
- Library books and resources, including librarians
- Internet
- Local bookstores
- Online bookstores
- What do you do when the library does not have information you need?
- Ask for help at the reference desk
- Fill out an ILL request
- Buy the item
- Rent the item (ie from Netflix)
- If you rent movies from online businesses why do you do that?
- Easy
- Quick
- Good selection
- Home delivery
- I don’t rent movies
- Other ___________________________________
- How long are you typically willing to wait for an Interlibrary Loan request?
- Hours
- Days
- A week
- Weeks
- A Month
- As long as it takes
- How much are you typically willing to pay for an ILL?
- Nothing
- $1-2
- $5 or less
- $10 or less
- $20 or less
- More if I really need it
- What new Interlibrary Loan services would you like to see your library provide?
- Delivery and return to/from my home by mail
- Delivery/return to/from other nearby libraries
- Electronic delivery or articles and books
- Downloadable Audio books
- Other ________________
- In what ways could your library’s interlibrary loan service be improved?
- Simplify the process
- Make the online forms easier to find, understand and fill out
- Have information about me automatically available to fill out the forms
- Allow me to select how I want to be contacted by the library
- Make the automatic messages easier to understand
- Provide a help line
- Have friendly and knowledgeable staff available
- Allow me to make requests in other ways
- Allow me to pick up items from other libraries directly
- Send items to my home
- Make it free
- If the library can only provide it for a fee though, it is OK
- Provide items online
- Provide audiobooks
- Purchase on demand
- Help access full text information online
- Other ___________________
- What is your favorite thing about your library’s ILL service?
- Staff
- Policies
- Speed
- Cost
- Other ______________________
- What is your least favorite thing about your library’s ILL service?
- Staff
- Policies
- Speed
- Cost
- Other _______________________________
- If the delivery methods below were available but for a fee, would you be willing to pay for them?
Free $1-$5 $6-10 $11-15 $15-20 $20+
Mail to my home/office
Pick up at library of my choice
Make copies available online/email
Ebooks to eReader
Audiobooks to MP3/other player
- Please indicate whether/how much you agree/disagree with the following about the library’s interlibrary loan staff and services:
Strongly Agee – Agree - Neutral - Disagree -Strongly - Disagree - Don’t Know
Friendly staff
Helpful staff
Responsive to my needs and suggestions
Consistent policies
Easy to understand/use
Liberal use
- In what ways could your library’s interlibrary loan service be improved?
- Simplify the process
- Make the online forms easier to find, understand and fill out
- Have information about me automatically available to fill out the forms
- Allow me to select how I want to be contacted by the library
- Make the automatic messages easier to understand
- Provide a help line
- Have friendly and knowledgeable staff available
- Allow me to make requests in other ways
- Allow me to pick up items from other libraries directly
- Send items to my home
- Make it free
- If the library can only provide it for a fee though, it is OK
- Provide items online
- Provide audiobooks
- Purchase on demand
- Help access full text information online
- Other ___________________
- What is your favorite thing about your library’s ILL service?
- Staff
- Policies
- Speed
- Cost
- Other ______________________
- What is your least favorite thing about your library’s ILL service?
- Staff
- Policies
- Speed
- Cost
- Other _______________________________
- Would you recommend the library’s Interlibrary Loan service to a friend?
- Yes
- No
- Maybe depending on _______________________________
Online Survey Tools
There are many free or low cost online survey tools available to help you design a survey and post it on your library/ILL website:
INSTANT POLLS