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From Nov. 12
to Dec. 12, 2002, the staff of the Pasadena Public Library conducted a
survey of library patrons as they visited a Library service site or our
website http://www.cityofpasadena.net/library/.
The survey
was designed to discover what materials library patrons are expecting and
using in the Library material collection. The survey was also designed to
collect patron perception and rating of five collection areas identified
for emphasis in the 1998 Collection Development Plan.
Survey Statistics
A total of
349 surveys were completed with 209 of those completed using the
electronic form. Of the total responses, 46% indicated that they mainly
use the Central Library and 30% indicated a Branch Library, and the
remaining did not designate a location.
Section 1: What
are patrons looking for? Are they finding it?
The top five
targets for patrons visiting the Library and Library website were:
26%
Books to take home
10%
Information from the Internet
10%
Books to use in the Library
7%
Magazines
7%
Audio books on cassettes
Of the 349
survey responses, 89% reported that they did find the information or
materials that they were looking for. About half of these people (55%)
found what they wanted without staff assistance, and about half (45%)
asked staff for help.
In the group
of patrons who did not find what they were looking for, this pattern
seemed to hold. 53% of this group asked for staff assistance and 47% did
not.
Section
2: Collection Ratings
Library
survey respondents were also invited to rate five areas of the collection
in terms of quality. Those areas, Business & Career, Children’s
& Homework, Health & Science, Computers & Technology, and
Large Type Books were all identified for collection development in the 1998
Collection Development Plan.
Using a
scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 an “Excellent” rating), here are the ratings
given to each collection area:
| Business
& Career
|
Children
& Homework
|
Health
& Science
|
Computer
& Technology
|
Large Type |
| 5
|
29.27%
|
5
|
44.05%
|
5 |
23.84%
|
5
|
33.54%
|
5
|
35.19% |
| 4
|
31.70%
|
4
|
27.98%
|
4
|
32.45%
|
4
|
27.22%
|
4
|
24.04% |
| 3
|
22.56%
|
3
|
17.26%
|
3
|
23.84%
|
3
|
13.29%
|
3
|
22.22%
|
| 2
|
11.59%
|
2
|
5.36%
|
2 |
11.26%
|
2
|
17.72%
|
2 |
9.26%
|
| 1 |
4.88%
|
1
|
5.36%
|
1
|
8.60%
|
1
|
8.23%
|
1
|
9.26%
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Section 3:
Conclusions
The main
findings of this Library User Survey are as follows:
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Library patrons continue to ask for print materials such as the
best-selling books and popular magazines. Also, patrons indicated the
continued need to increase the number and variety of titles in the audio
book (cassette & compact disc) and DVD collections.
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Patrons requested electronic delivery of library services, such as
patron request for purchase, book delivery requests, late book
notification and the ability to better manage their own holds lists.
-
More complete Branch collections, especially in audio book and DVD
collections.
-
Our five areas of emphasis were rated highly by our patrons in
terms of quality. These same patrons also continue to suggest additional
titles and related subjects for collection purchase. This suggests that
although the Library has been successful in developing the depth of those
areas of emphasis, there remains continued high use and demand in these
same areas.
Section
4: Continued Library Patron Input
The
Pasadena Public Library continues to solicit public input and commentary
on the status and development of the materials collection. All suggestions
for purchase are subject to the same selection criteria as other materials
and are not automatically added to the collection. You can make a
suggestion online with this Suggestion for Purchase form: http://www.cityofpasadena.net/library/purchase.htm,
or in person at any Library Service Desk. For more information on Pasadena
Public Library collection development please see http://www.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp
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