Staff Papers
Changing expectations: Identifying and Responding to the Needs of Users in the National Library of Australia
A paper presented by Fran Wilson and Ann Triffett, National Library of Australia, at the RAISS Conference 12-14 October 2001 in Mebourne.
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Usage trends at the NLA
- Identifying needs of users at the National Library of Australia
- Surveys
- Focus groups
- Web Site Usability Review
- Responding to the needs at the National Library of Australia
- Increased electronic resources
- Increased marketing and promotion
- User education
- New gateways, indexes and guides
- e-CallSlips
- Staff training
- Response to the Web Usability review
- Collaboration
- Future directions
- Summary
- Bibliography
Abstract
Growth in Internet usage, a continuing increase and availability of electronic resources and changes to the delivery of information continue to have a huge impact on libraries and the expectations of our users. There are both similarities and differences in the provision of reference and the delivery of information to onsite and offsite users. The National Library has recently undertaken three focus groups of onsite users and in 2001 will undertake a survey of our remote users in an effort to identify the changing needs and expectations of library users in the digital age. A change from mediated reference involving personal interaction between librarian and user is being supplemented and in some cases replaced by unmediated reference through the provision of guides, subject gateways and online catalogues. It would seem that one thing is certain - users are becoming ever more demanding of libraries to provide electronic resources, in full text, at no cost and with no wait.
In order to effectively meet users' needs, staff are continually challenged to keep up to date with new sources of information, new databases, and new search engines in addition to becoming more knowledgeable and aware of the Library's own vast collections. Weekly reference awareness sessions and monthly reference Q & A sessions provide reference staff at the National Library with an invaluable opportunity to increase knowledge and skills whilst sharing information, tips and tricks with their colleagues.
Introduction
With the advent of the digital library and a shifting information landscape, traditional library activities are undergoing challenge and change and none more so than the management and delivery of reference services. In the past a library's collection was what it physically owned and housed and resources would be listed in the Library's catalogue. Today libraries provide access to a vast array of information resources some of which it owns, its physical collection, but much of it licensed access to remote electronic collections - either databases, electronic journals or e-books, digital images and a wide variety of links to free web sites. In many libraries not all resources are accessible through the catalogue and users must often navigate various parts of a library's web site in a quest for resources to effectively meet their information needs. Many users may never fully explore the vast range of resources available to them due to the challenges posed by resource discovery.
Library web sites are a major and significant communication medium for users, providing information on services, facilities and collections in addition to opening hours, public events and the operations of the agency. Further, most libraries now offer email reference services or telephone centres to cater for the growing number of users who are either remote because of their geographical location or who choose to be remote accessing library and information services from home, work or school. Reference services delivered electronically by libraries are now being joined by many commercial competitors - services such as AskJeeves and Allexperts.com - challenging the very core of library reference services - finding and delivering information.
When users approach a reference "desk" either in person or remotely, they come with a set of expectations and assumptions about the service. The ultimate goal of libraries is to successfully meet the information needs of users while managing and meeting, perhaps even exceeding, their expectations of the service.
Usage trends at the NLA
The National Library offers a wide range of services to individuals and libraries. In 2000-2001, 111,240 reference enquiries were answered and approximately 281,598 items were delivered to readers in the library with an additional 61,056 loans or copies delivered to other libraries through document supply.
Clients accessing these services have high expectations and will inform us when the service falls short of their expectations. They expect excellent customer service which includes staff attending to their needs promptly, accurately assessing and meeting their information needs and being friendly and approachable.
Statistics gathered on a monthly basis at the National Library against the outputs of reference services and collection delivery indicate the following:
- Demand for print materials from the stacks is decreasing
- Usage of electronic resources is increasing, although statistics from vendors are often difficult to extract, provide different measures and have at times been unreliable. This problem with the collection of statistics for the usage of electronic resources is widely recognized.
- Traditional face to face reference is declining - more people appear to be finding what they need through e-resources available on the PCs in the Reading Rooms or through search engines on the web. When users do approach the desk for information a reference interaction has the potential to be quite lengthy due to the complexity and range of resources now available and with diverse search interfaces further perplexing the user.
- Usage of the telephone service is changing and demand is dropping.
- Demand for electronic reference services is increasing with the numbers of faxes and letters declining.
- Web site usage is increasing
Identifying needs of users at the National Library of Australia
The National Library undertakes regular surveys of its readers to determine user satisfaction with the quality and effectiveness of its services. In 1998 the Library undertook a review of the reference services it offers through its reading rooms as well as through its telephone and electronic inquiry services. The review was undertaken as part of the Library's ongoing program of performance evaluations of key operational areas.
The National Library emerged from the review in a positive light, with the Review Committee commending the Library for recognising that improved access to information in all forms is the key to the future, for working positively to meet both traditional and new demands for information, and for being innovative and responsive to change.
Significant recommendations of the review included increased emphasis on the range, quality and standard of services offered to offsite users, improved promotion of services to all users, development of a user education program and a formal staff development plan
Surveys
In 2000 and 2001 Environmetrics was contracted by the National Library to undertake surveys of the on-site and off-site references services. The research aimed in part to inform Library management of user perceptions and expectations of reference services.
The Library achieved a high level of satisfaction with its reference services (90% in 2000 and 92% in 2001). While readers have consistently recorded a high level of satisfaction with the services provided by the Library they have also requested improvements to services including increased internet access, improvements in web navigation, faster and more reliable computers and access to training in new technologies and in use of the computers for first time users.
Over half the respondents in the 2001 survey (57%) said they still relied on print resources to find what they want with 41% of the respondents aged 50+. However, it is worth noting that 42% reported that they could find needed information using online resources either "nearly all the time" or "sometimes". Further, 49% of the total sample said they preferred electronic resources - 20% "nearly all the time" and 29% "sometimes".
There has been a steady decline in recent years in the use of the print collection which we believe is being offset by an increasing use of electronic resources. However due to the incomplete and often unreliable metrics available to us we have only a limited picture of real usage. This problem has been reported in the literature with projects such as Association of Research Libraries' E-Metrics project examining the issues of concern and working with vendors of electronic resources to determine standard definitions and terms. Similarly electronic discussion lists such as ERIL (Electronic Resources in Libraries) have focussed on the problems associated with collection of effective data on e-resource usage. Statistics can also be fragmented and incomplete due to the inability to effectively measure usage of free web resources available to users through the Library's web site.
Observation in the Reading Rooms points to increased usage of electronic resources, users perhaps preferring the convenience and perceived speed in accessing information through the computer. Indeed a student researching at the National Library chose to stick with the Internet to find information even when a staff member pointed out that the answer would be quickly and easily located in a print encyclopedia not three feet away!
In 2001 the National Library conducted a survey to evaluate its email reference service. The low response rate to the survey - 11% - was disappointing. As in other surveys respondents were from all age groups, but the majority, 54%, were aged over 50.
Those users who responded to the survey were very satisfied with the answers they received and the time taken to reply to enquiries. 95% of respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied with the answers they received and 86% were very satisfied with the response time. The majority of respondents (86%) were using the email reference service for the first time.
It is interesting and perhaps nor surprising to note that 40% of respondents expected the answers to be delivered to them rather than to be referred to web sites or to be given lists of printed resources. Several suggested improvements to the service included increased advertising and promotion, improved turnaround times and offsite access to the Library's online databases currently only available to onsite users.
Focus Groups
During 2000 three focus groups were conducted by Information Services Staff at the National Library to give us a better understanding of readers' needs in relation to reference services in National Library reading rooms and to assist us in implementing strategies to meet these needs.
Specific groups were approached and asked to participate including final year undergraduates from the Australian National University, new Petherick Readers (the Library's advanced researchers who have membership in the Petherick Reading Room) and members of the Independent Scholars Association of Australia (ISAA). All groups were selected as having a particular relationship with the Library and therefore an interest in the reference services we would provide.
A number of points were raised by participants in all the focus groups including:
- Access to electronic material in addition to print.
- Offsite access to electronic resources, particularly full text resources currently only available to onsite users.
- Access to training in the use of electronic resources available in National Library reading rooms and in particular training in developing efficient search strategies for Kinetica and the Internet.
- Access to an after-hours reference service via email.
- Complementary acquisition of electronic and print material to ensure that the acquisition of books does not suffer as a result of the increase in the proportion of the budget expended on electronic resources.
- The catalogue to include all resources available in the National Library including electronic resources - "the one stop shop".
In addition to the formal evaluation and measurement of service quality through surveys and focus groups, readers are also encouraged to comment on services through the use of suggestions/complaints forms available in all reading rooms.
Web Site Usability Review
In January 2001 the National Library contracted the Hiser Group to conduct a usability review of the National Library's web site. The review identified many positive features about the Library's web site though there are several critical areas where the web site is not likely to be meeting the needs and interests of the National Library's broad user groups.
Some of the key areas for improvement identified by the review include the following:
- The categories listed on the home page are confusing and ambiguous.
- The labelling and terminology used on the home page is confusing. For example, users did not understand the difference between labels for Catalogue, Publications and Collections.
- The navigation and link design is inconsistent and confusing. For example, the National Library icon is a link sometimes and at other times it is not.
- The presentation and layout of the home page is cluttered and confusing.
- The search tools need to be improved to provide more accurate search results. Users also did not feel that contacting the Library for assistance with searching difficulties was encouraged.
The Review also made some suggestions for improvement to the usability of the Library's catalogue to provide clearer and less ambiguous navigation for library users.
Responding to the needs at the National Library of Australia
The National Library has responded to user needs identified through the reference services review, surveys of both onsite and offsite users, focus groups and through complaint and suggestion forms and continues to seek out new and innovative means for delivering quality library and information services to the Australian community.
Increased electronic resources
The Electronic Resources Working Group (ERWG) is a cross divisional team comprising staff from both the Information Services and the Technical Services sections. In a first move towards increasing the availability of electronic resources for library users, ERWG examined reference resources, specifically indexes and abstracting services, across all subject areas and available in the Library's open access areas. Based on both subject area and perceived demand, purchase priorities were assigned.
In cases where the print resource had become available in electronic format, either on CD ROM or online, the product was investigated, trialled and a cost comparison undertaken. Based on this assessment, a decision was made in many cases to cancel the print resource altogether and transfer our subscription to the electronic version. Where the Library had previously subscribed to a product in CD ROM format it was decided that if available, the online version through the web was preferable. Subscriptions to the print versions were retained in some cases in addition to the electronic version where there was a need to access older information, such as in the case of directories where only the most up to date information is retained in the online version.
In some cases the print index to which we had subscribed had become available online at no cost and in those cases the subscription was cancelled in favour of providing access via the Library's web site eg Index Medicus -
More recently the Library has been examining the possibility of providing access to its overseas journals in electronic format.
"The Library wants to be able to provide its clients with convenient and immediate access to resources in electronic form and to maximise the benefits that electronic journals can offer."
(Provision of access to overseas journals: second report to the Collecting Advisory Committee 4 June 2001)
However, many issues of significance need to be considered by libraries moving from print to electronic format for journal literature. In nearly all cases the major risks relate to the uncertainty of ongoing access to titles in electronic form. Other issues concern remote access to electronic journals and loans and lending - both dependent on licensing conditions, adherence to the collection development policy where aggregated services provide access to a range of journals some of which fall out of scope and workload implications.
With so many electronic resources now available demanding a commitment of expenditure, often recurrent, from the Library's budget, the Electronic Resources Working Group this year revised its selection criteria and developed an evaluation form. Trials are frequently sought and several staff from both Information services and Technical services provide feedback.
We are currently planning to seek user feedback on these trial resources by making them available through the Library's reference and information services web pages, another way of tapping into users' information needs and how the Library can respond to them.
The National Library is continuing its digitisation project across a
range of formats including print, pictorial, map, manuscript, including sheet
music and sound recording. Within the next twelve months users will have
access
to 60,000 pictorial images, 3,500 pieces of Australian sheet music
up to 1929, in excess of 1,000 rare maps and three manuscript collections
including the Edmund Barton papers. The prime purpose of digitisation
activities will be to enhance access to the Library's collections.
Increased marketing and promotion
The Library has responded to users' requests for information about services, products and facilities in several ways. In the first instance we developed a range of bookmarks promoting the Reference Services we offer and the various mediums through which we can be contacted. These bookmarks were circulated to several major conferences in 2000 and made available in all the Library's Reading Rooms and the Library's shop.
We developed a new range of guides, in print and online, to the collections across a range of subjects. Entitled Discover Guides, they are shorter and more succinct pointing to online resources available for research in the subject, major reference resources and suitable subject headings when searching the catalogue. In addition to the Discover guides we developed InfoSheets advertising services and facilities such as the photocopying services and opening hours.
We are currently planning a marketing program for our electronic resources. Each month we will advertise both on the web and through an InfoSheet a "Featured e-Resource" it may be a new one recently purchased but it will also provide us with the opportunity to "dig out" electronic resources that we believe are of greatest use to our clientele.
User education
The marketing of these electronic resources will also be linked to user education and training sessions in a further attempt to raise awareness of the resources we have on offer.
In an effort to "teach" our users the basics in seeking information, we developed a program last year entitled "Easy Access", aiming it at the adult learner and offered during Adult Learners' week in September. The presentation was followed by hands on training on PCs in the Main Reading Room. These sessions will be repeated this year.
In response to users' requests to be more self sufficient in their information seeking, Library staff have run several training sessions on effective searching of the Internet and efficient search strategies in Kinetica, available in all the Library's reading rooms.
This year we continued our program of lunchtime Spotlight talks also aimed at providing insight into the wealth of resources in various formats available at the Library. These included sessions on electronic resources, the Library's digitization initiatives, Asian collections, federation and multicultural oral history.
We are also repeating an awareness session for teacher librarians describing and demonstrating the resources at the National Library focusing on online resources available to students from their homes and classrooms.
New gateways, indexes and guides
With statistics pointing to a substantial increase in web usage - 181,243 visits to the Library's web site in April 2000 compared with 288,144 visits in June 2001, many users are exploring access to information via the web where they can "help themselves". Several participants in focus groups spoke of their desire to be more self sufficient in information seeking and in the 2001 onsite survey we received comments such as "material on the Internet is a plus, should be expanded". The Library continues to provide content via the web in developing and mounting gateways, indexes and guides to further assist remote users in discovering and accessing the Library's collections.
In 2000 the Library launched its Federation Gateway providing full text information for school students of all ages and members of the public. It includes biographies and portraits of Federation personalities, a chronology of events, a list of resource materials in numerous formats and links to other significant Federation web sites.
Also in 2000 the Library made accessible via the web an index to Australian biographical articles and book reviews in all the major Australian metropolitan newspapers and selected Australian journals. Entitled OzLife : Australian biography and book review index, it now has approximately 13,000 records.
Later this year the Library will mount a prototype on the web of a Guide to oral history, manuscripts and pictorial Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander holdings in the National Library with the final version available next year. The special collections materials will be described in greater detail than through traditional cataloguing records leading to improved access for users. The manuscript entries will have links to finding aids and the pictorial entries to images where they are available in digital format.
e-CallSlips
In an effort to provide a more efficient system of collection delivery to the Reading Rooms from the Library's stacks, electronic call slips or e-CallSlips were introduced into the Main Reading Room on May 21 2001 after a trial period in the Petherick Reading Room, a reading room for the Library's advanced researchers.
This new system eliminates the need to manually transcribe bibliographic details from resources listed in the catalogue which often resulted in errors with parts of the call number omitted or problems for stack attendants trying to decipher handwriting. Instead, using a registration card which doubles as a photocopy card, users can request material from the Library's closed stack by swiping their card after having made a selection from the catalogue. Both the bibliographic details and the user's details are downloaded into an electronic call slip which is sorted electronically and routed to the appropriate stack location either onsite or offsite at the Library's annexe.
Material that is already in use or on loan to a library cannot be requested so that users do not unnecessarily wait for material to come from the stacks only to be told that it is unavailable. Another added advantage to the new e-CallSlips system is the facility to request material remotely through the library's web site so that it is waiting when the user arrives at the Library. This is particularly useful for those library users planning a trip to the National Library as material can be reserved ahead of time.
Feedback from users both informal and formal, through surveys, has been extremely positive to this initiative. The Library plans to extend e-CallSlips to the other Reading Rooms.
Staff Training
In order to ensure users' needs and expectations are effectively met, ongoing staff training and development has taken on even greater significance in this new digital library environment.
" To adapt to rapid changes, continuous education and training must be the norm rather than the exception, and occur throughout an individual career" (Cheng, 2000 p 24)
One of the initiatives developed to increase staff skills and knowledge is a monthly reference Q & A session. Staff who work in public reference areas are encouraged to submit questions which they have had some difficulty in answering. Questions are circulated to all staff ahead of time and at the sessions staff brainstorm possible information sources both print and electronic where the answers might be found. It has proved to be particularly useful way of sharing information with amongst other learning outcomes - the younger staff learning knowledge of the National Library collections from older staff members and the older staff learning information about new electronic resources. The emphasis is on informality, collegiality and joint learning and development.
As a means of capturing and recording these questions and answers and in identifying what new electronic resources are available - a web site was developed and mounted on the Library's intranet by two young and enthusiastic staff in Information Services. Entitled "Keeping up to Date", it is designed to do just that with the emphasis on Reference Services. As well as recording questions and answers, the site also alerts reference staff to new electronic resources both free and web based that have been added to the Librarys' web site with direct links to the particular e-resource.
Of course one of the many challenges is encouraging staff to regularly access the page so that they can "keep up to date". Whenever promotion of weekly reference awareness sessions are advertised through email a link is always put to the Intranet page. Under a What's New section is listed corporate papers of interest to all reference staff - such as the results of the NLA Web site Usability Review and the Library's paper "Electronic Resources - Strategies and Action 2001-2002".
In addition to the Reference Q & A sessions other reference awareness sessions focus on updates to various parts of the Library's collection, presentations on newly acquired electronic resources, Kinetica searching and information technology updates. The outcome is more knowledgeable, skilled and confident staff delivering a more efficient reference service to the Library's diverse users.
Response to the Web Usability Review
In response to the Hiser Web Usability Review the National Library has developed a new graphic design addressing many of the recommendations proposed by Hiser.
The navigation paths are clearer, the terminology less ambiguous and less clutter on the home page. Links to significant web based products such as AJOL, Australian journals online, PictureAustralia and the ILRS directory have been moved into a box and relabelled "Quick Links". The Catalogue has been given much greater prominence and the Reference and Information Services renamed "Pathways to Information"
A project is currently underway to merge Images 1 and the pictures subset of the catalogue to provide a single point of access to the Library's Pictorial Collection. To be called Pictures Catalogue, it will facilitate both resource discovery and requests for imaging services.
A service model is being developed for the Library's OPAC to be the local "hybrid library". The Library intends to maintain a "holistic view" of its resources through the catalogue and also to provide links to remote resources through the catalogue thereby providing the user with integrated and "seamless" access to information. Whilst this strategy is not in direct response to the Hiser Review, the review confirmed our directions in this regard.
One of the future challenges we will face will be providing authenticated access to databases and electronic data sets currently only available to onsite users, but with increasing numbers of remote users, this is one we must address in order to meet user needs and to provide equity of service.
Collaboration
The formation of strategic partnerships between agencies and the collaborative approach to service delivery is becoming increasingly important in meeting user needs and expectations. Further, there are significant benefits both to the user and the library in collaboration.
Since early 2000, the National Library has been participating in a global digital reference project initiated and coordinated by the Library of Congress. Involving international partners, the Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) aims to operate 24 hours per day, 7 days a week to provide quality reference services to users all round the world by experienced reference librarians.
In exploring the issues concerning collaborative digital reference services, the Council of Australian State Libraries' Reference Issues Working Group (RIWG), of which the National Library is a member, will, in the coming year, explore the feasability of developing a collaborative reference service among libraries in Australia and the surrounding region.
Future directions
- Development of an online research tutorial providing guided and unmediated access to the library's collections and research services
- Restructure of the web site to exploit new underlying technologies and services enabling us to move towards integrated access to print, electronic and digitised resources"
- Collaborative digital reference service - RIWG will seek endorsement from CASL to undertake a trial based on the Collaborative Digital Reference Service model developed by the Library of Congress
- Additional focus groups later in 2001
Summary
Libraries today face huge challenges in the marrying of the traditional service delivery modes with the new mode of online service delivery - meeting the delivery expectations of remote library users as well as those who present at the reference desk and providing an equitable and quality service to all.
For any reference and information service to remain viable and worthwhile, it must be continually developed and modified to meet the dynamic needs and expectations of clients in an increasingly sophisticated information world.
"People want what they want when they want it. They don't want something else, they don't want less than they want, and they certainly don't want it at some other time."
(Harry I. Forsha, The Pursuit of quality through personal change Milwaukee, ASQC Quality Press, 1992, p3)
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