National Library of Australia Annual Report 2000-01
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Report on OperationsOutput Group 1Output Group 2Output Group 3
Output Group 2. Information Services

Output 2.1 Reference Services

OUTPUT DESCRIPTION

Surfing at Manly Beach, NSW, 1938-46

Ray Leighton (b.1917)
Surfing at Manly Beach,
NSW, 1938-46

National Library of Australia

Detail from the Ozlife web site, which connects visitors to a growing online index of Australian biography and book reviews

Professional advice, assistance and facilities are provided that meet the information and document needs of the Library's users.

PERFORMANCE—OUTPUTS

Performance Targets

Quantity

106 200 users provided with reference services

The target was exceeded with 111 240 users provided with reference services.

Quality

90 per cent of primary users satisfied with reference services and facilities
98 per cent of reference enquiries answered within the service standards

The annual survey revealed that 92 per cent of users were satisfied with reference services.

Of the reference enquiries received 91 per cent were completed within 5 days and 100 per cent within 28 days, as required by the Service Charter.

Price

$81.98 per user provided with reference service

The unit price per user provided with reference service was $78.69.

KEY ISSUES

Petherick Reading Room Refurbishment

In recent years there has been increasing demand for use of the Petherick Reading Room, a special facility supporting advanced researchers. This year the Library responded by extending the space available in this Reading Room and providing additional specialised facilities.

Digital Reference Services

Developments in information technology are continuing to challenge libraries to meet the information needs of users electronically. The Library is collaborating with other libraries, both nationally and internationally, in the provision of digital reference services. As a participating member, the Library received and responded to requests through the Collaborative Digital Reference Service project coordinated by the Library of Congress. This service is testing the provision of reference services anytime, anywhere.

This year the Library developed Ozlife—a web-based index to Australian biographies and book reviews in major Australian newspapers. The ACT Public Library Service is collaborating with the National Library in offering this service.

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