National Library of Australia - Gateways>

ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 46 | August 2000


Surveying our readers

In March–April this year, Environmetrics, a Sydney-based consultancy firm, undertook a survey of on-site and off-site readers to provide information on the performance of the Library’s reader services. The survey showed a pleasing increase in reader satisfaction from 94 per cent in a 1998 survey to 96 per cent this year. Other welcome improvements in ratings related to our staff. In 1998, 34 per cent of readers were dissatisfied with the consistency of service but in 2000 this figure had fallen to 11 per cent. Other staff characteristics such as friendliness and approachability were also rated significantly higher in the latest survey.

Environmetrics reported that the Library’s readers are knowledgeable about the Library’s services, are an older and informed group and very much appreciate the services they use. Many say that they could not continue their work without the Library. Users of the Library’s telephone services were particularly appreciative of the help they received. Many of these users do not live in Canberra.

Comparative data between the three surveys done over the past decade show interesting changes. There has been a decline in use of the Library by students, from a high of 51 per cent of users in 1993 to 27 per cent in 2000. The number of readers aged under 39 has dropped from 79 per cent in 1993 to 33 per cent under 35 in 2000.

In line with these changes, the reasons for visiting the Library show private research maintaining its importance at 31 per cent, research for publication at 20 per cent and work-related research at 17 per cent. Use by postgraduate, doctoral and postdoctoral researchers is being maintained (33 per cent of those surveyed). Use by Canberra residents continues to fall as a proportion of overall usage, from 92 per cent of total use in 1993 to 78 per cent in 1998 and 73 per cent in this survey.

Eighty-eight per cent of survey respondents were satisfied with the on-site stack retrieval service standard of 30 minutes, and 83 per cent with the two-hour service standard for material stored off-site. Eighty-three per cent of users thought stack service hours were satisfactory and 90 per cent were satisfied with the proportion of stack requests which are filled.

Use of the Internet to access the Library’s web site was high. Fifty per cent of on-site users and 62 per cent of off-site users had logged on from home or work. The Library’s users also have very high rates of access to the Internet from home: 65 per cent of on-site users and 60 per cent of off-site users compared with Australian Bureau of Statistics data which reports 28 per cent home Internet access.

Roxanne Missingham, Director, Reader Services Branch said she was pleased with the results, adding: ‘They show that the efforts all staff have made to improve services over the past year are really paying off.’
Marie Sexton

| Contents list for this issue of Gateways |

Please address any comments and enquiries to The Editor, Gateways: gateways@nla.gov.au

Gateways logo