Conducting a library survey using the library package Libra

10 SCONUL Newsle e 29 Summe /Au umn 2003 SCONUL Newsle e 29 Summe /Au umn 2003 11 Conduc ing a lib a y su ey using he Lib a package Helen Fallon Depu y Lib a ian, Na ional Uni e si y o I eland, Maynoo h, I eland Tel: + 353 1 7083880 E-mail: Helen.b. [email protected] INTRODUCTION The lib a y a he Na ional Uni e si y o I eland Maynoo h ecen ly ca ied ou a use su ey. While he lib a y had p e iously ca ied ou su eys, he main impe us behind his pa icula su ey is he quali y e iew exe cise he lib a y is cu en ly unde aking. This is pa o he qual- i y assu ance and quali y imp o emen (QA/QI) p ocess, implemen ed unde Sec ion 35 o he Uni e si ies Ac 1997, which aims o de elop and os e a quali y cul u e ac oss all a eas o he uni e si y. The Uni e si y Quali y P omo ion O i ce, a body wi h o e all esponsibili y wi hin he uni e si y o he QA/QI p ocess, ecommended a b oad- based ques ionnai e su ey o bo h academic s a and s uden s. A s ee ing g oup, led by he Depu y Lib a ian, was es ablished o manage he p ocess. THE SURVEY TOOL Along wi h a numbe o I ish uni e si y lib a ies he lib a y pu chased, in 1996, a 5-yea Lib a so - wa e licence om P io i y Sea ch (subsequen ly P io i y Resea ch). The license expi ed in 2001. The cos o enewing he license was conside ably less han aking ou a new one, especially when he main enance cos was bo ne in mind. The decision was made o enew he licence o Lib a, based on a numbe o ac o s - NUIM had al eady used he package, hus he e was a le el o amilia i y and expe ise a ailable; o he uni- e si y lib a ies in I eland we e using he package and could p o ide a ne wo k o local suppo ; om p e ious expe ience i was known ha he quali y o he ou pu was e y high and he cos was ha o license enewal a he han a i s - ime pu chase. The package is supplied on disc, wi h p in docu- men a ion. In addi ion he e a e a ange o online help sc eens and pe sonal assis ance is a ailable om a London-based help desk. My expe ience was ha elephone calls and e-mail we e gene ally answe ed immedia ely, wi h e y clea de ailed esponses o que ies. Wi h he ini ial licence pu chase a digi ising able and a special digi ising s ylus was supplied. Loading he so wa e and se ing up he digi ise is a ela i ely s aigh o wa d p ocess. How- e e , he help desk is a ailable o alk cus ome s h ough his p ocess should hey expe ience di - i cul ies. METHODOLOGY The Lib a me hodology in ol es deciding on an open ques ion and ocusing, wi h a sample o he a ge g oup, on his ques ion o iden i y issues and conce ns. The open ques ion mus be ai ly b oad and mus be a icula ed in posi i e e ms. Ou open ques ion was How can we imp o e on he se ice we p o ide o ou use s This ques ion was pu o s uden s and academic s a h ough ocus g oup sessions in he lib a y, h ough mee ing wi h s uden s a key loca ions such as he s uden can een and ba , ia an in e - nal pos al mail sho o academic s a and h ough a pos ing on ou lib a y websi e. A ull epo on he ocusing exe cise is a ailable in he Summe 2003 NUIM Lib a y Newsle e a h p://www.may.ie/lib a y/publica ions/pd / 2003-summe .pd The esponses o he open ques ion we e hen g ouped o clus e ed by b oad ca ego y. These esponses o med he basis o he ques ionnai e, which is made up o h ee sec ions: • Da a i elds • A i ude scales • Pai ed compa isons In he Da a i elds sec ion, in o ma ion we sough included gende , age, leng h o se ice, yea o s udy, acul y, equency o use o lib a y – bo h in pe son and emo ely - and p e e ed me hod o deli e y o in o ma ion skills aining. This sec- ion is d awn up in Mic oso Publishe . Sample 12 SCONUL Newsle e 29 Summe /Au umn 2003 SCONUL Newsle e 29 Summe /Au umn 2003 13 empla es, which can be cus omised, a e p o ided as pa o he package. The A i ude scales sec ion is also c ea ed in Mic oso Publishe . Again, sample empla es a e p o ided. These scales gi e in o ma ion abou how s ongly people eel abou a speci ic issue - om s ongly ag ee o s ongly disag ee. The hi d pa o he ques ionnai e – he Pai ed Compa isons – is cen al o how Lib a ope a es. Based on he esponses o he ocusing ques ion, om 10 o 42 i ems a e chosen. We selec ed 30 a eas o conce n iden i ied h ough he ocus- ing exe cise. These included eques s o mo e ex books, longe hou s o opening, mo e PCs wi h in e ne access and mo e in o ma ion skills aining. Each sugges ion is pai ed h ee imes and he choice o which sugges ion is pai ed wi h which is made by he compu e on a nume ical basis. Pai ed compa isons allow people o assess he ela i e impo ance o i ems wo a a ime. I is hen possible o he compu e o calcula e he ela i e impo ance o all he i ems, and ank hem in o de o impo ance. While he e is a e y s uc u ed p ocess in ol ed in d awing up a Lib a ques ionnai e, i is up o he indi idual lib a y o decide wha o include. In addi ion o using he eedback om he ocusing exe cise, he su ey eam included a eas/se ices ha a e ela i ely new o de eloping he e, such as in o ma ion skills aining and amilia i y wi h subjec lib a ians. Lib a allows o one o mo e open ques ion. Howe e , hese mus be analysed manually. We added wo open ques ions. Wi h o e 800 esponses, he manual analysis was ime consum- ing. Also one o ou wo ques ions I you could change one hing abou he lib a y wha would you change? ended o gene a e in o ma ion ha came ou o he o he sec ions o he su ey, pa icula ly he pai ed compa isons. Howe e , i was use ul in ha i h ew ligh on an ambigui y in he inal analysis o he esul s. A signi ican numbe o esea ch pos g adua es highligh ed he need o mo e ex books. On i s glance his was puz- zling, howe e om he esponse o he i s open ques ion i became ob ious ha hey we e de in- ing ex books as he co e books o hei esea ch opic. The second ques ion Wha one new se ice would you like o see he Lib a y in oduce? gene - a ed a numbe o in e es ing sugges ions includ- ing eques s o in e ne connec i i y o pe sonal lap ops. Wi h he open ques ion included, ou su ey an o eigh pages, in ou sec ions - da a ields, a i ude scales, pai ed compa isons and wo open ques ions. Apa om he open ques ions, which equi ed ee ex esponses, all o he a eas in ol ed icking a esponse box. CONDUCTING THE SURVEY Planning The su ey s ee ing g oup d ew up a p ojec plan o include imescale, s a ing esou ces and inance. The ime ame was in luenced by a numbe o ac o s he mos signi ican o hese being examina ion schedules. When examina- ions loom la ge on he ho izon, s uden s do no wish o ake e en a sho ime ou o comple e a ques ionnai e. The ques ionnai e had, he e o e, o be dis ibu ed and e u ned by he main body o he a ge popula ion, by 11 o Ap il – he conclu- sion o he second semes e . Because he exe cise was pa o he quali y e iew p ocess, some und- ing was a ailable om he uni e si y owa ds he su ey. Howe e , he majo i y o s a ime owa ds he su ey had o be me wi hin he no mal s a ing budge . Pilo ing A e he su ey was d awn up i was pilo ed on a small g oup o he a ge popula ion. This helped es ablish how long i ook o comple e – 12 minu es – and also assis ed in i oning ou any ambigui ies in e minology. Iden i ying he sample As wi h any su ey, he idea wi h Lib a is no o su ey all you a ge popula ion, a he a sample o he popula ion. We wished o ha e a ep e- sen a i e sample o ou use popula ion and hus used a s a i ied andom sample. A s a i ied sample is ob ained by aking samples om each s a um o sub-g oup o a popula ion. Wi hin ou a ge popula ion we ook a sample numbe o people in each o he ollowing ca ego ies – aca- demics, esea ch pos g adua e, augh pos g adu- a e, highe diploma, unde g adua e – and u he s a i ied hem by subjec a ea – a s, science, heology. We ecei ed assis ance om a s a is i- cian on d awing up he sample. P io i y Resea ch Limi ed ecommends ha o gene al use su eys a minimum o 500 co ec ly comple ed ques ionnai es should be he goal. Fo s a su eys i is sugges ed ha he ques ionnai e be dis ibu ed o all s a and he aim should be o ge a 70% esponse. Bea ing hese igu es in mind and aking in o accoun ecommenda ions om a 12 SCONUL Newsle e 29 Summe /Au umn 2003 SCONUL Newsle e 29 Summe /Au umn 2003 13 s a is ician, he lib a y p oduced 1,200 ques ion- nai es. This ook some ime and in ol ed inan- cial cos s o pho ocopying. Dis ibu ing he ques ionnai e The majo i y o unde g adua es, augh pos - g adua es and highe diploma s uden s, we e su eyed du ing lec u e ime. I was hus e y necessa y ha academics be ully in o med and suppo i e o he p ocess. Resea ch pos g adu- a es we e su eyed h ough he ex e nal pos al sys em, academic s a hough he in e nal sys em. Responden s we e in i ed o gi e hei name and con ac de ails – on a sepa a e o m - i hey wished o be included in a a le o a one hun- d ed eu o book oken. Dis ibu ing he ques ionnai e du ing lec u e ime mean ha i was possible o ge a la ge amoun o esponses in a ai ly sho ime. I also allowed he su ey eam o deal, on he spo , wi h any ques ions esponden s had. This and he ac ha e y clea ins uc ions we e sen ou o hose answe ing by pos , helped o con ibu e o he ac ha 842 su eys we e co ec ly comple ed ou o 1,159 dis ibu ed – a 72.6% esponse a e - and less han a dozen su eys had o be disca ded because o inco ec comple ion. Wi h a ull ime academic s a popula ion o 260 and o e 5,000 s uden s we el his was a good ep esen a i e sample o ou popula ion. Digi ising and p ocessing he esul s Each comple ed su ey had o be digi ised, using he digi ising able and s ylus. This p o ides o a high deg ee o accu acy. We ound ha app oxi- ma ely 25 ques ionnai es could be digi ised pe hou . Thus, wi h a esponse a e o o e 800 ques- ionnai es, digi ising ook app oxima ely 32 hou s, a no inconside able leng h o ime. Because o he epe i i e na u e o he digi ising i is no easible o one pe son o spend a leng hy ime digi ising, a he he ask has o be sha ed. Once digi ising is comple ed, he sys em p oc- esses – in a ma e o minu es - he in o ma ion ha has been inpu . Analysis and p oduc ion o he epo P io i y Resea ch Limi ed o e s a acili y whe eby hey will ake he da a a his s age and p oduce he inal epo o he clien . On a e age a ull su ey epo cos s in he egion o £2,500. This was no an op ion we explo ed. Ins ead we used he Mic oso Publishe su ey epo em- pla e which comes as pa o he package. Wi hin he empla e, pages o con en s, in oduc ion, me hodology, explana ion o cha s and g aphs and o e all esul s –in g aphic o m wi h com- men a y - a e p o ided. These mus be cus om- ised. Th ough a a ie y o ou pu op ions, including a ange o g aphs, his og ams and pie cha s, he Lib a so wa e p oduces wo ypes o analysis. Quan i a i e analysis p o ides igu es o how many people all in o a pa icula ick-box ca - ego y. Using his ype o analysis, we we e able o see a a glance he b eakdown be ween ull- ime and pa - ime s uden s, among ou esponden s. The quali a i e da a, which is gene a ed om he pai ed compa isons sec ion, hen allowed us o examine he di e en p io i ies o ull- ime and pa - ime s uden s. C oss- abula ion and il e ing ea u es allow u he le els o analysis. F om he da a gene a ed he lib a y was able o analyse a wide ange o in o ma ion ha will be used in he u u e planning o ou se ice. Ve y speci ic in o ma ion, such as wha ypes o use a e accessing he lib a y emo ely and how equen ly, will ha e implica ions o collec ion managemen decisions. In he same way s uden awa eness o he subjec lib a ian and hei ole, can be add essed wi h he speci ic g oups, whe e a lack o awa eness was eco ded. C ea ing, sa ing and impo ing g aphs and cha s om he Lib a package in o he Mic oso Publishe empla e is a ela i ely s aigh o wa d p ocess. While cha s ha e o be esized o i he empla e, a de ailed knowledge o Mic oso Publishe is no equi ed. Fo a p esen a ion o lib a y s a , i was possible o inse g aphs as pic u es in o Powe Poin . The same can be done wi h Mic oso Wo d. Demog aphic (quan i a i e da a) can also be expo ed in o Excel and Access should u he analysis be equi ed. The shee ange o in o ma ion Lib a is capable o gene a ing, and he ex ensi e ange o il e - ing op ions a ailable, o e endless possibili ies o analysis and commen a y. Howe e , hough should be gi en o he le el o analysis ha is needed and wha ype o in o ma ion he lib a y is mos likely o be able o ac upon. The com- men a y o accompany he analysis should illumi- na e he analysis u he and possibly elabo a e on he ac ion he lib a y hopes o ake on in o ma ion gained om he su ey. CONCLUSION Using he Lib a package, he lib a y p oduced a e y comp ehensi e and a ac i ely p esen ed su ey epo , which was based on he issues 14 SCONUL Newsle e 29 Summe /Au umn 2003 SCONUL Newsle e 29 Summe /Au umn 2003 15 iden i ied as conce ns by s uden s, academic s a and membe s o he su ey eam. While he ocusing exe cise ook ime, i was a use ul oppo uni y o mee ace- o- ace wi h s uden s and o make hem mo e awa e o he lib a y and ou conce n o con inue o de elop and imp o e he se ice we p o ide. A su ey encompassing all ou use g oups ook some ime o se up, adminis e , digi ise, analyse and epo on. The lib a y would no be in a posi ion o ca y ou a su ey on such a scale each yea . Howe e , smalle su eys wi h speci ic use g oups could be ca ied ou annually using he ques ionnai e, wi h some modi ica ions, c ea ed o his su ey. Cus ome s o P io i y Resea ch Limi ed now ha e he op ion o u ilising hei annual main enance paymen o pu chase a ee single web based su ey each yea . The web ques ionnai e is limi ed o 2-3 pages o demo- g aphics, 4-5 pages o a ing s a emen s and 18 pai ed compa ison i ems. O ganisa ions can also commission P io i y Resea ch o ca y ou a web-based su ey on hei behal . The cos o his depends on he size o he su ey and he ime in ol ed. All in all his was a e y use ul exe cise. The challenge now acing he lib a y is o ac on he esul s in such a way as o u he de elop lib a y se ices.