On Friday, May 21, 2004, at 12:32 PM, Cross, Lucy wrote:
> PLUS survey. The results for the
> questions "Did you find the book you were looking for" and "Did you get
> the
> information you were looking for" were disappointing, particularly for
> the
> Central Library.
My experience of managing Central Libraries is that user expectation is,
quite rightly, high. Older users remember comprehensive bookstocks and
younger users often seek specific titles (and information) as a result
of whatever level of education or training they have reached.
The presentation of large Centrals can sometimes appear overpowering and
we live in a DIY age now where the skills of the expert are often
shunned even when they are clearly on offer.
It would be interesting to hear how Luton Central scored on "staff
helpfulness" and "staff knowledge" as this is usually an indicator of
how easy it is to approach a member of staff, given that help and
knowledge are available.
In general over 70% of users seem to find what they want in terms of
books and information and staff score in the 90s for their help and
knowledge.
Staff support to users should result in much higher levels of
satisfaction regarding items or information sought but only when the
seeker recognises the limitations of DIY (in any field!).
John
John Hughes BA MCLIP MInstLM
External Assessor (ILM)
External Verifier (ILM)
Chartered Library and Information Professional
Gloucester
tel: 01452 417865
mobile: 07986 506 404
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