Under the Microscope:Under the Microscope:

Patron and staff needs for SPPL’s Patron and staff needs for SPPL’s Web pageWeb page

By: Ann Attig, Spring Lea Boehler, By: Ann Attig, Spring Lea Boehler, and Nancy Knepperand Nancy Knepper

Who lives in Alamosa?Who lives in Alamosa?

Top Five OccupationsTop Five Occupations

Educational Services (1,345) Retail Trade (1,124) Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (540) Health Services (478) Public Administrators, including

librarians (316)____________________ Total Workforce = 7, 501

And don’t forget the students enrolled in...

Three day-cares and preschools Three public elementary schools One public middle school One public high school Six religious or private schools One college One vocational school

Here’s a breakdown of who has cards at SPPL:

4,948 Alamosa County Adult Patrons2,175 Alamosa County Minor Patrons916 San Luis Valley Library Patrons27 Organizational Cards82 Temporary Cards11 Staff50 ILL Libraries35 CLC Card Holders19 Spanish Speaking Patrons

Of these patrons, 5,292 haven’t seenus in at least a year.

What do our patrons say they want?

Adult Uses of SPPLAdult Uses of SPPL

35%

24%

10%

4%

13%

14%

Recreation

Research

Genealogy

On-Line

Children

Other

High School Uses of SPPLHigh School Uses of SPPL

27%

50%

7%

7%3%6%

Recreation

Research

Genealogy

On-Line

Children

Other

Middle School Uses of Middle School Uses of SPPLSPPL

23%

35%12%

8%

7%

15%

Recreation

Research

Genealogy

On-Line

Children

Other

What else do patrons say they want?

More hours after 5, maybe as late as 10 like the college. (46% adult, 70% high school, 41% middle school)

More genealogy service hours. More interlibrary loan materials. More ways to access the library.

How can we respond?

This is the hierarchy of the library personnel.

Director--• Children’s Director• Information Assistant

– Pages

• Supervisor of Technical Services– Technical Assistant

• Interlibrary Loan Clerk• Genealogist

Staff members devoted to each main area of service:

Management--1 Supervisory--4 Children’s services--1 Technical services--2 Reference (including genealogy)--8 Interlibrary loan--2 Circulation--7 Computers--5

Where we can provide Where we can provide service:service:

Each staff member is an individual.

This means that each staff member has:

her own thoughts her own capabilities her own schedules her own

departmental problems

her own opinions

The proposed individual survey looks like this:

1. What is your current level of computer and Internet technologyskills?

2. Would you pursue technology training if given the opportunity;and if so, what kind(s) of training would interest you?

3. What kinds of patron services do you think should/ could beoffered on our library's Web site?

4. How do you think the addition of a library Web site will affectyour job?

5. Please give any other comments related to Internet, technology,and Web page, etc. you wish to express.

This project will also entail group effort.

A focus group will help to get everyone’s opinion. For the best results, we are

planning to hold one that is:

after the personal interviews so everyone has a better idea of the project

at a time when most everyone can attend moderated by a third party from the library

community constricted to a set time limit so it runs

smoothly

After the brainstorm, we should have:

a list of features we definitely want to include

a rudimentary idea of who is responsible for what content

a list of features we might include if demand is high

a list of features we definitely do not want at this time

Now, it’s back to the patrons...

Our patrons are diverse people with diverse needs.

How do we find out these needs?

ASK ASK

THEM!!!THEM!!!

An online survey is a good way to reach people because...

Since this is a Web project, we mostly want to hear from Web users

It allows people to answer at their convenience People are more likely to answer an email than

a regular letter It costs far less since there are no paper and

postage costs It helps us build a stronger relationship with

Amigo.net

Here are the questions we will be asking

1. Southern Peaks Public Library is planning a Web site. How do you feel thecontent of the Web site would affect your library habits?(Please mark one)___ I would be more likely to visit the library based on what was at a Web site.___ I would be less likely to visit the library based on what was at a Web site.___ A Web site would make no difference in my current use of the library.

2. The Web site would most likely link to other resources on theInternet. What sort of content would you like to see in these links?(Please mark one)___ I would like good reference sources of information.___ I would enjoy recreational sites.___ I do not prefer one type of site more than another.___ I would not be likely to use the links offered at the library Web site

3. The library page might include the following features. Please rankthem in order of importance to you as follows:Label the feature of most importance with a 1.Label the feature of second importance with a 2, and so on,giving the feature of least importance a 6.Please use each number only once.___ Online interlibrary loan requests___ Material renewal requests form___ Genealogy question submission form___ Material reserve request form___ Library news and calendar of events___ Other (please specify) __________________________

4. For our information, please indicate your home zip code and age bracket.zip code [________]under 10 ___ 11-18 ___ 19-25 ___ 26-39 ___ 40-59 ___ 60-75 ___ over 76 ___

4a. (in-house only) I have access to the Internet. yes____ no____(if no) I plan to acquire access to the Internet soon. yes____ no____

If you wish to enter the prize drawing for a free book from Southern PeaksPublic Library, please complete the following information. This information willbe kept confidential and will not be correlated with your survey responses.Name [___________________________] Phone number[________________________]Address [___________________________] City, State, Zip[________________________]

Thank you for your time!

The in-house paper version of the survey will...

Reach people who are not Amigo.net customers but are online

Help determine the needs of people who will only use our Web site on the library computers

Save in postage since it is in-house

These surveys will tell us:

How our Web site will affect people’s library use

How much use our Web site might have

Which online services they want most

Talking to the school librarians face-to-face will help us:

Determine how best to partner with the schools

Discover what needs the librarians want met

Think of new ways to encourage reading in students

This is just the beginning! We also plan to

Have a continuous comment form for Web visitors

Have remedial surveys once a year

Keep our ears open always!

Our ultimate goal is to keep our patrons smiling!

Thank you for your time!