What could the Consortium Library do differently to improve your Library experience?

This week we are asking our users to jot down their suggestions for how we could improve their experience. We will have big paper and pens by both library entrances from January 21-26 to collect your responses. We’ll share your ideas soon!

Thanks for your feedback! The Consortium Library Assessment Team placed posters near each library entrance for a week (Nov. 18-25, 2019), and collected answers to this question.

Here is what we heard: You enjoy the library space very much! You like the plants, the study areas, the windows, and the quiet atmosphere.

• “It is a place where I can relax and gain peace back. A place to escape stress at home and just be free.”
• “The architecture is gorgeous and it offers a clean and free place to study.”

You also like the staff and the services we provide. Group and individual study rooms, interlibrary loan, wifi, and late night hours were all mentioned multiple times.

• “Displays in front are the best! Thx for keeping it fresh!”
• “The reference librarians and student workers!”
• “The staff are wonderful & accommodating.”

Finally, you like our resources. Many mentioned books, plus the government document section and periodicals also received shout outs.

• “Newspaper records going back decades & out of print books”
• “The books on medieval history”

We’ll be asking questions about once a month for the rest of the academic year. The library wants to hear from you!

This week we’re asking our users what they like best about the Consortium Library. We have big paper and pens near both library entrances. Take a moment to jot down an answer while you’re in the building, and we’ll post results to this site soon.

In addition to the standard survey questions, LibQUAL+ includes a box for comments.  The Consortium Library Assessment Team has coded and analyzed the comments from the 2017 UAA and APU surveys.

Here are some highlights.

370 UAA users left a total of 637 comments.  The most frequent comments had to do with library hours, quiet spaces, building temperature, and food/drink/vending after hours.  Almost 10% of the comments expressed dissatisfaction with the library hours, and we were able to add more library hours during spring semester.

40 APU users left a total of 74 comments.  The most frequent comments from this group were about wifi and parking.  Not everyone is aware that since the last LibQUAL+ survey APU parking permits are now honored in the Consortium Library’s parking lots.  UAA provides public wifi that APU users can access in the library.

Overall, we received more positive than negative comments, and we received fewer negative comments about staff than in past surveys.  Many users named specific resources they would like to see reinstated when the budget allows.  You can read the 2017 LibQUAL+ comments here.

Watch this space for more information about changes at the library based on user comments.  We hear you!

After conducting the LibQUAL+ Survey in November 2017, we have begun analyzing the results.  For the most part, our users are satisfied with the services we provide and with our library building, but satisfaction with our resources is declining.  This observation confirms our concern that budget reductions are causing our collection to suffer.

More details will be released in the weeks and months to come.  For now, we would like to share a few slides that demonstrate our users’ changing perceptions over the past nine years.

These radar charts show the aggregate results for the core survey questions.  Each axis represents one question. Please see the LibQUAL site for further explanation about reading these charts.

Essentially, Green is considered very favorable, blue is good, yellow is adequate, while red is unsatisfactory.