Odum Library Blog

The second Reference Satisfaction Study was performed for two weeks during Spring Semester 2009 (2/24/2009-3/10/2009).

We asked Reference Services users to rate us on a scale from 1-5 (1 being “strongly disagree, 5 being “strongly agree”) for each of the following statements:

1. I got the information I needed.
2. I have a better understanding of how to find information.
3. I have a better understanding of how to evaluate information.
4. I am satisfied with the service I received.

The results showed that users are very satisfied with the service they received:

Users’ comments reflected this satisfaction as well:

• My help was great and fell well informed
• The reference desk is always helpful and will help as much as possible
• Wanted to schedule research consultation
• The desk helper was very helpful with the information I needed.
• The library & librarians are always helpful going beyond measures
• always helpful!

Again, undergraduates made up the majority of respondents (80.95%), followed by graduate students (9.52%) and Faculty and Other (both 4.76%).

But that’s not all — we also evaluated ourselves, rating our service for each of the following statements:

1. The user got the information he or she needed.
2. The user has a better understanding of how to find information.
3. The user has a better understanding of how to evaluate information.
4. Overall, I was satisfied with this reference transaction.

Reference service providers continued to strictly evaluate their service:

Reference service providers also gave comments on their interactions:

• need more information on hunter safety
• Search on race & criminal justice resulted in Gov Docs print materials did take patron to print docs because sudocs are tricky to find
• Q: How to find books/articles about origins of different types of music

We use this information to purchase new resources, based on the needs of our users.

Again, approximately eighty percent of self-assessment surveys were completed by Librarians, and 20% by Peer Reference Counselors.

Summary:

A comparison of the Fall and Spring studies shows that users had a large increase in satisfaction from Fall to Spring semesters, whereas providers had a small increase in satisfaction.

It looks like we’re continuing to offer excellent service while still keeping our standards high!

But you don’t have to wait until we do a survey to tell us how we’re doing–just leave a comment on the blog!

Keep your eyes open for more ways in which we’re assessing and improving our service to you, our users!

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