Needs Assessment of

‘Apple Public Library’LIS650: Administration and Management

Jenn Hill, Hannah Winkler, Katherine Alford, Crystal Clapp, Karen Meier, Ellen Smith12/7/2008

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3

Introduction 4 Local Patrons 5

Library Services 5

Methodology 6

Results 8

Patron Survey Analysis 8

Employee Survey Analysis 12

Conclusions and Recommendations 14

Team Strengths and Weaknesses 15

Additional Material 16

Patron Survey 16

Patron Survey Responses 18

Additional Charts and Graphs 21

Interview with Library Director 22

Newspaper Advertisement 23

Works Cited 24

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I. Executive Summary

Library Director ‘Adonis’ of the ‘Apple Public Library’ (APL) in Fruit County welcomed Team 1 and the following needs assessment. The interview with Adonis was setup by one of our group members who was a patron of the library and citizen of the county. Five of the six team members met with Adonis to show him an example of the needs assessment and to make changes based upon his input. Adonis’ major concerns were that of the library hours as APL’s hours do vary - 9-6 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; 9-9 on Tuesday and Thursday; 9-5 on Saturday - and perceptions of the print collection within the library. Adonis also admitted that the internet has become the biggest resource in terms of patrons using the library. There is a “land mass” in the middle of the library - as Adonis phrases it - that has twelve computers, but could house up to nineteen (shown to the left). With those additions to our rough draft survey, we were ready to proceed in its creation.

The survey was uploaded to surveymonkey.com and a flyer was made promoting the survey. The flyer was hung on different bulletin boards around the library. Adonis also put out a brief press release in the local newspaper soliciting responses to the survey. This allowed for those in the dual township community to be made aware of the survey and its web address. This process made for a more thorough cross-section of the surrounding communities because it reached out to those not using the library.

Overall, 92 people took the survey. Because of the large sample size, we have collected valid and reliable data. We ensured the diversity of the sample pool by requesting responses to the survey by people of all ages – from under 12 through adult; from all regional locations; and from both men and women from all cultural and religious backgrounds. Some notable responses included: 76.3% of those surveyed thought the book collection above average to excellent...

A few of the survey questions were open-ended questions, allowing the users to voice their opinions. One response to “What would you do to improve the library?” is amusing and Team 1 wonders at the verity the statement is: “Replace the man that works at the desk. He is very rude.” Another patron resented the fact that the library is used as a polling place at all in this section. For the most part though, two common responses to the question were “more books” and “more hours.” As for the question “What do you like about your library?” most responses were about location, location, location.

An open-ended question about the hours of APL yielded similar results among the 93 users, with some becoming very specific in requests: “8 closing on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday;” “... closing early on Saturday sucks... I would imagine that even for students having extra Saturday time would be nice.” While the library did not rank excellent to survey-takers, APL did receive a resounding above average according to the data.

Adonis told us that the library employs seven people, including himself. Along with Adonis there are two other full-time employees; one is a 30-hour part-time; two employees are less than

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30-hours part-time and one housekeeper. The employee survey was administered to the small staff of six, however only three were returned. For the three surveys handed in, a wide range of professional and personal experiences are evident. According to the data, these three employees had been working at the library for 20 years, nine years, and 16 months.

II. Introduction

Team 1 first met with Adonis mid-October for a preliminary interview where we discussed general information and received a tour of the library. Among the topics discussed included the history of the library, the relationship of the library to the various local government entities, the general services offered at the library, and its average patron base. It was disclosed early on that APL library is unique in that it is run by both local county and city governments. The library is a county branch of the Fruit County Public Library system, but the city of Apple holds rights to the facility. In terms of salary, APL is treated as a county branch. When it comes to collection, library management and anything relating to the actual library system, the county is the overseer. However, the building is city-owned, and two of the staff members’ salaries are paid for by the city. Routine maintenance and repairs are paid for by the city. Because of this there is often confusion from library staff on who to contact regarding emergencies, personnel issues, etc. Other concerns brought up included the financial situation of being owned by two separate entities; Fruit County provides $9500 annually for the library to collect materials, and the cities of Apple and Orange provide $5000 annually each to the library. The allocated funds are limited to use by APL, even if there are three contributors. Apple and Orange used to provide up to $20,000 a year to the library, but in recent years they rescinded parts of their allocated funds after geomapping the patron use of the library by town.

For this reason, Adonis is interested in general usage of materials as well as patron opinions of the facility. He appreciated our sampling of potential survey questions we had at the time of the preliminary meeting, to be discussed in the next paragraph. He was specifically interested in patron opinions on library hours and what sort of material or service would bring people in to the building more often. His main concern was his opinion that the library hours should be consistent throughout the week, however there was not enough money in

either county or city budget for one more employee to make the hours more consistent during the week. One member of our team is currently speaking with Adonis about volunteering possibilities.

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Local Patrons

As stated, APL is housed within Fruit County. According to the 2006 census, Fruit County had a population of approximately 140,410. The 2000 census places just above 9,000 of those people in the city limits of Fruit and about 6,700 people in the neighboring city of Orange. This gives APL a combined constituency of approximately 15,700 people. Of this population, only about 250 (1.5%) residents are of Hispanic origins, about 600 (3.8%) are African-American, about 260 (1.6%) are of Asian descent, and 260 (1.6%) claim other; approximately 91.5% of the population is white.

Economic factors place the area of Apple and Orange firmly in the middle-class sector. The median household income in 2000 was $41,693. Approximately 75% of households (about 4770 of the 6400 households) make above $30,000 a year, according to the same census. The median age of both cities is 38.4 with 3,900 (25%) under the age of 20. Over half of the population is married, not separated. Other notable factors for the population: 7,500 (48%) people are private wage/salaried employees, with 777 (5%) working government positions of some sort; the 1999 poverty status places 1,488 (9%) families/individuals below the poverty line. As for the updated truth of this, research into figures is still ongoing.

Library Services

The Fruit County Public Library has the following general mission statement: “To provide the informational and reading needs of the citizens of [Fruit] County and surrounding counties.” This begs the question why is the library is providing the needs - i.e. creating the needs. Are not libraries supposed to provide for the needs? A moot point, and the objectives for the library system continue:

1. To assemble, preserve and administer, in organized collections, books and related educational and recreational material in order to promote, through guidance and stimulation, the communication of ideas, an enlightened citizenship and enriched personal lives.

2. To serve the community as a center of reliable information.

3. To provide a place where inquiring minds may encounter the original, sometimes unorthodox and critical ideas so necessary as correctives and stimulants in a society that depends for its survival on free competition of ideas.

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Childrenʼs puppet theater for those young members of the many families.

4. To support educational, civic and cultural activities of groups and organizations.

5. To provide opportunity and encouragement for children, young people, men and women to educate themselves continuously.

6. To seek continually to identify community needs, to provide programs of service to meet such needs, and to cooperate with other organizations, agencies and institutions which can provide programs or services to meet community needs.

7. To provide opportunity for recreation through the use of literature, music, films and other art forms.

This more comprehensive list of objectives really focuses on the system’s purpose – the library director strives to provide the resources necessary to accomplishing the above. He is quick to reiterate that though the library is located in Apple, patrons do not need to be citizens of Apple. As stated earlier, the branch also serves Orange and all of Fruit County.

Adonis uses his branch to focus on the families of the area, providing children’s programming and a fairly large section for children. In perspective, the children’s area takes up approximately a third of the usage area. The survey data shows that patrons do enjoy the welcoming atmosphere of the branch and appreciate the warm attitudes of the staff.

III. Methodology

Four different means of gathering information were used for this needs assessment. The first was a preliminary face-to-face interview with Adonis. The second was library director survey completed by him that answers questions designed exclusively for him, as seen in Appendix E The third was a survey for the employees of the library to fill as seen in Appendix D . Employee surveys were given in hard copy to the employees as there are so few. The fourth was a patron survey to engage both library and non-library users as seen in Appendix A and B.

For the preliminary interview, several members from our team made a trip to visit the facility before information was collected. While there, we took the time to take a tour and to discuss with the library director the goals and services of the library as well as the type of patrons it serves. This gave us further insight into the questions we needed to include on our various surveys and into the most effective way to collect the information we needed.

The second method of gathering information included a library director survey of intended to help us better understand the organization and the operational goals. We were also interested in knowing if he felt these goals and objectives were being met and what the identified strengths and weaknesses of the library were. These questions were all open-ended and the answers given were very beneficial in helping to shape subsequent surveys. In addition to being concerned

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about the general use of the facility, Adonis was also interested in finding out what patrons thought about the existing hours of operations and the types of materials and services offered.

The third method of gathering information incorporated a staff survey intended to assess employee views of the library and their place in it. These survey questions were based on the twelve questions from the management book First, Break All the Rules. The purpose of these questions was to give insight into employee satisfaction and to highlight potential areas of improvement. The surveys were printed on paper and handed to employees to complete anonymously. Three out of eight employees took the survey.

The fourth and most extensive method of gathering information included an online survey created for library patrons and implemented using the web-based software SurveyMonkey.com. The ten-question survey was accessible for a little more than two weeks, between Oct. 30 and Nov. 15, 2008. The first two questions of the user survey dealt with demographic information, patron location and age. Question 3 asked users about how frequently they used the library and question 4 asked patrons to rate a list of materials and services available at the library using a scale from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). Questions 5 through 9 were open-ended questions that invited users to share their opinions about the library website and hours of operation. These questions also concentrated on what users viewed as the strengths and weaknesses of the library. The last question asked patrons to rate a number of statements from 1(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) that included topics from the attitude of employees to signage and noise level in the library.

Team members from our group went several times to the library for the purpose of providing encouragement and assistance when needed for patrons willing to take the survey. On Saturday, November 1, team members took advantage of the library as a location for early voting and administered the survey to patrons and non-patrons alike. Candy was given as an incentive for taking the survey. Two weeks later, team members administered the test during a weekend library book sale. Patrons who took the survey on this day received a free book from the book sale. In total, 92 people completed the patron survey.

It is our belief that the active promotion of the needs assessment survey by the library director directly affected the magnitude of responses. In addition to the team members assisting people in filling out the survey in person, the library director published a press release in the community newspaper highlighting the needs assessment project, as seen in Appendix F and encouraged patrons to take the online survey when they checked out books. He also posted flyers around the

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A table was set up on the right side of this picture for Team 1 to survey patrons. To the right of this photo is a hallway leading to a meeting room in which polling was taking place.

library and encouraged people to take the survey at various community functions and meetings over the course of 17 days.

IV. Results

Patron Survey Analysis

The city of Apple is situated in the Northwest corner of Fruit County. Because of this unique location, it borders Galaxy County and Dog County communities, including the cities of Milky Way in Galaxy County and Labrador in Dog County. Interstate 85 also runs through the center of Apple making this community easily accessible to nearby counties. The library itself is located on Main Street which is the primary route through Apple from other Fruit County locations such as Orange or Raspberry.

It is interesting that 74 percent of survey respondents were adults between the ages of 26-64. Considering the data and the demographics of the area, is the age group that would have the most money to contribute to the library. Also according to the data, this is the age group who have children or potentially will have children in this community. We believe that based on our data, marketing the library resources and services to this demographic group would be an advantage for APL library. Those under the age of 26 made up 18 percent of survey takers – eight percent were under 12 years old; five percent were in the ‘teen’ age range of 13-18, and five percent of

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survey takers were between 19 and 26 years old. The smallest numbers of survey takers were older than 64 years old, approximately 8 percent. After age 64, people are retired and are living on fixed incomes. While we were giving the survey in the library online, we did have paper versions of the survey available to those who were not comfortable with online technology. It was our hope that that alleviated any discrepancies on our data gathering and provided a more diverse population of survey takers. However, we do acknowledge that for the survey to have more validity a survey of a broader range of the community would need to take place. It was beyond the scope of this project.

In surveying people on the use of the library website, it was striking that majority of the respondents (56 percent) acknowledged they did not use the website, including the five respondents who said they had never used the library at all. Most of the no responders did not give a reason why they did not use the library website. However, one person said the website is “poor” and lacks many things that other

local libraries have such as downloadable audio books. Another person commented that the subject search did not always show all the books available. In addition, one person said they ‘never thought of it’. On the other hand, there were many positive comments concerned the website users. Eleven people said they use the website to reserve books from the county system. Several also commented on taking advantage of the library bestsellers list and being able to reserve those titles at the same time. One person noted they liked the ability to renew books online.

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Of the open-ended questions we asked we received a variety of responses that we compiled for this needs assessment. In answering the question “What do you like about the library?” we found that respondents overwhelmingly liked the location, staff, and selection of materials. Out of the 93 respondents, 26% liked the location, 29% liked the staff, and 22% enjoyed the wide selection of books and materials.

What do you like about the library?Comments Number of Respondents

Location 24

Staff helpfulness, friendliness 27

Selection of materials 20

Library services including website, phone service, programs,

computers, and ILL

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Quiet atmosphere 5

Clean, bright 5

Hours 8

Everything 3

Book sale 2

A significant number of respondents appear satisfied with the library services, in fact 21 people noted that nothing need to change about the library. Most of the suggestions that were made centered on additional materials. One patron suggested that a kid friendly area be created for adults with children to work, while being able to keep children occupied such as a computer in a study room or meeting room set aside. This would keep kids from disturbing other patrons.

In asking patrons what would make them more likely to use the library, we hoped to bring in more answers than the previous similar question, which asked what they would like to see changed. The results were interesting as they corresponded well with the previous question, but this time giving patrons the forum for more specific answers. Survey takers again said they would be more likely to use the library with additional books, resources and materials. Again, the hours of the library proved to be a concern for some survey respondents; also came up was an interest for more library-sponsored programs for adults and children.

Although more respondents thought the library hours should remain the same there is still a large percentage (44%) that would like the hours expanded. The most common remarks for change are

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a call for longer evening hours and Sunday hours. Several respondents also requested earlier mornings once per week.

Of the specific survey questions that assessed the services and collections currently available in the library, the responses appeared generally positive. On average between 1-2 percent of respondents gave the collection a score of 1 or ‘poor’. The book collection, reserve system, personal assistance from staff, and electronic resources all received the highest percentages a 5 scoring or ‘excellent’.

One thing that may have negatively affected our data was the option for survey respondents to select N/A. This resulted in most of our respondents choosing N/A; about 33.8 percent of all answers were N/A. While we chose not to adjust the collected data in favor of the 1-5 scoring, we are ignoring the 33.8 percent N/A score. Regardless of this, it is notable that the personal

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What would make you more likely to use the library?Comments Number of Respondents

More books, resources, and materials 15

Nothing 15

Additional hours 10

Better location 9

More programs for adults 8

More children’s programs, materials, or closed children’s area 7

More computers and time on computers 6

What would you do to improve your library?

Comments Number of Respondents

Nothing 21

Requests for specific types of additional materials, books, such

as Christian fiction, bestsellers, newer publications

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Add more children’s materials, computers, and programs 8

Additional hours 5

Larger facility 3

assistance of staff still received a 74 percent ‘excellence’ scoring. Also, even with the N/A option, 73 percent of respondents answered that they ‘strongly agree’ that ‘employees of the library have a positive attitude’ and that they ‘felt safe in the library’. Also, 75 percent of respondents noted that they ‘strongly agree’ that ‘In general, I am satisfied with the way in which I am treated at the library.’ Furthermore the last question on the survey was of interest. The questioned asked if, over all, In general, I am satisfied with the overall quality of the service provided by the library. One percent answered strongly disagreed, one percent answered disagree, five percent answered neutral, 17.2 percent answered that they agree, and 66.7 answered that they strongly agree. Only 8.5 percent of survey takers responded with N/A. This data shows that a good majority of survey respondents are raving fans.

Employee Survey Analysis

Three employees took the employee survey. As they have worked at the library for twenty years, nine years, and sixteen months, they therefore showed a wide range of experience and familiarity with the library. Their overall impression of the library was positive with two giving comments. The employee with twenty years of experience said, “Working at [Apple] Public Library is most of the time a positive and pleasant experience.” The employee with nine years of experience said, “Good place to work and pretty much stress-free.”

According to First, Break All the Rules, the twelve questions we used in our survey can be divided into four parts. The first two questions come from Base Camp. The employees at Apple Public Library feel like their needs at Base Camp are being met. All three employees agreed that they know what is expected of them and they have the materials and equipment they need. This shows that the library is taking care of their basic needs; the employees know what their jobs are.

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Strongly DisagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly AgreeN/A (no response)

0

25

50

75

100

Generally Satisfied Staff is helpful and easy to approach Staff is positive

Questions 3-6 are in Camp 1, which mainly deals with what the employee gives to the business. All three employees said yes to their supervisor caring about them (#5) and that there was someone who encouraged their development at work (#6). However only two employees could agree that they were able to do what they do best each day (#3). The employee who has worked there for only sixteen months said no. Maybe that person has not had the chance to find the position that is best for them. Also, two employees agreed that they have received praise over the past seven days (#4). The employee with twenty years of experience said no. This is very interesting. Maybe the director feels that he does not have to worry about this person and forgets to provide praise.

The next four questions (7-10) belong to Camp 2 and deal with the employees’ feelings of belonging. For questions 7, 8, and 9, all three employees answered yes. They feel that their opinions count, their job is important, and their co-workers are committed to their job. Unfortunately, all three said no to question 10. They do not feel that they have a best friend at work. This could be due to the small size of employees. There is not a huge selection of people to find someone that could be your best friend. It seems from the other three questions that the employees get along and feel like an important part to the library.

The last two questions in Camp 3 deal with employees and opportunities to grow. All employees answered yes to both questions. Someone has talked to them about their progress, they feel as

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though they have had opportunities to learn and grow at work. The employees are growing professionally and improving their skills.

V. Conclusions and Recommendations

Looking at the survey results, it appears as though at between 60 and 70 percents of the patrons surveyed are raving fans. Additionally since 7 percent are all respondents were non-library users or from out of area, we are confident that number is closer to 75 percent. Many of the respondents noted the personal kindness of the staff and their helpfulness. The things that were mentioned in the data that could be improved were hours of operation, the types of books in the collection, and the need for an increase in children’s services. Based on the data collected by this survey, Team 1 was pleased to note that APL is utilizing the patrons' opinions to improve services. While it will take time, APL is striving to make the changes necessary to keep its current patrons and to draw new patrons on. Adonis is continually monitoring computer and internet usage among patrons and has recently added a new grouping of computers. He is also looking into taking on a volunteer to possibly extend day

hours to cater more to the needs of the community. The community responded positively to the survey and continue to respond positively to Apple Public Library. Team 1 appreciates Adonis' time and the time of his staff to ensure the success of this needs assessment. Some of our suggestions based on this needs assessment include:

• Working with other librarians in the county to create a new mission statement that more grammatically portrays purpose

• Increasing advertising and marketing of the library, its services, and its website. This will both help increase use of the library by patrons and current non-patrons alike.

• Encourage volunteers among local high school and college students to run the library during slow times; this will allow for employees to work evenings for more consistent hours

• The library director has shown that he has good leadership and management skills, but he should remember to praise all employees for good work consistently. He may also want to sit down with each employee and discuss what they feel is their best. We recommend a more thorough discussion with current employees to discuss their potential and future expectations.

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The childrenʼs section of the library sees a lot of use from the families in the area.

VI. Team Strengths and Weaknesses

One of the biggest advantages -- and therefore strength – Team 1 had was its power in numbers. Many of the 6 members in the group had other important things in their lives – many worked full-time, were parents (or both), commuted long distances to class or had personal family issues to deal with. Because the group accommodated for each person’s unique life situation, the group worked well together. We agreed on a library to do this needs assessment on in the first weeks of class and were able to meet with the library director early on before other groups had yet to even determine what they were going to do for their project. We collectedly divided up work and encouraged each group member to participate based on her skill set and capability; for example, some had skills in writing while others preferred technology. Because of this, we were able to collect our data quickly and efficiently. Everyone was eager to participate in the group work and for that we were fortunate; there was no need to have to pick up another members ‘slack’. The team worked in part by everyone checking up on everyone else – in fact there was a sense of ownership with the whole process. Each person was held accountable for a certain portion of the project, the presentation, and the paper. As one group member put it, “we are a democracy.” Early on one member seemed to step up as our de facto leader - calling for assembly and organizing teamwork. While this wasn’t something official, it helped us collaborate more efficiently. When our de facto leader was absent, we pulled together as a group and ensured the work would get done.

One of the main weaknesses that Team 1 had was that it was limited by its large number. We were one of the largest teams in LIS650 class. Again, because the group lived in different parts of the state and other personal, work, and family obligations, it was often hard to get together. We collaborated online in group chat sessions, by email and phone, and took advantage of our group’s blackboard discussion board. It was quite apparent early on that each group member had their own time that was best for them to work on things, but with the group discussion board, we were able to get our work done together and on time.

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VII. Additional Material

Patron Survey

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Patron Survey Responses

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Additional Charts and Graphs

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Employee Survey not included due to poor image quality from original report.

Interview with Adonis, Library Director of Apple Public Library

1) Does the APL have a Mission Statement? If so, could you provide it to us? If not, do you have an idea of what it would include?It doesn’t. Our parent organization doesn’t have one either. If we had one, it would have something to do with providing for the educational, recreational and informational needs of the community.

2) What are your organizational goals?As defined by Apple County, our goals are to provide for the educational and reading needs of the community. We also provide answers to questions.

3) How is the library organized (departments, functions, etc.), and who are the stakeholders you are serving?Within the County system:Headquarters Library: Administration, Technical Services, Reference, ILL, Children’s Room, Local History, Systems, Circulation and Outreach.Archdale Library: Follows directives and guidance of Administration. Works with other departments in HQ to order and process materials. Same with Circulation and Children’s Services.Manager supervises day-to-day running of the library and orders materials. Also provides reference and participates in all duties.Assistants process materials, circulate items, provide children’s programming.

4) Describe what your primary tasks are.Manage the staff: hire, train, evaluate and coach.Collection management: reading book reviews, selecting and ordering materials, de-selecting material and surveying patrons for book suggestions.Customer Service: circulation duties, reference services and computer assistance.Community: serve on community committees, volunteer and represent the library.Building Maintenance: reporting issues.

5) Can you break down, if possible, into percentages what you do?Managing the Staff: 20%Collection management: 30%Customer Service: 40%Community: 5%Building maintenance: 5%

6) What are your definitions of leadership and management?Leadership and management are different but flow in the same river. Management has always been more about the physical and day-to-day running of the library. Making sure the staff has what is needed and that the patrons are happy. Leadership is more about integrating the library into the community and making the library

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a needed part of a viable community. With leadership, there is also planning and goal-setting. In my mind, this is more closely related to management.

7) How satisfied are you that your organizational goals are being met? What are some of your “opportunities for improvement?”I feel that we are doing a great job four our community, but we could be doing things differently. We are not as customer-focused as I would like to be, but to get where I want us to be will take more change throughout the system. I think we need to change our image, somewhat. Although technology is moving quickly, it isn’t integrated into the lives of our community. I would like to see the library as a safe and inviting place for technology. With the same thought process, the library should be a welcome and open environment that fosters meetings, studying and community programs.

8) In your opinion, what are the “ideal” qualities an administrator should have?Someone that is open to changes and can foster change. They can also think about the future and how to get there. An administrator really needs to be in touch with the community—in order to provide what is needed for the best possible library service.

9) What are some lessons you would like to pass on to us?It is all about enjoying what you do…or making your job enjoyable.

10) What do you feel you and your library are good at? Examples: serving all, serving certain patrons, satisfied customers, etc.We are seen as a fun place to be that is very welcoming and friendly.

11) What do you feel you and your library needs improvement, or what opportunities of improvement? Examples: More lenient policies, more strict policies.I think we need more lenient policies, but we still need to figure out what are services are and what the community needs from us.

12) Do you have an annual report, organization chart, or other management material that you could share with us?

Newspaper Advertisement

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Works Cited

[Apple Public Library]. Assessed Oct. 30, 2008 from http://www.randolphlibrary.org/archdalelocation.htm

Blanchard, K. and Bowles, S. (1993). Raving fans: A revolutionary approach to customer

Buckingham, M. and Coffman, C. (1999). First, break all the rules. New York: Simon & Schuster.

US Census Bureau Quickfacts, http://censtats.census.gov/data/NC/1603701720.pdf and http://censtats.census.gov/data/NC/1603768400.pdf, accessed November 30, 2008

US Census Bureau Quickfacts, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37/37151.html, accessed November 30, 2008

Woodward, J. (2004). Creating the customer-driven library: Building on the bookstore model. Chicago: American Library Association.

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