User Survey: Library Perceptions
I conducted a remote user survey to gauge patrons’ perceptions of the UNC University Libraries system and see if there are discrepancies between user groups.
I published my results in a blog post on the UNC Library’s UX blog.
Purpose:
To help various departments at the UNC University Libraries better understand what perceptions our patrons have of the buildings and services offered, I conducted a remote user survey that asked patrons what names they call each building and what services they associated with each building.
Process:
A Qualtrics survey was set up to ask two questions for each library branch: given an image of a building, what do you call this building and which of these given services do you associate with it. We also gathered minimal demographic information about the patron’s affiliation with UNC. This survey was provided in a pop-up that appeared on the Libraries’ website’s homepage for two weeks during the summer of 2021.
Outcomes:
We found that people’s perceptions of the libraries, as expected, did vary based on their affiliation with the the school. Learning what services people associated with what buildings helps us to know how to prioritize communications about these services on each branch’s page on the website. Similarly, I proposed that the URL structure for the House Undergraduate Library be changed from library.unc.edu/house/ to library.unc.edu/ul because a relatively small portion of respondents mentioned the word ‘House’. This information was condensed into a report and passed along to the Communications department, as well as other UNC Library stakeholders through the blog post I wrote about the survey.
Lessons Learned:
This survey was conducted over the summer, so the number of undergraduates who replied was slim. Future surveys of this type should be conducted during a semester.