NMRLS Member Satisfaction Survey Summary 2004

Summary of Responses to NMRLS 2004 Member Surveys

NMRLS posted three online surveys for member participation in April 2004. In recent years the Member Satisfaction Survey drew about 100 responses. This year response was slightly below normal. The specific Database Survey was separated to encourage participation in the main Member Satisfaction survey by keeping it shorter. The database survey drew only 24 responses. The Directors Preference survey was new. It was designed to assist in prioritization of library needs, should we find additional resources at our disposal. Responses came only from academic and public libraries. Responses were distributed as follows

Member Satisfaction - 87 responses -- 27 Academic, 25 Public, 32 School, 3 Special

Directors Preferences - 32 responses -- 4 Academic, 28 Public, 0 School, 0 Special
Database Survey - 24 responses -- 3 Academic, 7 Public, 8 School, 6 Unknown

Member Satisfaction Survey Results (87 responses)

The list below shows NMRLS services ranked by the percentage of those who responded “excellent” (The percentage was calculated excluding those who do not use). To view a PDF chart of results, please visit: http://www.nmrls.org/surveys/2004memsat/member-satisfaction.pdf

NMRLS Services and Percentage of “Excellent” Responses

Gale Group	82%
Reg. Ref. Center Lawrence Law	73%
ILL Center NOBLE	68%
NewsBank	66%
Reg. Ref Center MHL	66%
NMRLS Web Site	65%
WorldCat	65%
Online CE Calendar	64%
CE/Training Progs	63%
ILL Center MHL	62%
Suppl Deposit Collection	62%
Purchasing Coop	59%
eLibrary	58%
Online Newsletter	58%
Answers to Go	57%
Printed Newsletter	57%
Consulting Services	56%
Journal Art. Del. BPL	54%
Grolier Online	52%
Printed CE Calendar	52%
Summer Reading Prog.	46%
Reference USA	46%
MassCat	41%
Scanning Lab	38%
NE Mass. Digital Library	37%
Delivery	36%
Informe	34%

We received many comments about services. We appreciated the many nice comments about NMRLS and service provided by NMRLS staff members. For example, one member answered our question, What do you like best about NMRLS services with, “Efficient, friendly, professional, and user-oriented. It seems as if knowing that NMRLS is out there, a phone call away, I am not alone on the school library media specialist front waging the war alone. We also had more philosophical responses like, “Equality and consistency of library services for all Massachusetts residents - school, public, private libraries all share and are given opportunities to work collaboratively.” Many responses included comments and suggestions about NMRLS services. We are reviewing them carefully and following up with some respondents.

We asked members to tell us what was important to their libraries as NMRLS embarks on a strategic planning process. Among the many responses to this question, many stated the importance of various services and the need to look toward the future in terms of technology, funding, and the need to address school library media center issues.

There were 25 responses of “not satisfied.” The highest number were found in Delivery (4) and Summer Reading Program (3). NMRLS staff are contacting those who indicated dissatisfaction to learn if there are steps we can take to improve these services. We also asked members, “What can we do to improve services?” Several responses asked us to better publicize services. Others made specific suggestions about reference and continuing education. NMRLS staff, Executive Board, and committees will be reviewing all comments in the coming months.

Database Survey Results (24 responses)

The list below shows NMRLS databases ranked by the percentage of the members who responded “excellent” (The percentage was calculated excluding those who do not use). To view a PDF chart of results, please visit: http://www.nmrls.org/surveys/2004memsat/databases.pdf

NMRLS Databases and Percentage of “Excellent” Responses

Health Reference Center Academic - Gale	84%
Expanded Academic ASAP - Gale	83%
Biography Resource Center - Gale	81%
Worcester Telegram & Gazette - NewsBank	80%
Contemporary Literary Criticism	78%
Junior Edition (K-12) - Gale	78%
General Business File ASAP - Gale	77%
Boston Globe - NewsBank	76%
General Reference Center Gold - Gale	71%
WorldCat - OCLC	71%
Business and Company Profiles - Gale	67%
Boston Herald - NewsBank	67%
ReferenceUSA Business Database	62%
Student Edition - Gale	60%
Kids Edition (K-12) - Gale	57%
eLibrary	55%
Professional Collection - Gale	54%
Informe (Spanish Language) - Gale	43%
Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia	29%
Grolier New Book of Knowldege	25%

Responses to the Database Survey showed that all respondents who use the services, except one, rated these services as either excellent or satisfactory. There were comments that the Grolier services are slow. We will be addressing this issue with the information provider.

Net Lender Reimbursement - Restore	67%
Continuing Education - Expand Sessions at NMRLS	52%
Databases Expand Titles	52%
On Site Services - Expand training and Consulting	50%
Delivery - Expand to More Libraries	40%
MassCat - Expand to More Libraries	33%
CE - More Well Known Speakers	17%
ILL Shipping Fees Reduction	17%
Digital Library - Post More Images	13%
Lawrence Law Library - Add More Hours	10%

Directors commented on services, some at length, with suggestions to enhance services, e.g., provide practical training and advertise courses carefully to allow members to accurately evaluate their need to attend. NMRLS staff, Executive Board, and committees will be reviewing all comments in the coming months.