You Spoke, and We Listened!
Mary Sizemore
Library Director
Over the course of the past fiscal year, Hickory Public Library had quarterly customer service surveys at Patrick Beaver Memorial Library and Ridgeview Branch Library to learn what our patrons thought about our collection of materials, the services and programs we provide, the helpfulness of the staff, and to get input on their overall impressions of the library as a whole. We received over 1200 completed surveys, which provided valuable information about ways we can strengthen our collection and make our patrons’ library visits as productive and enjoyable as possible.
While the surveys were overwhelmingly positive, there were complaints, the predominant on being that our DVD and audiobook collections were lacking, both in size and scope. Specifically, respondents asked for more copies of popular titles as well as more non-fiction titles. There is no doubt that audiovisual collections are rapidly growing in popularity and libraries everywhere are scrambling to meet the increasing demand. Statistics show that our library is no different. Ten years ago, 24% of all materials checked out of Hickory Public Library were audiobooks or movies. Last year, that percentage was 44% and there is no indication that this trend is going to change.
The audiovisual budget has been increased for the current fiscal year, and library staff have taken several additional steps in response to our patrons’ survey comments.
In the DVD collection:
- We rearranged several shelves of materials at Patrick Beaver to make more room for DVDs and to make those materials easier for patrons to browse.
- Staff are investigating several options for purchasing more “unique” movies, such as foreign films and award-winners of Sundance, Cannes, and other prestigious film festivals in order to broaden the scope of our offerings.
- Since the checkout rate of our movies is so high, it often appears to patrons that we never purchase any new titles. To keep patrons informed about new holdings, a list of recent acquisitions will be posted at the DVD shelves and updated regularly.
- We are running reports on the existing collection to determine what types of materials are checked out most frequently to help us make the best purchasing decisions with a limited budget.
In the audiobook collection:
- We are ordering more non-fiction audiobooks based on survey suggestions.
- To increase visibility of the already-extensive collection, circulation staff have created a large display of new and not-so-new audiobooks in the rotunda.
- We are experimenting with a new audiobook format, the Playaway, a device the size of an MP3 player that contains a complete pre-loaded book. It runs on one AAA battery, supplied by the library, and only requires a standard headphone. Playaways are less expensive than books on tape or CD, which can cost up to $150.00, and do not present such problems as damaged or missing CDs or tapes. Currently, our small collection is located at Patrick Beaver, but if we find that patrons like this format, we will expand the collection at both library locations.
- We are more aggressively promoting the library’s collection of downloadable audiobooks available through NC LIVE’s NetLibrary and the North Carolina Digital Library. Library cardholders have access to a vast catalog of current bestsellers and classic audiobooks online that can be downloaded for free to their MP3 player or burned to a CD. Information on these collections can be found on the library’s website (www.hickorygov.com/library) under the NC LIVE and the NC Digital Library links. The library has printed instructional materials as well, and this fall we will offer a class on purchasing MP3 players and using them to download audiobooks.
We always welcome input from our users, and are working on addressing other suggestions found in the surveys. More about that in a future column!
