Conducting focus groups with library staff: best practices and participant perceptions

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to describe a process of designing a focus group study for library staff, and to present a method for analyzing and interpreting focus group data. In addition, the paper aims to report on participants' perceptions of the focus group experience. Design/methodology/approach -Focus group methodology was used to gather staff responses. An online survey was used to gauge staff perceptions of the focus groups. Findings -Focus groups with library staff are a productive way to gather issues and trends for library management to address. In addition, it seems from the follow up survey that participating in focus groups benefits staff morale and engagement, if best practices are employed. Originality/value -While there are many articles about using focus groups to understand library users and their needs, there are few articles about employing this methodology with library staff. This paper fills some of the gaps.