Use of annual surveying to identify technology trends and improve service provision

Abstract

ObjectiveAt an academic health sciences library serving a wide variety of disciplines, studying library users’ technology use provides necessary information on intersection points for library services. Administering a similar survey annually for five years generated a holistic view of users’ technology needs and preferences over time.MethodsFrom 2012 to 2016, the University of Florida Health Science Center Library (HSCL) annually administered a sixteen-to-twenty question survey addressing health sciences users’ technology awareness and use and their interest in using technology to engage with the library and its services. The survey was distributed throughout the HSC via email invitation from liaison librarians to their colleges and departments and advertisement on the HSCL home page.ResultsSmartphone ownership among survey respondents was nearly universal, and a majority of respondents also owned a tablet. While respondents were likely to check library hours, use medical apps, and use library electronic resources from their mobile devices, they were unlikely to friend or follow the library on Facebook or Twitter or send a call number from the catalog. Respondents were more likely to have used EndNote than any other citation management tool, but over 50% of respondents had never used each tool or never heard of it.ConclusionsAnnual review of survey results has allowed librarians to identify users’ needs and interests, leading to incremental changes in services offered. Reviewing the aggregate data allowed strategic consideration of how technology impacts library interactions with users, with implications toward library marketing, training, and service development.

University Students’ Changing Library Needs and Use: A Comparison of 2016 and 2018 Student Surveys

“…The author commented that they were satisfied with users' feedback and were able to better understand users' learning behaviors at the library. The University of Florida Health Science Center Library used a survey developed by the University of Southern California Health Sciences Libraries staff and examined how health science users' awareness of technology (e.g., mobile apps) and their interest in using technology to access library resources and services (e.g., citation tools and library electronic resources) from their mobile devices changed from 2012 to 2016 (Norton et al, 2018). The authors stated that "the annual review of survey results has allowed librarians to identify the local users' needs and interests as they changed over time and has led to incremental changes in services offered" (p. 329).…”

“…While various user surveys are conducted by academic libraries, two major types of user surveys are standardized surveys (e.g., LibQUAL+, Measuring Information Service Outcomes) and local surveys developed by individual academic libraries (e.g., Montgomery, 2014;Scoulas & De Groote, 2019). Regardless of the type of user surveys, many academic libraries attempt to use an evidence based approach by reviewing the survey findings, using those findings for making decisions, and monitoring changes over time (Dennis, Greenwood & Watson, 2013;Greenwood, Watson & Dennis, 2011;McCaffrey & Breen, 2016;McCaffrey, 2019;Montgomery, 2014;Norton, Tennant, Edwards & Pomputius, 2018;Taylor & Heath, 2012).…”

Transforming and extending library services by embracing technology and collaborations: A case study

“…Wood Library at Weill Cornell Medicine. HSLs today serve as a technology hub (Patterson et al, 2018 ) by identifying technology trends to improve service provision (Norton et al, 2018 ), and teaching users to optimise technology (Hurst, 2014 ). Lindberg and Humphreys looked at HSL services to users broadly, as well as to specific groups such as clinicians, consumers, medical students, and researchers.…”

Creating Online Teaching Resources and Suggesting Mobile Apps in the Time of COVID 19

“…Another survey revealed that users are interested in getting trained on clinical mobile apps, mobile device apps for research, mobile device apps for productivity, mobile device apps for education, mobile device apps for a particular platform (iPhone, iPad, Android devices) and patient oriented apps. 2 This interest presents the opportunity to cater courses to meet these needs and be the ambassador of online research and using mobile resources.…”