Results from April Survey on Fiction Preferences

According to Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature® , genre may be defined as "A distinctive type or category of literary composition, such as the epic, tragedy, comedy, novel, and short story."

Our question in April asked "Which type of novel do you read most often?" Most people chose one genre, but 17 (23%) chose multiple categories.

Here are the responses we got in rank order:
24 = Science Fiction / Fantasy
23 = Mystery
18 = Historical Fiction
18 = Romance
14 = Suspense
13 = Paranormal
13 = LARGE PRINT

A total of 71 respondents answered our survey on fiction preferences. 60% (43 of the 71) completed the survey in the children's room, however we don't know for sure how many were children, as opposed to parents, grandparents, or caretakers. 37% (26/71) answered the questions at the reference desk and 3% (2/71) responded online.

In our previous surveys, we purposely did not ask for identifying information, such as age or sex of our respondents, so as not to complicate the process or to make it seem intrusive. However, we realize that knowing more about the demographics of our audience would have helped us to make our analysis more meaningful.

We don't feel we can generalize much from the results, so expect more about the topic as we work to refine our questions. By doing these informal surveys, we hope to learn more about you. At the same time, we are learning a lot more about how to administer surveys.

You'll see that our next survey makes a distinction between adult and teen programs and programs for children. We welcome your suggestions about both the content and process of these surveys.

Results from March Survey about Online Content

Our questions in March asked about your familiarity with the library's online content. We expected that people who rarely use their computers would not fill out the survey (exactly one respondent indicated no online content accessed), but we were somewhat surpised that our many computer and wireless users also failed to fill out the survey. Only 15 people answered our questions, and 4 of those responses were submitted online. We are listening. Our next survey will not deal with technology in any way.


Not surprisingly, 80% of our respondents have seen or used our library website. To help you remember, the address of our website http://www.whplibrary.org/ is printed on your library card. 66% have accessed the Online Catalog either directly from our website or from its own unique address www.alisweb.org. 40% of respondents have tried our Research Databases, either for homework or genealogy research, or just to catch up on newspaper or magazine articles from many national and international sources.

33% have checked our Events Calendar or Newsletter online, and 33% have read one or both of our Blogs. One of our blogs, "West Hempstead Wants to Know!" is dedicated to these surveys and the other, called "New & Noteworthy" is our general library blog covering the latest information from our reference librarians regarding books, events, new media, or resources on the Internet, in the library, or in our local community, that interest and delight us.

26% of our respondents have viewed our Facebook pages. We have established 3 pages to cater to the Children's Room, Teens and the general Adult population. Even if you aren't interested in registering and interacting with us as a Facebook fan, you can still view our status updates just by viewing our library webpages.

Only one person was familiar with our Flickr and Picasaweb pages, but if you've seen our website, you may have clicked on the albums on the Teen pages, or seen the Photo Archives which are hosted by Flickr. These free sites are great places for presenting, sharing, and storing memories. Check them out! You may want to try them for yourself.

The question was: Which of the following online content have you seen or used? (Mark all that apply.) Here are the results in rank order:

12 = Library Website
10 = Online Catalog
06 = Research Databases
05 = Event Calendar or Online Newsletter
05 = Either of our 2 Library Blogs
04 = Any of our 3 Facebook pages
01 = Our photos on Flickr or Picasaweb

Final Results from our February 2010 Survey

Thirty four patrons answered our question about their use of Social Media websites for our February 2010 survey. This was a much smaller set of responses compared to the 77 who answered our January survey, so it's apparent that there was some self-selection based on interest in or familiarity with the subject.

Question: How often do you use Social Media websites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Shelfari, Kaboodle? Here are the results in rank order:

17 = Use at least one site as often as I can
12 = Use at least one site a few times a month
4 = Never heard of them or Never use them
3 = Try them out, but don't like them much

An overwhelming number of our respondents (80%) indicate that they use at least one site, "as often as I can" or "a few times a month". The most favorite social site is Facebook (18), followed by YouTube (10), with only a passing nod to Twitter (1), MySpace (1) and LinkedIn (1). One vote was cast for music sites, although no particular site was specified.


Interest in learning more about social media was directed mostly about Twitter (5) and Facebook (4). The West Hempstead Public Library has a presence on both Twitter and Facebook, but so far we have focused mainly on Facebook where we maintain Fan Sites for the Children's Room, the Teens, and the Main Library/Reference Desk. This is part of our effort to bring our products and services closer to our public and to interact with our patrons when and where they are most comfortable. Become a Fan, and let us know how we are doing!


Here are links to some other popular social media sites:

LinkedIn: a professional networking site used by jobseekers and human resource personnel. (example: search on "Bill Gates")

Shelfari: a social network for people who love books and sharing reviews about what they are reading and getting suggestions about what to read next. (example: Shelfari community). See also GoodReads.com, LibraryThing.com

Kaboodle: this social shopping site has been redesigned lately to allow online shoppers to search and discover products according to popularity among other shoppers in the Kaboodle community and consumers in general.

And finally, here's a guide to social media music sites.

Final Results from our January Survey

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT THE LIBRARY?
77 patrons answered our first survey of 2010. Multiple responses were allowed so some patrons voted for more than one service. Here are the results in rank order:

42 = Free DVD's, CD's, downloadable books
38 = Free Programs for all ages
34 = Free Internet access
28 = Free Museum passes
12 = Free On-Line Tutoring

Not surprisingly, our free media products (movies, music, recorded books) are most appreciated. Trailing by 4 votes are the free programs (trips, crafts, exercise, concerts) we offer to children, young adults, and adults. Another 4 points behind in popularity is the free Internet access we provide to young adults and adults in the main library and to children for homework assignments in the Children's Room.

A more selective group voted for the free Museum passes. Perhaps this is a service you have not checked out yet. Remember that we have Family Passes that you may borrow for a few days as well as the Museum Lottery we hold 5 times a year for tickets to the New York Hall of Science. Don't miss your chance for the next giveaway in February!

The least favorite service is the free on-line tutoring. We think we need to do a much better job of promoting this very valuable service. Not everyone will need to take advantage of it, but you should know that it's not just for kids. In addition to academic subjects for elementary through high school, the tutors help adults in the areas of Citizenship, Financial Literacy, GED, Helping Children with Homework, Job Openings, Job Resources, Resumes and Cover Letters. Be sure to check it out, on our library homepage.

Thanks for participating! Our February survey will be about social media.

Our First Survey for 2010

We've posted a survey for the month of January. Please give us your feedback either in the library or here, on-line, and ask your friends to participate as well. Thanks!