W&L

University Library

Faculty Survey 2011

Method

Creating the Instrument

The committee began meeting during Fall Term 2010 to start thinking of questions to ask on the survey.  All of the professional librarians participated in a brainstorming session, led by Mary Abdoney, to discuss questions they would like to see answered by the survey.  This was a very helpful exercise, as it highlighted certain issues that the committee may not have focused on initially.  After this session, Mary Abdoney compiled all of the suggestions, and the committee chose which issues to target in the survey. 

The committee agreed to focus on the services offered by the Information Desk and Reference staff, as well as the library’s collections.  We were sure that some respondents would be unfamiliar with some of the services offered by the University Library, so we were careful to include details about each service surveyed. In some ways, the committee saw the survey as an opportunity to advertise some services that faculty might be unaware of.  After carefully crafting the survey questions, the University Library Advisory Committee tested the survey for clarity.  Once this review was complete and appropriate changes made, the survey was distributed.

Distributing and Advertising the Survey

The committee used SurveyMonkey.com to distribute the survey, but had a print version available upon request.  No print surveys were requested.  To advertise the survey, the committee used Campus Notices, email, and a graphic link on the University Library homepage.  In Campus Notices for January 31, 2011, the following message appeared:  

Please take 10-15 minutes to complete an online survey (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/fac2011) about your satisfaction with the University Library's resources and services. The results are completely anonymous, so please be sure to share your comments. These questions are designed to let us know how we are doing in our current endeavors and what we should attempt in the future. If you would rather complete the survey on paper, please let Mary Abdoney (abdoneym@wlu.edu) know. The survey will be open until Sunday, February 13th.

For email notifications, each of the subject librarians edited the following message to contact their assigned departments:

Dear colleagues,

Please take 10-15 minutes to complete an online survey about your satisfaction with the University Library’s resources and services.  The results are completely anonymous, so please be sure to share your comments.  These questions are designed to let us know how we are doing in our current endeavors and what we should attempt in the future.  

The survey is at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/fac2011.  If you would rather complete the survey on paper, please let me know and I will send you a print copy.  The survey will be open until Sunday, February 13th.   

Thank you in advance, 
(NAME)

The faculty received a reminder email midway through the survey window, as final encouragement to complete the survey.  Finally, the University Library's webmaster inserted a graphic on the library's homepage that linked to the online survey (Figure A).  The survey began on Monday, January 31, 2011 and ended on Sunday, February 13, 2011.