Customer satisfaction survey 2000

What you said and what we're doing about it

These are the ten top issues where you felt the library needed to improve. Items are listed in order of priority.

1. Missing books and journals are dealt with promptly

• We will respond to missing item reports within one working day.
  You will be notified if the item has been found.
   
  If not, we will contact you to:
   
  • ask if we should order a new copy; for items still in print, we will use the fastest supplier; for out-of-print items we will try to get a second-hand copy through the internet;
     
  • help you place a request for the item if it is available at another Monash campus;
     
  • help you to find a copy in another library - you may be able to borrow it via the CAVAL reciprocal borrowing scheme
     
  • offer to get the item from another library (for postgraduates and staff)
     
• Sometimes the item is not actually missing. Within each library are multiple "locations". This may complicate finding an item.
   
  • Where possible, we will combine separate shelf sequences to reduce the number of places to look.
     
  • Where this is not possible, we will make signs and other help clearer.
     
  • Help on locating items is available from the information desks or online via the Virtual Librarian.

2. Library collections that are adequate for your needs.

The library has never been able to buy every item that users want. Instead teaching and research is supported by the collection combined with access to materials through document delivery services.

• Rising book and serial prices and a devalued dollar means we are satisfying fewer users with purchases alone. We are trying to provide faster access to material through improved document delivery services. (See item 9)
   
• We will actively pursue consortium arrangements to get "more for our dollar". For example, we have recently purchased consortium access to the electronic version of Elsevier's journals. This provides 700 titles, almost double the number we previously had in print.
   
• We monitor lending services statistics to identify titles in heavy demand. We will give high priority to purchasing extra copies of these titles.
   
• We are conducting an audit of student reading materials held by the library. In the libraries surveyed to date, 98% of titles were held; we will continue to aim towards hold 100%.
   
• Faculty based teams of subject librarians liaise with departments and individuals to decide material to be purchased. We will produce a formal collection development policy to ensure that purchases are better targeted to the current teaching and research needs of the university. Staff and students will have an opportunity to provide input, and the policy will be updated regularly as needs change.
   
• Since postgraduates were the group that expressed the most dissatisfaction with this matter, we will follow-up this issue with them during 2001.

3. New materials that are made accessible when you need them.

• Much of the delay in getting an item to the shelves is the time it takes for the supplier to deliver the item. We have developed performance standards with major suppliers for delivery time, and will continue to monitor individual their performance.
   
• The faster we can get the order to the supplier, the sooner we will receive the item. A number of strategies have been put in place to speed up ordering.
  • Arrangements have been made with suppliers for some categories of books to be sent as soon as they are published.
     
  • Arrangements have been made with the Monash University Bookshop to place orders for the library at the same time as they are ordering new texts for sale to students.
     
  • We will make more use of electronic information when selecting and ordering new books.
     
  • Individuals can use a web form to suggest items to be purchased. READ MORE
     
• Urgent items can be rush ordered and rush processed. We will do more to publicise these services so that users are aware of the options they currently have to get material quickly. READ MORE
   
• We will continue to monitor (and try to improve) processing time for journal issues; however one advantage of the increasing number of electronic subscriptions is that the issue is often accessible the day it is published - there are no shipping and processing delays.
   
• All libraries have new book displays. We will try to ensure that new items are displayed promptly and can be borrowed.

4. Opening hours that suit your needs

• Opening hours will be extended through the new Matheson Annexe. If this project is successful we will consider similar facilities on other campuses. READ MORE
   
• Indirectly, opening hours will be increased through extending the telephone inquiry service hours. READ MORE
   
• Electronic access allows many library services and resources to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To improve this access we will:
   
  • Increase the number and range of materials available electronically. In 2001 many high demand materials normally held on Reserve or restricted loan will be made available this way. (Since October last year, 2000 items have been added to this "collection")
     
  • Currently the e-Query service answers questions within 24 hours. We are investigating a virtual reference desk that would operate 24 hours a day and would provide an immediate response.

Many of our key library services and resources are already open 24x7. These include: searching the catalogue; renewing items on loan; making requests such as recalls; inter campus and inter library loan; searching electronic databases; full text document retrieval; getting help (via the Virtual Librarian).

5. Library staff keep you informed about new services and collections.

• We currently use a wide variety of means to inform you about new services and resources. We need your help to decide which are the most effective. READ MORE

6. The library catalogue provides clear and useful information.

• The Voyager catalogue receives a major upgrade at least once a year. We also try to make ongoing improvements in response to your feedback. Some features of the catalogue are outside our control, however we can submit enhancement requests which will be considered by the vendor in future version. If you have a suggestion, send it to e-Query.
   
• We have a number of projects to improve the accuracy of the catalogue and to convert old substandard records. However, if you discover mistakes in the catalogue, send a message to e-Query and we will fix them straight away.

Help in using Voyager is provided in a number of ways. READ MORE

7. Books and journals are reshelved quickly.

• Our performance target is to return the item to the shelves within 2 hours of its return (during business hours). Currently, in libraries surveyed, this happens with 90% of items. We will continue to aim towards 100%.
   
• We will also aim to collect and reshelve material left on study desks and tables every two hours (during business hours).
   
• We are buying more electronic versions of journals. In addition to other benefits, this means issues will never be unavailable just because they have not been reshelved.

8. Library staff are focused on your needs.

• We will hold the Customer Satisfaction Survey every two years. Results will be used to plan library directions. Individual comments will be examined by the appropriate site and acted upon where possible.
   
• We will continue to look for opportunities to get feedback from users. Some strategies currently in place include:
  • academic and student representatives on library committees;
  • presentations and roadhows;
  • subject librarians meeting regularly with departments;
  • suggestion boards - most libraries provide a physical suggestion board; users are also invited to send email suggestions via e-Query;
     
• We will also continue to ensure that skilled library staff are available to respond to your needs. This will include:
  • providing specialist staff dedicated to specific user needs (eg students with disabilities, multimedia studies, off campus services, subject experts);
  • providing skilled and appropriately trained staff at all library service points.

9. Document delivery requests (both inter campus and inter library) are dealt with promptly.

• Since copyright law changed (4 March 2001) we can now forward documents to you electronically. This will avoid the delivery delays of internal mail and Australia Post. In addition, by avoiding fax delivery, the quality of the documents should also improve.
   
• We are involved in a national benchmarking study of document delivery services. The results of this (available late this year) will be used to further improve our service.

Current statistics on DocDel volume and processing times are available. READ MORE

10. Photocopy machines that work adequately and quality that is acceptable.

• We benchmark our breakdown rate. The current rate is one service call per 28,000 copies. This is very low by industry standards; however we aim to improve further on this by better management and maintenance.
   
• We try to keep down the cost per copy by striking a balance between the number of machines, the volume of copying each machine does, and the cost of the machine (machines with more advanced features are usually more expensive). We welcome any suggestions you may have. You can email the officer in charge of photocopying (glenn.martin@lib.monash.edu.au) or leave a suggestion at any library.

Customer Satisfaction Survey 2000 (full report)