This toolkit originates from the Health Sciences Information Consortium and is in the process of being adapted and updated by the CHLA/ABSC Standards Standing Committee.
Qualitative evaluation invites feedback from users to improve library resources and services. Strategies include questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews.
When soliciting user feedback, use an electronic format for surveys – people tend to feel more comfortable with anonymity. Send a follow-up survey or consider conducting an interview at a later time, as sometimes the outcome or impact of your work takes time to become apparent. Keep surveys short and avoid the use of library jargon.
Example
From 2002 MLA Report: The Value of Library and Information Services... Collect Data on Users and Intended Use. Incorporate when collecting data on services like literature requests, Inter Library Loans, evaluation of instruction / learning sessions. USER DATA Please identify your position within the hospital/medical center: Physician Attending Resident Fellow Nurse Pharmacist etc. etc. INTENDED USE DATA Please indicate the purpose of your [SERVICE] request: Clinical Care Teaching Clinical Learning/Staying Informed Student Research Institutional Management Funded Research Patient Education Other ____________________________ Sample Focus Group Questions 1. Please describe an incident in which [SERVICE] has supported [ACTIVITY]. 2. How can [SERVICE] be improved? 3. How can the library further support [ACTIVITY]?
Resources
- The value of library and information services in patient care: results of a multisite study
- LibQUAL
- Mind Your Ps and Qs (Pitfalls of Questionnaires)
- Survey Research: We Can Do Better (JMLA)
- UX et ethnographie en bibliothèques : convergence et différences
- Demonstrating Value in Federal Medical Center Libraries.
- Checking in with Your Document Delivery User Base: Creating, Implementing, and Learning from Client Satisfaction Surveys