What the YA's Tell Us

Online Survey

In May and June of 1997, we decided that it was time to gather more information on the progress of the grant from the perspective of our library users. Having computers and a web page gave us the opportunity to try something unusual, and the survey was created as an online document which replaced the library's home page for six weeks. When users logged onto the Internet at Garfield Park, the survey was the first page that came up, and they were politely asked to take a few minutes to answer some questions for us. (The results were e-mailed to our library account as text files.)

We ultimately received fifty-nine responses to the survey. Of these, forty were filled out by people eighteen years old or younger. The proportion of adult to young adult responses is just about indicative of the use of the system, if not slightly over indicative of adult use. Older adults were more conscientious about filling out the survey than were most YA's.

The surveys showed us a few things about who is using the library and its computers and how they found out about these services. Thirty-two of the thirty-eight young adults who answered the "What City Do You Live In?" question live in Santa Cruz, with only three of the thirty-eight living in other cities in the county. The remaining three were visiting relatives in Santa Cruz from distant locations.

Young adults using the computer were almost evenly divided between those that had not used GP Library before 1996 and those that had. About half of the YA's responding use the Garfield Park Branch Library exclusively, and the other half use branches in addition to this one.

                                     Young Adults (9-18)
                                        Yes         No
Did you use this library before there   15          17
 were computers for the public?
Do you use other branches of SCPL?      16          18

            How did you find out that this library 
              has computers and Internet access?
                                    Young Adults   Adults
I saw them when I came into the library.   25        9
I heard about them at another branch.       0        4
A friend or teacher told me.                3        2
I read about them in the newspaper.         0        0
A library staff member told me.             2        1
Elsewhere.                                  1        2

Publicity and outreach were not apparently much of a factor in popularizing the special services at Garfield Park Branch Library. The "In Library" discovery of new services was evenly divided between the young adults that had used the branch before 1996 (twelve) and those that hadn't (eleven). If any conclusion can be drawn from these figures, it's that young people will come into the library, and the most relevant question for library staff and program designers is whether the services and atmosphere they encounter will lead them to return to the library.

One of the most important survey questions asked respondents about their library use. The answers, from just the forty young adult surveys, show the percentage of the total respondents that marked each activity.

It is interesting to note that surfing the Internet for fun was the leading reported use, but that books for homework support and actually doing homework were both reported by over fifty percent of respondents. It is also interesting that only forty-two percent reported using the Internet for homework information, and that almost seventy percent read books for pleasure. As one young respondent said, "I like all the things the library lets me do."

"Young people will come into the library, and the most relevant question for library staff and program designers is whether the services and atmosphere they encounter will lead them to return to the library."

How satisfied was the survey group with library staff? Extremely satisfied. And they didn't say that because we were staring at them. Having the survey online allowed a degree of anonymity that wouldn't have been possible with paper surveys. The evaluation of services was overwhelmingly positive, with a few exceptions.

        How helpful is the staff of 
     the Garfield Park Library to you?
                     Young Adults (18 and under)
Ultra helpful.                       20
Really helpful.                       8
Helpful sometimes.                    2
Helpful once in a while.              1
Hardly ever helpful.                  0
No help at all.                       0
Not only no help, but mean.           1
Mean, but helpful anyway.             1
Can't say, never needed help.         1

These results are confirmed by comments entered on the survey, from "They help me do my homework" to "I think that finding books that will help me with homework is great" to the touchingly grateful "I liked that I've gotten along with the staff."

And while the subject of our experiment is library service to young adults, the survey gave us some insight into the adult population which uses the Garfield Park Library. The adults appreciate the level of technology, but at least one "over sixty" respondent enjoys A PLACE OF OUR OWN: "It's fun to be around the kids who come here.... This library has made my life here in Santa Cruz MUCH BETTER than it would have been without the computers."