Skyline College Library Program Review

Part G: Student and Faculty Satisfaction Surveys

In order to make improvements in our collections and services and to better respond to students and faculty needs, Skyline College Library conducted a general student/library user survey and a faculty survey in Spring’ 2006.

I. Student Survey

There were nine questions in the general student/library user survey and 489 responses were collected from this survey. The first five questions of the survey gathered demographic information of the students as shown in item #1 below. The sixth question was to find out what Library resources students used and whether the resources satisfied their needs; the survey result is shown in item #2 below. The seventh question was used to find out students’ satisfaction with Library staff and the services provided by the Library; the result is shown in item #3 below. The eighth question was to find out what activities students did in the Library and the level of successfulness they felt with such activities. The result is shown in item #4 below. The ninth question was to find out how students used the computers in the Library and the level of successfulness they felt with such activities; the result is show in item #5 below. The survey also collected 183 write-in comments, which could be divided into nine categories; namely, noise, collections, hours, online access, facilities – study room, study area, facilities—computers, facilities – general, staff, and overall. Some sample comments are listed in item #6 below.

1. Statistics of students visited the Library in comparison to the overall Skyline College enrollment pattern:

A. Course taking pattern:

Students visited the Library	College overall enrollment
Day 54%	Day 41%
Evening 12%	Evening 38%
Both day and evening 34%	Both day and evening 21%

B. Students’ enrollment status

Students visited the Library	College overall enrollment
Continuing student 63%	Continuing student 59%
First-time Student 14%	First-time Student 9%
First-time to Skyline/transferring from another college 9%	First-time to Skyline/transferring from another college 13%
Concurrently enrolled in High School 1%	Concurrently enrolled in High School 4%
Returning student 9%	Returning student 11%
Returning after attending another college 4%	Returning after attending another college 4%

C. Ethnicity:

Students visited the Library	College overall enrollment
African American 6%	African American 4%
Asian 31%	Asian 30%
Filipino 23%	Filipino 18%
Hispanic 14%	Hispanic 18%
Native American Indian 1%	Native American Indian 0%
White 15%	White 23%
Other 10%	Other 3%

D. Age group

Students visited the Library	College overall enrollment
Under 18 3%	Under 18 4%
18-22 63%	18-22 45%
23-28 16%	23-28 24%
29-29 10%	29-29 14%
40-49 4%	40-49 7%
50-59 3%	50-59 4%
60+ 0%	60+ 2%

E. Educational goal

Students visited the Library	College overall enrollment
Acquire job skills or new career 8%	Acquire/update job skills 10%
Advance job skills or job advancement 3%	Educational Development 9%
Complete High School Credits 2%	Improve Basic Skills 2%
Earn a 2 year certificate without transfer 1%	Certificate without transfer 5%
Earn an AA/AS without transfer 8%	Earn an AA/AS without transfer 7%
Earn an AA/AS and transfer 45%	Transfer 55%
Transfer without an AA/AS 24%
Personal and/or intellectual enrichment (not working on a degree) 3%
Undecided 6%	Undecided 13%

2. Library resources students used and whether the resources satisfy their needs:

A. Books 93%

B. Magazines and newspapers 92%

C. Library research databases 95%

3. Students’ satisfaction with Library staff and the services provided by Skyline Library:

A. The library and its resources are very important when I am looking for information for a class research project.	97 %
B. The reference librarians are helpful.	97%
C. The library staff is helpful.	97%
D. The library staff is friendly.	96%
E. The library hours are convenient.	94%
F. The library is quiet and conducive to research or studying.	92%
G. The library has motivated me to do more outside reading (i.e., books and articles not assigned in class).	79%

4. Activities students did in the Library and the level of successfulness they felt with such activities:

A. Look for books 89%

B. Look for magazines or newspapers 86%

C. Study 96%

D. Use a group study room 89%

E. Work on a class research assignment 96%

F. Ask a reference question 89%

G. Attend a library research workshop 80%

H. Check out, renew, or return a book 90%

I. Get a library card 86%

J. Check out a reserve item 86%

K. Talk to library staff 89%

L. Use the library's wireless network 87%

M. Relax or socialize 86%

N. Other 89%

5. How students used the computers in the Library and the level of successfulness they felt with such activities:

A. Access library research databases (book catalog, periodical indexes, etc.)	94%
B. Go to the Internet to do a class assignment	95%
C. Go to the Internet for personal interest	93%
D. Check e-mail	92%
E. Type a paper	89%
F. Use other software (e.g. Excel)	86%

6. Suggestions and comments:

A. Noise -- 10% of total comments

20% commented that the Library is a quiet place to study, and 83% suggested needs for improvement. Below are examples of some suggestions:

- Try to warn students to be more quite.

- More enforcement should be commended.

- I would like the study group rooms’ windows to be sound proof.

- Keep the social groups more quite.

- More strict on cell phones.

- The Library should hire one person to control some student’s impolite behavior.

B. Collections -- 14% of total comments

22% commented that the Library has a good selection of books, reserve materials, fictions and non-fictions, and 78% recommended enlargement of the collection. Below are examples of some recommendations:

- Please add more books in your collection.

- More novels, leisure or recreational books.

- More current non-fictions and biographies.

- Wider variety of magazines and newspapers.

- Keep the magazines more current.

C. Hours –12 % of total comments.

All requested longer hours, such as open before 8 a.m., longer weekend hours. Some even suggested 24/7 schedule.

D. Online access –2 % of total comments.

2 commented the convenience of off campus database accessibility. One complained about the time limit for using the computers in the Library.

E. Facilities-- study room, study area – 7 % of total comments.

29% commented the usefulness of having study room, and 71% requested more study rooms.

F. Facilities—computers -- 9% of total comments.

12% commented the number of computers available, and the good policy of having time limit on the computer. 88% commented needs for improvement. Here are examples of some repeating comments:

- Need more computers;

- The computers need cleaning; keyboard and mouse are too old;

- 1 hour time limit is too short;

- Need bigger signage to indicate which computer could be used for what activity.

G. Facilities — general-- 3% of total comments.

One commented the convenience of having copy machines in the Library.

The other comments generally suggested the Library to purchase more couches, better bookcases, and have more room for everything.

H. Staff – 7% of total comments.

92% commented staff being helpful and they provide good services.

I. Overall

88% who sent in comments satisfied with the Library and the services it provides.

II. Faculty Survey

There were 8 questions in the faculty survey and 77 full and part-time faculty took the Library survey. There were three questions about faculty employment status; the results are listed in item #1 below. Three questions were used to find out the frequency of faculty’s Library usage. The results are reflected in item #2 and #3 below. One question was to further find out what activities faculty did in the Library; the result is shown in item #4 below. The last question was used to find out faculty’s satisfaction with Library staff and the services provided by the Library and the result is shown in item #5 below. The survey also collected 30 write-in comments and suggestions, which can be divided into five categories; namely, research workshop and the demonstration area, general services, Library collection, reserve services, and Information literacy course. Sample comments of these five categories are shown in item #6 below.

1. Following are employment information of the faculty who took the survey:

A. Faculty employment status:

Full time	Part-time	Day classes	Night classes	Day and night classes
60%	40%	51%	13%	36%

B. Number of years the faculty taught at Skyline College:

Less than 1 year	1 to 3 years	4 to 9 years	10 or more years
14%	8%	36%	42%

2. How faculty used the Library in last year or two:

Increased 13%

Decreased 4%

Stay the same 79%

Most of the reasons for decreased usage of Library were either the faculty was living too far away from campus, not teaching a course in the semester, or accessing the Library resources from home or office. The reasons for increased usage of the Library were mostly due to more research paper required for the courses the faculty taught.

3. The frequency which faculty used the library, including the Library’s website and online resources:

Once a year 4%

Once a semester 16%

Two or three times per semester 24%

More than three times per semester 37%

Weekly 16%

Daily 3%

4. The activities in which faculty currently use or have used Skyline Library:

Check out, renew, or return a book	40%
Browse the book and/or periodical collections	43%
Browse the “Recent Fiction” collection	13%
Use the PLS online book catalog	32%
Request a book or article through the PLS system / interlibrary loan service	28%
Use a library online subscription database (PowerSearch, ProQuest Biology, etc.)	17%
Use the library’s “Article Delivery Service”	7%
Search the Internet for academic sources	48%
Get help from a reference librarian	39%
Place a course text or other resource in the library reserve collection	49%
Attend a library research workshop with my class	41%
Give my class a tour of the library	28%

5. Faculty’s satisfaction with Library staff and the services provided by the Library:

A. The library has a good selection of current, authoritative books in the area(s) in which I teach.	89%
B. The library subscribes to enough periodicals (print and online) that are relevant to my classes and class assignments.	88%
C. The library and its resources help my students achieve the student learning outcomes in my courses.	92%
D. The library online databases are helpful for my teaching and academic work.	96%
E. The library website is very helpful.	97%
F. The library website is easy to navigate.	97%
G. My students cite higher quality sources after attending a library research workshop.	93%
H. Librarians have helped my students develop the ability to evaluate information sources for quality and credibility.	93%
I. My students are required to use library books and/or research databases in order to complete my course.	78%
J. The library area where research workshops are held is conducive to learning research methods.	96%
K. The library is effective in helping students develop information literacy skills.	97%
L. The library staff is helpful.	97%
M. The library staff is friendly.	96%
N. The library provides efficient service when I wish to put my course materials on reserve in the library.	97%
O. Overall, I am satisfied with the service the library provides to me and my students.	98%

6. Faculty Satisfaction and Expectations Comments

A. Research workshop and the Demonstration area – about 20% of the total comments. Examples of the comments are:

- The class workshops for tailored for my sections are excellent!

- Perhaps an enlarged and/or walled off area to prevent distractions for group orientations

- Accommodating each student with a computer terminal would be helpful.

- I would recommend the library staff to speak a bit louder during the orientation--it was hard to hear.

- I have often thought it would be great if Eric Brenner could write a script of his tutorial for the English 100 classes and circulate it to everyone who leads a research workshop with the students. The amount of information he delivers and the clear, logical sequencing of the information is ideal -- as is the pacing. This is a hard thing to do, especially with so many students with language difficulties.

- I liked the research databases they covered during the orientation. I would recommend more attention on Expanded Academic index, as well.

B. General services – about 40% of the total comments. Mostly about the good services provided by the Library staff. Some examples are:

- Please continue as you are; changes for the sake of changes may be detrimental and inhibiting. Thank you for being you!

-You guys do a terrific job. I never hesitate to send my students in for help.

- The library staff is top notch, easily amongst my favorite people on campus. They're friendly, helpful, and accessible, so I frequently point my students in their direction.

- I bring my classes in every semester and the staff has always been incredibly helpful.

- I've mainly worked with Dennis Wolbers and he has always gone above and beyond in helping orientate my students and he sets up workshops based on their assignment needs.

C. Library Collection – about 40% of the total comments.

i. 25% of the comments in this category suggested the Library includes CDs or DVDs in the collection. The comments are as follows:

-I would be wonderful if we can get some DVD's specific to Cosmetology (such as --haircuts, styling, perms, and makeup) for students to check out.

- It would be helpful to stock videos for class use which are in good condition.

- A larger selection of world music CDs and DVDs would be great.

ii. 41% of the comments in this category suggested the Library expands its collection in other areas. Some comments on specific subjects are as shown below:

-I wish the library had more books and felt more like a library

- Additional update reference books specific to cosmetology would be helpful as well.

- The book selection is small; it is hard to get books.

- Primary sources tend to mystify students. I'd like more emphasis on that, maybe less on articles, though I do agree articles are useful.

- A large and prominently displayed section of foreign language periodicals could help us show the community our commitment to multiculturalism.

iii. Two comments on online resources as shown below:

--“What I feel that online sources are good for, are primary sources.”

--“I'm finding that the emphasis on online material makes students feel they don't need books. The fact is, students who use books tend to do better than those who don't.”

D. Reserve Services -- One comment suggested improvement in reserve services: “When instructors put books on reserve, sometimes it seems to take more than a week to get them, which makes students fall behind on their projects.”

E. Information literacy course:

One faculty commented on the need for an information literacy course:

“It is impossible to teach "information literacy" in one library session, or even one course. The idea would be to have a class on research which is required (other schools have them) where we actually had the time to present the info properly. There is too much info out there and it takes a long time to learn how to control it.”

Last updated: 9/27/06