BACKGROUND In an attempt to identify how the Library could better serve the Larchmont/Town of Mamaroneck community, the Board of Trustees of the Larchmont Public Library determined to conduct a community survey. In November, 1999 a survey was mailed to every household in the Village of Larchmont and the unincorporated Town of Mamaroneck, the communities the Larchmont Public Library is chartered to serve. 8,130 surveys were mailed; 1,176 surveys were returned, a 14% rate deemed high by an expert who consulted on this survey. The surveys were directed to people over the age of 18, and additional copies were available in the Library in the event that more than one adult per household wished to respond. Both the development of the survey and its subsequent coding were done inhouse. The most significant costs were printing, mailing and the business reply mail costs. The total costs for the survey were $3,171. Funding for the survey and all associated costs were paid for from a special Library Trust Fund comprised of gift monies; governmental funds were not used for this survey except for modest amounts of staff time. We are grateful to the many volunteers who assisted with the survey’s preparation and coding. Survey results are presented below, followed by an Analysis of Results at the end.     SURVEY RESULTS Percentages below have been rounded to the nearest full number, and therefore may not equal 100%. A. IDENTITY OF USERS 35% of respondents identify themselves as parents with school-age children 32% of respondents are senior citizens/grandparents 14% have no school age children 9% are parents with preschool children 9% are single adults B. AGES OF USERS 37% are 34-49 years old 28% are 50-65 years old 25% are 65 years of age and older 8% are aged 23-33 years C. EDUCATION 36% of the respondents have at least one Master’s degree 28 % have a Bachelor’s degree 14% have a professional degree 10% hold doctoral degrees D. FREQUENCY OF LIBRARY USE 41% use the Library monthly 27% make several visits per year 21% use the Library weekly 6% use libraries other than LPL The two main reasons cited for the use of other libraries are difficult parking at LPL or LPL is less geographically convenient than another library. Additionally, of the 1,176 respondents, 22 people said that LPL’s resources are deficient; 20 prefer the environment of other libraries; and 12 said LPL’s hours are inconvenient. 4% don’t use public libraries. E. RECENCY OF LIBRARY USE 44% of respondents have used the Library within the last week 35% have used the Library within the last month 15% have used the Library within the last six months 4% have used within the last year 3% haven’t used the Library in more than twelve months F. SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH LAST VISIT TO LPL AND RESOURCES 81% indicated that they were satisfied with their last experience at the Library. 74% said the staff is always helpful and knowledgeable, while 2% said the staff is rarely helpful and knowledgeable. 3% said they never spoke with staff. 74% said the resources are adequate with few exceptions. 10% said the materials are not adequate. 16% did not know whether the resources are adequate. 163 surveys contained comments praising the staff, while 41 contained negative comments about the staff. Those who were not satisfied with their last experience at the Library cited the following reasons: they couldn’t find the materials needed, didn’t understand how to find the materials needed, had negative interaction with staff, found the environment uncomfortable, or gave other reasons. (It should be noted that the timing of this survey coincided with the switch to a new automated system, which meant new, and some days, nonfunctional, computerized catalogs. This may have some bearing on responses in which people said they couldn’t find the materials needed or didn’t understand how to find them.) Respondents cited the following items as the ones they relied on LPL most for: Fiction books — 58% Nonfiction books — 53% Reference services — 43% Videos — 34% Children’s materials — 30% Books on tape — 25% G. CONVENIENCE OF LIBRARY HOURS 92% of respondents provided answers. Of this number, 79% said that the Library’s hours are convenient; 21% said they are not convenient. However, a significant number of those who said the Library’s hours are convenient also chose to answer the next question about adding hours weekends and weeknights (instead of skipping that question, as instructed) or requested that the Library add or change hours in the comments section. The top requests for additional hours were, in rank order: Sunday 3PM — 4PM 30% of total survey responses Sunday 4PM — 5 PM 26% of total survey responses     Tuesday 5PM – 6PM 20% of total survey responses Wednesday 5PM –6PM 20% of total survey responses     Sunday 10AM— 11AM 5% of total survey responses Friday 5PM – 6PM 13% of total survey responses Tuesday 6PM – 7PM 10% of total survey responses Wednesday 6PM –7PM 9% of total survey responses Note: because people could mark more than one slot, percentages exceed 100 H. SUMMER SUNDAYS The Library is currently closed on Sundays during the summer. In response to the question asking about use if the Library were opened on Sundays, 45% of respondents said they are unlikely to use the Library on summer Sundays. 31% said they are somewhat likely. 15% said they are very likely to use the Library on summer Sundays. 8% said they did not know. I.CHILDREN’S ROOM—USE, HOURS, PROGRAMS 65% of respondents do not regularly use the Children’s Room; 35% do. Respondents who use the Children’s room deem the following resources most important: Books for fun -98% Books for school- 46% Videos - 29% Programs - 20% Help with homework - 13% Of the 367 responses to this question (31% of total survey responses), 37% want the Children’s Room to remain open Monday evenings. 22% want the Children’s Room open other evenings or when the adult library is open. 14% want the Children’s Room open Monday mornings, when it is currently closed. 58% said Children’s programs adequately serve the community 16% said they do not and many offered detailed suggestions 26% said they did not know. J. TECHNOLOGY Although 64% of respondents said that LPL’s tech resources serve the public adequately, many wrote notes in margin or comment section stating that number of computer terminals is inadequate or requesting more of them. 28% of respondents said that LPL’s tech resources are not adequate, either because the content was inadequate (36%), or physical setup, including number of terminals, was inadequate (95%) (Percentages exceed 100 because more than one response was indicated in some cases). In response to the question about LPL’s Internet-based database services, 71% said they had not accessed them from home (a large number said they were unaware of these services, and requested more information about them). Newspapers, EBSCO, SearchBank and Encyclopedias were the LPL databases most accessed from home. K. REFERENCE SERVICES 72% of respondents answering this question received assistance from reference librarians. 64% thought that LPL’s reference services adequately serve the community, 5% said they do not, and 14% didn’t know.     ANALYSIS OF RESULTS The respondents were an exceptionally well educated group who value the Library and are generally pleased with its services. 92% are age 34 or older and the largest age group is 34-49 (37%). A number of respondents wrote "thank you" on their surveys. While the range of responses suggests some users want more of everything, the items that commanded the greatest response, and are therefore recommended for LPL Board consideration, are listed below. The most requested increase in service was the addition of hours Sunday afternoons. 30% of all respondents requested that the Library remain open 3PM-4PM, and 26% asked for 4PM-5PM. In addition, 47 persons wrote comments asking for "more hours Sunday afternoons." 11% asked for 10AM—11AM Sunday mornings. Respondents also asked for additional weeknight hours in significant numbers. The 5:00PM-6:00 PM hour garnered 20% on Tuesday and Wednesday, 13% on Friday, and 11% on Saturday. The 6PM-7PM slots on Tuesdays and Wednesdays got 10% and 9% respectively. More computer/terminal workstations are desired (we have 6 now.) Of the 147 (13%) respondents who deemed LPL tech resources inadequate, 95% cited lack of workstations. Interestingly, 63% said they had Internet access at home and 71% of them said they had not used LPL’s Internet services, many because the weren’t aware of them. Despite repeated reminders we will have to do more to make their existence known. Many respondents who said that the Library’s resources were "adequate with few exceptions" nonetheless wrote in suggestions, adding to the number who thought the Library’s resources were not adequate. Books on tape was the item most often mentioned as lacking, followed by videos, books and CDs. Of the 31% of total respondents who said they use the Children’ Room, "books for fun" was by far the most important. 14% of those who responded to this question asked that the Children’s Room be opened Monday mornings; an additional 12 people wrote in comments about opening the Children’s Room Monday mornings or whenever the rest of the Library is open. "Programs" ranked fourth in importance, but 16% of those rating them considered them inadequate, and 36 people made specific program suggestions/requests. Diane Courtney Library Director William T. Dentzer, Jr. Chair, Library Board of Trustees January 11, 2000