special libraries - australian library and information association
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ALIA I 1
ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEYReport DECEMBER 2010
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
Table of CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3InTRoDUCTIon 5DEMogRAphICS 6Respondents by State/Territory 6parent organisations 6Type of Library 7Corporate Membership of Library organisations 7Staffing 7NumberofPaidStaff 7EffectiveFulltimeEquivalent(EFT) 8StaffQualifications 8Volunteers 9ReasonsForChangesinStaffing LevelsOverLast5Years 9Clients 10Current Users 10ChangesInClientBase 11SERVICES 12LibraryServices 12OtherBusinessServices ProvidedByTheLibraryService 12MajorProjects 12NumberofLibraryServicePoints 13BUDgETS 15CoLLECTIonS 16CurrentSubscriptions 16CollectionSize 16SpecialCollections 16CollectionStrengths 16AccesstoLibrary HoldingInformation 17CollectionManagementSystems 18Networksandresourcesharingconsortia 18LibrariesAustraliamembership 18GOVERNANCE 19Wherethelibraryisbasedwithinthe structureoftheorganisation 19LibraryReferencegroup/committee 19FeedbackOnLibraryService 19Policies 20DevelopmentandPlanningActivities 20KeyPerformanceIndicators(KPI) 21CostingServices&CostBenefit 21Reportingonlibraryperformance 21gEnERAL 23ProfileofSurveyRespondents 23ViewsofSurveyRespondents 23SUMMARY 24ProfileofSurveyRespondents 25RECoMMEnDATIonS 26AppEnDIX 1 SurveyMethodology 27AppEnDIX 2 TypeofLibraries 28
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In2010theALIASpecialLibraryAdvisoryCommittee(SLAC)determinedtoundertakeastatisticalstudyofspeciallibrariesinAustralia.
ThepurposeofthestudywastoenableALIA,speciallibrariesmembersandemployers(management)togainabetterunderstandingofthecurrentstateofspecialistinformationservicesinAustralia.
Anonlinesurveywasdesigned,pilotedandthendistributedbySLACmemberstoover1400libraryemailaddressesinNovember2010.
Survey ResponsesResponsesweresoughtfromservicemanagersandindividuallibrarystaffinAustralianspeciallibraries.73%(266)oftherespondentsaremanagersofaspeciallibraryservice.Intotal380responseswerereceivedcoveringallstatesandterritories,81%(307)oftheseresponseswerecompleted.
Snapshot of Survey Findings• 74%ofresponsescamefromlibrariesbasedincapitalcities• 52%ofresponsescamefromgovernmentbasedlibraries• Thetypesoflibrariescoveredinthesurveyarediverse–thelargestresponserate(28%)wasfrom
health/medicinesector• Thereisnoclearpatternofwherelibrariesarebasedwithintheirparentorganisationorthe
seniority of the person they report to• 87%ofrespondentsreportedthattheirlibrarygatheredfeedbackonitsserviceinformallyatthe
timeofservicedelivery–thiswasthemostcommonmethodofgatheringfeedback• 34%ofrespondentshaveKPIsfortheirlibraryservice• 63%ofrespondentsindicatedtheirlibraryservicedidnotcostitsservicesorwasableto
demonstratethevalueofthelibrarytotheorganisation.• 15%ofrespondentsregularlybenchmarktheirserviceagainstotherlibraryservices• 70%ofrespondentsworkedinlibrarieswhichemploy1-3staffandonly12respondentsworked
inlibrariesthathavemorethan10staff• 18%ofrespondentshavevolunteersworkingintheirlibraryservice• 76%ofrespondentssaidtheirlibraryisacorporatememberofALIAand71%aremembersof
LibrariesAustralia• 80%ofrespondentssaidtherehasbeennochangeinthenumberoflibraryservicepointsintheir
organisationoverthelast5years• Internalusers(97%),Otherlibraries(57%),Researchers(52%)ExternalOrganisations(45%)and
Students(43%)werethemostfrequentlyidentifiedclientbasesidentifiedbyspeciallibraries• 86%ofrespondentsreportedthattheirlibraryhadabudgetof<$1.5millionwhile43%reported
anannualbudgetof<200,000.10%ofrespondentsdidnotknowwhattheirlibrary’sannualbudget was
• Collectionsizesrangedfromlessthan5,000tomorethan1millionitems• 140respondinglibrariesholdcollectionsofspecialistmaterial• 71%ofrespondentsindicatedtheirlibraryserviceparticipatesinnetworksorresourcesharing• Cataloguing(91%),documentsupply(90%),readyreferenceenquiries(87%),research(86%)
currentawarenessservices(84%),andcentralordering(84%)werethemostfrequentlyidentified
servicesprovidedbyspeciallibraries
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
Profile of Survey Respondents
Recommendations• ALIAbroadlypublicisestheresultsofthis2010surveyofAustralianSpecialLibraries.• ALIASpecialLibraryAdvisoryCommittee(SLAC)developsasmallsetofinterview/focusgroup
questionstoelicitexpectationsofnon-libraryseniormanagersoftheirorganisation’slibraryservice,especiallythosewhohavelineresponsibilityforthelibraryservice.ThesetofquestionscouldthenbedistributedtoAustralianspeciallibrarymanagerstouseintheirinteractionwiththeseniormanagersoftheirparentorganisation.
• Conductanothershorterversionofthissurveyin3yearstimeinordertomonitorthedevelopmentofspeciallibrariesinAustralia
60%haveworkedinthespeciallibrarysectorformorethan10years46%movedtospeciallibrariesfromanotherlibrarysector73%aremanagersofthelibraryservice92%haveformallibraryqualifications52%arepersonalmembersofALIA88%arefemale54% are 50+64%workfulltime32%earn$61-$80,00023%earn$81-$100,000
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
INTRODUCTION
ALIASpecialLibrariesAdvisoryCommitteeisinterestedingatheringinformationanddataaboutspeciallibrariesfromparentorganisations,employers(management)andstaffofspeciallibrariesviaasurvey.ThisinformationwillenableALIA,speciallibrariesmembersandemployers(management)togainabetterunderstandingofthecurrentstateofspecialistinformationservicesinAustralia.
In2010theALIASpecialLibraryAdvisoryCommittee(SLAC)determinedtoundertakeastatisticalstudyofspeciallibrariesinAustralia.
ThepurposeofthestudywastoenableALIA,speciallibrariesmembersandemployers(management)togainabetterunderstandingofthecurrentstateofspecialistinformationservicesinAustralia.
Anonlinesurveywasdesigned,pilotedandthendistributedbySLACmemberstoover1400libraryemailaddressesinNovember2010.
Thisreportsummarisestheresultsofthesurveyandprovidesrecommendationsforfutureresearch.
TheCommitteehadoriginallyplannedtosurveynon-libraryseniormanagersintheparentorganizationaswellaslibrarystaffinthesamesurveybutontheadviceoftheconsultantagreedtolimitthedistributionofthesurveytothemanagersandlibrarystaffinAustralianspeciallibraries.
Thedatabaseoflibrarycontactemailswasdevelopedbycommitteemembersbasesontheirspeciallibrarynetworks.FurtherdetailsaboutthesurveymethodologyareincludedinAppendixA.
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
DEMOGRAPHICS
Respondents by State/Territory
ACT
80
70
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
NSW NT QLD
100
90
SA TAS VIC WA
answeredquestion358
• Speciallibrariesinallstatesandterritoriesrespondedtothesurvey• 74%(265)responsescamefromlibraryserviceslocatedincapitalcities• 13%(46)arebasedinregionalareas&4%(13)inrurallibrariesservices
Parent Organisations
What Sector best descibes your parent organisation?
Commonwealth Government
State Government
Local Government (Corporate Library)
Commercial
Not-for-Profit
Other (please specify)
• Over50%(187)responseswerefromgovernmentfundedspeciallibraries.• CommercialandNot-for-Profitwereequalat19%ofresponses• ‘Other’includedgovernmententities,peakbodiesandeducationinstitutions.
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
Type of Library
Agriculture0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
Which category best descibes your library?
Art
Business/CorporateCultural
Defence/Military
Health/MedicineLaw
MiningMusic
Religion
Research
Science/Technology
Other (please specify)
answeredquestion362
• 28%(101)respondentswerefromhealth/medicinelibraries• ‘Other’typesoflibrariesaccountedfor22%(81)ofresponsesandincludedengineering,
education,emergencymanagement,disability,socialwelfareandtradeunions.SeeAppendix2forfulllistoflibrarytype
Corporate Membership of Library OrganisationsAustralianLibrary&InformationAssociation 76.3%AgLIn 20.2%AustralianLawLibrarians’Association 20.9%HealthLibrariesInc 11.9%AustralianGeosciencesAssociation 1.6%SpecialLibrariesAssociationAustn&NZChapter 7.1%VALA 7.1%Other(pleasespecify) 23.3%answeredquestion253
• 76%ofrespondentslibrarieshaveALIACorporateMembership• ‘Other’corporatemembershipsincluded:AustralasianLibrariesintheEmergencySector(ALIES);
AustralianSocietyofArchivists;AustralasianParliamentaryLibrariesAssociation;Australia&NewZealandTheologicalLibraryAssociation;andWAGLIN.
StaffingQuestionswereaskedaboutpaidstaff,qualifications,volunteersandanychangesinstaffinglevelsoverthelast5years.
Number of Paid Staff• 70%ofrespondentsworkinlibrarieswith1-3paidstaff• Only12respondentsworkedinlibrariesthathadmorethan10staffandtheirnumbersranged
from16-65staff.
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
How many paid staff are currently employed in your library, including part time?
1-3
4-6
7-10
10+
Accordingtosurveyrespondentstherehasbeenlittlechangeinthenumberofstaffemployedinthelibrariesoverthelast5years.
Effective Fulltime Equivalent (EFT)EFTrange No.ofresponses<1 531-3 1484-6 387-10 610+ 14• 53haveanEFTof1orlessstaff• ThemostcommonEFTofrespondentlibrariesisintherange1-3EFT.
Staff Qualificationsnumber of Librarians 95.4%NumberofLibraryTechnicians 56.7%answeredquestion263
• 98%(258)respondentshadatleast1staffmemberwithalibraryqualification• 39%(102)respondentshad1qualifiedlibrariansandnoqualifiedlibrarytechnician• 5respondentsreportedthattheyhadnoqualifiedstaffintheirlibraryservice• 11respondentshad1qualifiedtechnicianandnoqualifiedlibrarians
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
Volunteers
How many volunteers work in your library service?
0 1-‐3 4-‐6 7-‐10 10+
answeredquestion263
• 19%(49)ofrespondentshavevolunteersintheirlibraryservice• 5librarieshadvolunteersonlyandnopaidstaff• 42%(20)volunteershadlibraryqualifications
Howmanydaysperweekdovolunteersworkinyourlibraryservice?(totaldaysnotpervolunteer)
Answer options ResponsePercent Response Count
1 day 37.5% 182 days 16.7% 83 days 6.3% 34 days 4.2% 25 days 6.3% 3Other(pleasespecify) 29.2% 14answeredquestion48
• Somevolunteersworkondemandwhenrequiredratherthanasettime.
Reasons For Changes in Staffing Levels Over Last 5 Years
Reasonsgivenforreductioninstaffinglevels
• budgetcuts• staffnotbeingreplacedonretirement
amalgamationofservices
Reasonsgivenforincreasedstaffinglevels
• expandedroleoftheservice• additionalservicepoint• increasedstaffinorganisation
answeredquestion31
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
Clients
Current Users
0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
120.0%
Inte
rnal
Exte
rnal
/Oth
er
Org
anisa
9ons
Oth
er li
brar
ies
Gene
ral P
ublic
Cons
ulta
nts
Stud
ents
Rese
arch
ers
Oth
er (p
leas
e sp
ecify
)
Who are the current users of your library service? (Please choose all that apply.)
answeredquestion258
• Internalusers(97%),Otherlibraries(57%),Researchers(52%)ExternalOrganisations(45%)andStudents(43%)werethemostfrequentlyidentifiedclientbasesidentifiedbyspeciallibraries.
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
FrequencyofUsebyClientGroups
Answer options Daily WeeklyA few times a
monthMonthly
A few times a year
n/A
Internal 224 18 6 1 1 2External/Otherorganisations
30 46 25 8 27 26
other Libraries 43 49 35 14 31 16GeneralPublic 15 14 21 7 29 51Consultants 13 14 18 6 29 41Students 42 15 24 8 36 35Researchers 39 19 31 5 52 29Other(pleasespecify) 12 8 2 2 6 34answered258
• Internalusersarebyfarthemostfrequentusersofspeciallibraries
Changes In Client Base • 60%(154)ofrespondentsdidnotthinktheirclientbasedhadnotchangedoverthelast5years• Growthinthenumberofclients/staffintheparentorganisation,machineryofgovernment
changesandincreaseinthenumberofstudentsaresomeofthereasonsrespondentsgaveforthechangeintheirclientbaseoverthelast5years
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
SERVICES
Library Services
Current services Response %Cataloguing 91.40%Documentsupply(includingInterlibraryloans) 90.60%Readyreferenceenquires 87.10%Research 85.50%Centralorderingbooks/aquisitions 84.00%Currentawarenessservice(e.g.bulletinsoralerts) 83.60%Remotesearchingofdatabases/journals 77.00%Desktopdelivery 70.30%Journalcirculation 65.20%Informationliteracy 62.50%VirtualLibrary(Internet) 46.90%RSSFeed 17.20%Other(pleasespecify) 16.40%Businessintelligenceanalysis 16.40%Blog 11.30%Wiki 7.00%
answered 256
• Cataloguing,DocumentSupply,ReadyReference,Research,CentralOrderingandCurrentAwarenessServiceswerethemostfrequentlyidentifiedlibraryservices.
• Libraryintranetsarethemostcommon‘Other’serviceidentifiedbyrespondentsandacouplementionedsocialnetworking.
Other Business Services Provided By The Library Service• 25%(64)ofrespondentssaidthattheirlibrarymanagednootherbusinessservices.• 35%(90)respondentslibrariesmanagedtheirorganisation’spublications• 32%(82)managedanArchive• 23%(58)providedKnowledgeManagement• 19%(51)servedasthePhotographicrepository• Thelibraryintranetwasaservicementionedbysomeinthe‘Other’category.
Major Projects• Inadditiontosystemupgrades,digitizationandknowledgemanagementprojectsanumberof
respondentsindicatedtheirservicehadrenovatedorrelocated.
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
Major Library Management System upgrade or changes
80.0%
70.0%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
Knowledgemanagement
projects
Digitisation projects Indusrty directories
What major projects has the library been involved in over the last 5 years?(Please choose all that apply)
answeredquestion187
Number of Library Service Points Todeterminewhethertheincreasingavailabilityofelectronicdeliveryofinformationserviceshadimpactedonthedeliveryofspeciallibraryservicesthesurveyincludedquestionsaboutlibraryservicepoints.
How many library services points are there in your organisation?
0
1-‐3
4-‐6
7-‐10
10+
answeredquestion253
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
• The2%(5)respondentsthathadmorethan10libraryservicepointswerepartoflargegovernmentorglobalbusinessnetworks.
• 80%(204)respondentsindicatedtherehasbeennochangeinnumberofservicepointsintheirlibraryserviceoverthelast5year
• 20respondentsindicatedthenumberofpointsattheirlibraryservicehadbeenreducedbyone.
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
BUDGETS
Annual Budget For Library Service
Annualbudgetincludingstaffcosts Response % No.ofresponsesLessthan$50,000 13.6% 34$50,000-$99,999 15.6% 39$100,000-$199,999 14.0% 35$200,000-$299,999 10.4% 26$300,000-$399,999 8.8% 22$400,000-$499,999 6.8% 17$500,000-$599,999 6.0% 15$600,000-$699,999 2.0% 5$700,000-$799,999 1.2% 3$800,000-$899,999 3.2% 8$900,000-$999,999 0.4% 1$1m-$1.5m 3.6% 9$1.5m+ 4.4% 11Don’tknow 10.0% 25Other(pleasespecify) 10answeredquestion250
Librarybudgetsvariedsignificantly• 53.6%(134)reportedabudgetoflessthan$300,000includingstaffcosts• 13.6%(34)reportedabudgetoflessthan$50,000• 8%(20)respondentshadlibrarybudgetsof$1million+• 10%(25)respondentsdidnotknowwhatthebudgetwas• ‘Other’responsesincluded:confidential,partoflargernetworksodetailunknown• 30%(76)respondentsdidnotknowwhatthebudgetwas5yearsago
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
COLLECTIONS
Current Subscriptions
Subscriptionlessthan
1010-29 30-49 50-79 80+ n/A No.responses
Journals(hardcopy) 24 69 42 32 51 6 224Journals(electronic) 71 55 21 18 39 12 216Electronicdatabaseservices(i.e.Proquest)
133 35 5 4 7 21 205
other 17 5 2 0 5 18 47(pleasespecify) 41answeredquestion233
Collection Size
Respondentswereaskedtoprovideatotalnumberforthesizeoftheirlibraryservicecollection.
• 50%ofrespondentsprovidedanestimateofthesizeoftheirlibrary’scollection.• 4respondentsreportedthesizeofthecollectionwasunknownand187othersskippedthis
question.No.ofitemsincollection No.ofresponses
<5000 385000-10000 4310000-20000 4220000-50000 4350000-100000 15100000+ 11answeredquestion188
Breakdown of Collections by categoryMonographs Journals Standards other49% 28% 3% 20%
answeredquestion200
Special Collections• 140of148respondentsindicatedtheirlibraryserviceheldspecialcollections.• Thespecialcollectionsincludedunpublishedmaterial;rarehistoricalmaterial;photographsand
ephemera.
Collection StrengthsThestrengthsoflibrarycollectionsareasvariedasthebusinessoftheirhostorganisations.
• 187responsestothequestionaboutcollectionstrengthsaresovariedthereisnoclearpatternofcollectionstrengths.
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
Access to Library Holding Information
Library OPAC
80.0%
70.0%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
Organisation’sintranet
Organisation’swebsite
LibrariesAustralia
WorldCat Other (pleasespecify)
Where is information on your library’s holdings accessible? (Please choose all that apply)
answeredquestion225
• Lessthan30%ofrespondentsreportedthattheirlibrary’sholdingswereaccessibleviatheirorganisation’swebsite.
• ‘Other’responsesincludedthedesktopsofstaffintheirorganisation.• AfewrespondentsindicatedtheirjournalholdingslistedonGratisnetandsomeothershadplans
tomaketheirholdingsaccessiblethroughtheirorganisationswebsiteorTrove.
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
Collection Management SystemsThemostcommonlyusedlibrarysystemsarelistedbelowCollectionManagementSystem
No.ofresponses
DBTextworks 78SoftlinkLiberty 20FIRST 15Horizon7 15SirsiDynix 11Voyager 7Athena 6Koha 6Exlibris 2In house 4no system 4other 59answeredquestion227
• 4respondentsreportedusingin-housesystemsandAccessdatabases• Othersindicatedtheirlibraryservicehadcollectionstoosmalltowarranthavinganymanagement
system.
Networks and resource sharing consortia
• 71%(160)respondentsparticipatedinnetworksorconsortia• Morethan50respondentsindicatedtheirlibraryserviceparticipatedinGratisnet.• Respondentslistedover50libraryresourcesharinggroups–somearesubjectbased.• Informalresourcesharingwithinsectorswasalsomentionedbyanumberofrespondents
Libraries Australia membership• 164(71.3%)respondents’librarywasamemberofLibrariesAustralia• 137providedtheirlibraryserviceNUCsymbol
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
GOVERNANCE
Where the library is based within the structure of the organisation Thereisnostandardplacewherespeciallibrariesfitwithintheirhostorganisations.
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0%
Finance
Human Resources
Client Services
Research & Development
ICT
Corporate Services
Other (please specify)
Where is the library based within the structure of the organisation?
answeredquestion256
• 28%(71)respondentsreportedtheirlibraryservicewasbasedwithinCorporateServices• ‘Other’responsesincludedICT,InformationServices,andEducation.• Wholibrarymanagersreportstointheirorganisationisevenlyspreadbetweenexecutive,senior
managementandmiddlemanagement.• Insmallerorganisationslibrarymanagersaremorelikelytoreportdirectlytosomeoneatthe
executiveleveloftheirorganisation.
Library Reference group /committee• 82%(185)respondentsdonothaveareferencegrouporcommitteefortheirlibraryservice• Themostcommonroleofcommittees/referencegroupsthatdoexististoprovideadvicetothe
managerofthelibraryservice.
Feedback On Library Service
• Themostcommonmethodofobtainingfeedbackontheoperationofthelibraryserviceisinformalattimeofservicedelivery87%(191)
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0%
Formal Surveys
Customer Feedback Forms
Service Reviews
As part of organisaHon score card
Informally at Hme of service delivery
Other (please specify)
How does your library gather feedback on its service? (Please choose all that apply)
answeredquestion219
Policies
Documentsproducedbythelibraryservice ResponsePercentResponse
CountStrategicPlan 25.8% 58Business/OperationalPlan 33.8% 76MarketingPlan 11.1% 25CollectionDevelopmentPolicy 57.8% 130ServiceLevelAgreements 18.7% 42CustomerServiceCharter 11.6% 26RiskManagementPlan 9.8% 22OH&SPolicy 2.7% 6AnnualReport 22.2% 50StandardOperatingProcedures/Manual 53.8% 121OtherPolicies 19.6% 44Other(pleasespecify) 17.8% 40
answered 225
• Over50%ofrespondentsreportedtheirlibraryserviceproducesaCollectionDevelopmentPolicyandStandardOperatingProcedures/Manual.
• 38%producedabusiness/operationalplanand22%anannualreport.• 11%ofrespondentsindicatedtheirlibraryhasamarketingplan.• ‘Other’documentsreportedinclude:monthlystatistics,someothersreportedproducingnoneof
thesedocuments.
Development and Planning Activities• 59%(129)ofrespondentsindicatedtheyparticipateinorganisationplanninganddevelopment
activities.• Informationmanagement,knowledgemanagementandorganisationalcommitteesaresomeofthe
areaswherelibrarystaffareinvolved.
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
Key Performance Indicators (KPI)• 34%(74)ofrespondentsindicatedtheirlibraryhasKPIs.• OfthesethemostcommonKPIsdescribedarestatisticallybased:includingdataonnumbersof
loans,searchesetc.• Timelinessofservicedeliveryisanothermeasurecitedbysomerespondents.• SomeothershadlibraryKPIstiedtothoseoftheirorganisation.
Costing Services & Cost Benefit• 64%(141)respondentsreportedthattheirlibraryservicedonotcostservices• 66%(141)areunabletodemonstratethevalueofthelibraryservicetotheorganisation.
Responseswhichshowedthemeasurementoflibraryservicebenefitincluded:• Comparingthecostofthelibraryperformingtheresearchasopposedtothecostofaprofessional
researcher,oreventheclientthemselves,giventheefficiencywehaveinfindingandevaluatinginformationsources.
• KeepingstatisticsonarticlesobtainedviaGratisnet–cancalculatecostifhadtopurchasetheseonline,plusstafftime
• Benefitcalculator–comparingourservicestowhatstaffwouldpayiftheyhadtogotoanexternalsupplier
Reporting on library performance
CEO
80.0%
70.0%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
Department Head Your Immediate Supervisor
Finance Manager
Who within your organisation is provided with information on the library’s performance? (Please choose all that apply)
Other (pleasespecify)
• ‘Other’includedprovidinginformationonthelibrary’sperformancetotheChiefOperatingOfficer,theBoard,andinsomelawlibrariestothepartners.
• Anumberofrespondentsdonotprovideinformationonthelibraryservicetoanyone.
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
Benchmarking Services• 84.5%(186)responsesdonotbenchmarktheirserviceagainstotherlibrariesorserviceproviders.
• Ofthe15%whodidbenchmarktheAustralianHealthLibrariesBenchmarkingGroup,ParliamentaryLibrariesandAGLINwerementionedbyanumberofrespondents.
• Afewothersindicatedtheybenchmarkedonanadhocbasisiftheirlibraryservicewasunderrevieworthedepartmenttheyworkedinwasbeingrestructured.
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
GENERAL
Profile of Survey Respondents• 60%haveworkedinthespeciallibrarysectorformorethan10years• 46%movedtospeciallibrariesfromanotherlibrarysector• 73%aremanagersofthelibraryservice• 92.3%haveformallibraryqualifications• 52%arepersonalmembersofALIA• 88%arefemale• 54% are 50+• 64%workfulltime• 32%earn$61-$80,000• 23%earn$81-$100,000
Views of Survey RespondentsImportance of Skills and Knowledge for Special LibrarianRespondentswereaskedtoratetheimportantofalistofskillsandknowledgeforspeciallibrarians.
Bycombiningresponsesof‘extremelyimportant’and‘veryimportant’thetablebelowranksthemostimportantskillsandknowledgeforaspeciallibrarian.
Ranking Skill & Knowledge1 Information&CommunicationTechnology2 Libraryqualifications3 ResourceManagement4 StrategicPlanning5 Marketing6 Subjectspecialisation
answeredquestion315
Job Satisfaction and Confidence LevelsBycombiningresponsesof‘stronglyagree’and‘agree’thepercentagesbelowshowthesatisfactionandconfidencelevelsofrespondents.
• 96%ofrespondentsenjoyworkinginthespeciallibrarysector• 85%aresatisfiedintheircurrentrole• 62%areconfidentaboutthefutureofthespeciallibrarysector• 68%areconfidentaboutthefutureofthelibrarytheyworkinnow
Future Work Plans• 65%(204)respondentsplantocontinueinthesamejoboverthenext3years• 12.5%(39)respondentswouldliketobeworkinginanotherspeciallibrary• 11.5%(36)respondentsplantoretireinthenext3years• 10%(32)respondentswouldlikeanotherjobinthelibrarytheyarecurrentlyworkingin.
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
SUMMARY
ThepurposeofthisstudywastoenableALIA,speciallibrariesmembersandemployers(management)togainabetterunderstandingofthecurrentstateofspecialistinformationservicesinAustralia.
Thedatacollectedprovidesanextremelyvaluablepictureoftheoperationof300speciallibrariesinAustralia.ThesurveysupportstheaimoftheALIASpecialLibraryAdvisoryCommittee(SLAC)toprovideabetterunderstandingofthecurrentstateofspecialistinformationservicesinAustralia.
Themajorityofrespondentstothissurveyworkinlibrarieswherethereisatleastonelibraryprofessionalandlessthan3staff.Theservicestheyprovideareprimarilytraditionallibraryservices.
Mostreportedlittlechangeintheclientbaseorstaffingoverthelast5years.Veryfewusedastructuredmethodtomonitortheperformanceoftheirlibraryserviceandevenfewerwereabletomeasurethecostbenefitoftheirlibraryservicetothehostorganisation.
Asummaryofthestatisticalresultsofthesurveyarelistedbelow:
• 74%ofresponsescamefromlibrariesbasedincapitalcities• 52%ofresponsescamefromgovernmentbasedlibraries• Thetypesoflibrariescoveredinthesurveyarediverse–thelargestresponserate(28%)wasfrom
health/medicinesector• Thereisnoclearpatternofwherelibrariesarebasedwithintheirparentorganisationorthe
seniority of the person they report to• 87%ofrespondentsreportedthattheirlibrarygatheredfeedbackonitsserviceinformallyatthe
timeofservicedelivery–thiswasthemostcommonmethodofgatheringfeedback• 34%ofrespondentshaveKPIsfortheirlibraryservice• 63%ofrespondentsindicatedtheirlibraryservicedidnotcostitsservicesorwasableto
demonstratethevalueofthelibrarytotheorganisation.• 15%ofrespondentsregularlybenchmarktheirserviceagainstotherlibraryservices• 70%ofrespondentsworkedinlibrarieswhichemploy1-3staffandonly12respondentsworked
inlibrariesthathavemorethan10staff• 18%ofrespondentshavevolunteersworkingintheirlibraryservice• 76%ofrespondentssaidtheirlibraryisacorporatememberofALIAand71%aremembersof
LibrariesAustralia• 80%ofrespondentssaidtherehasbeennochangeinthenumberoflibraryservicepointsintheir
organisationoverthelast5years• Internalusers(97%),Otherlibraries(57%),Researchers(52%)ExternalOrganisations(45%)and
Students(43%)werethemostfrequentlyidentifiedclientbasesidentifiedbyspeciallibraries• 86%ofrespondentsreportedthattheirlibraryhadabudgetof<$1.5millionwhile43%reported
anannualbudgetof<200,000.10%ofrespondentsdidnotknowwhattheirlibrary’sannualbudget was
• Collectionsizesrangedfromlessthan5,000tomorethan1millionitems• 140respondinglibrariesholdcollectionsofspecialistmaterial• 71%ofrespondentsindicatedtheirlibraryserviceparticipatesinnetworksorresourcesharing• Cataloguing(91%),documentsupply(90%),readyreferenceenquiries(87%),research(86%)
currentawarenessservices(84%),andcentralordering(84%)werethemostfrequentlyidentifiedservicesprovidedbyspeciallibraries
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
Profile of Survey Respondents
60%haveworkedinthespeciallibrarysectorformorethan10years46%movedtospeciallibrariesfromanotherlibrarysector73%aremanagersofthelibraryservice92.3%haveformallibraryqualifications52%arepersonalmembersofALIA88%arefemale54% are 50+64%workfulltime32%earn$61-$80,00023%earn$81-$100,000
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RECOMMENDATIONS
• ALIAbroadlypublicisestheresultsofthis2010surveyofAustralianSpecialLibraries.
• ALIASpecialLibraryAdvisoryCommittee(SLAC)developsasmallsetofinterview/focusgroupquestionstoelicitexpectationsofnon-libraryseniormanagersoftheirorganisation’slibraryservice,especiallythosewhohavelineresponsibilityforthelibraryservice.ThesetofquestionscouldthenbedistributedtoAustralianspeciallibrarymanagerstouseintheirinteractionwiththeseniormanagersoftheirparentorganisation.
• Conductanothershorterversionofthissurveyin3yearstimeinordertomonitorthedevelopmentofspeciallibrariesinAustralia
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ALIA SPECIAL LIBRARIES SURVEY Report DECEMBER 2010
APPENDIX 1 Survey Methodology
ThesurveywasdesignedbySLACinSeptember–October2010withthesupportofanexternalconsultant.ALIAprovidedaccesstoitscorporateSurveymonkeyaccount.
Topicscoveredbythesurveyincluded:demographics;services;budgets;collections;governanceandgeneralinformationonlibrarystaff.
ApilotsurveywastestedbymembersofSLACinlateSeptember.
Thesurveywasdesignedtoenablerespondentswhoarenotmanagersoftheirorganisation’slibraryservicetoskipquestionsabouttheoperationandmanagementofthelibraryservice.
Thefinalsurveywasemailedbymembersofthecommittee(LouiseSegafredoandAndrewMeier)tospeciallibrariesinAustraliaonthe5November2010.
AnemaillinktothesurveywassenttoindividualsemailaddressesprovidedbymembersofSLAC.Areminderemailwassenttoindividualsemailaddresseson11November.Theadvertisedclosingdateforthesurveywas19Novemberandthefinalcloseoffwason24November.
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APPENDIX 2 Type of Libraries
AccountingAgriculture/EnvironmentAnthropology/nativetitle/landrightsArchitectureandTownPlanningArchivalArtAstronomicalAudit/Tax/AccountingAustralianhistoryBotanicalBusinessCommunicationsConservationConsultingEngineersCriminologyCultureCurrentaffairsDefence/MilitaryDisabilityEducation&TrainingEducationandReligionEducationEmergencyManagementEmergencyservices-trainingandresearchEngineeringFisheriesForeignLanguageFreemasonry&relatedareasgay studiesGovernmentGovernment-StatisticalOrganisationGovernment,Publicsector,Treasury
Health/MedicineHigherEducationSciencesandMinistriesIntellectualanddevelopmentaldisabilityInternationaldevelopmentandforeignaidJusticeLawMetaphysical,philosophy,occult,religion,scienceMiningMuseumMusicOH&SandWorkersCompensationOrnithologyPhilatelicPlanning–urban,regionalPolicing/CriminologyPoliticsandcurrentaffairsPublicPublichousingPublicSector/AuditingRecreationalReligionResearchScience/TechnologySocialpolicySocialSciencesSocialWelfareSocio-legalresearchPublicadministrationSpeleologySport/ResearchTrade unionTransportVictimology/SocialworkWelfareandsocialjustice
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Disclaimer
TheinformationcontainedinthisreportisbasedonthedataprovidedintheALIASpecialLibrarySurveyNovember2010.
Whiletheinformationisprovidedingoodfaiththeauthordoesnotwarranttheaccuracyoftheinformationnorassumelegalresponsibilityforit,oranydamageresultingfromrelianceon,ortheuseoftheinformationprovided.Neitheristheauthorresponsibleforanynegligenceoftheclientorotherpersonswithrespecttoanyuseoftheinformation.
Judy peppardPracticoPtyLtd
Note: This is a standard disclaimer used for consultancy reports