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Update_Library Board of Trustees and Survey 11 15 12Carnegie -Stout Public Library Library Board of Trustees Update From the Meeting of November 15, 2012 Present: Paula Connors, President; Mike Willis, Vice President; Frederick Miller, Secretary; Trustee, John Anderson - Bricker Excused: Diann Guns, David Hammer, Jenny Weiss The Board met Thursday, November 15. Below is a summary of their meeting: • October marked 33 percent of the fiscal year lapsing. Expenditures were at 33 percent of the total operating budget. Revenue collected is at 39.8 percent of projections. • Visits to the library were down 2 percent in the month of October when compared to October, 2011. Circulations were down 1 percent. Although we can expect to see a steady decrease in circulation due to restrictions imposed on Open Access borrowers, this decrease was due to Dubuque residents borrowing less print material during the month of October. Non - print material continues to realize large increases in circulation. • The County Board of Supervisors will schedule a worksession with the County Library Board of Trustees to discuss open access issues with patrons of the Dubuque County Library system. At the time of this writing it is not known when this will take place. • The Board is talking with Lange Sign Group regarding the extent to which they will fund the new signs required outside the library. • The Executive Summary of the Community Survey was presented to the Library Board and is attached here for your review. The Board of Trustees will continue their discussion of the results in coming meetings. Library Board of Trustees Paula Connors, Board President Mike Willis, Vice President Frederick Miller, Board Secretary John Anderson - Bricker Diann Guns David Hammer Jenny Weiss Susan Henricks, Director Executive Summary of the Community Survey August- September, 2012 Himmel and Wilson Library Consultants, of Milton, WI developed a community survey that was administered in August and September, 2012. Through the return of 396 mail surveys the survey achieved scientific results that can be generalized to the community at large with a confidence level of +1- 5 percent. The survey was also offered online through the library's website and by an email invitation to educators and library patrons for electronic participation. Hard copies of the survey were available in the library for interested on -site visitors. Responses received: • Mail Survey 396 • Web Survey — Library Patron List 688 • Web Survey — School District 182 • Web Survey — Library Website 76 • In- Library Survey 81 The web surveys' and the in -house surveys' responses are from a self - selected sample that is more likely to be biased in favor of library services; therefore, the mail survey results should be relied upon since it is based on a scientifically valid random sample. Do You Have Children Under the Age of 12 Living m Your Home? Responses by Ward • Web- Patron Web -Open Ward Mail Web - Patron Web -Open In- Library School District 1 33.6% 31.2% 29.0% 27.5% 30.8% 2 33.3% 19.5% 18.4% 25.0% 15.9% 3 20.4% 12.7% 13.2% 21.3% 3.9% 4 12.4% 19.5% 17.1% 20.0% 8.8% Don't Live in DBQ 0% 5.0% 13.2% 5% 25.3% Do You Have Children Under the Age of 12 Living m Your Home? Mail Web- Patron Web -Open In- Library School District 17.6% 32.7% 29.7% 21.5% 21.1% 1 The Public Library is Very Important or Essential to the Quality of Life in my Community Mail Web- Patron Web -Open In- Library School District 89.8% 90.5% 92.2% 100% 81.4% More than 65% of all respondents report contact with the library in the past six months, which is close to the percentage of active library card holders that are registered borrowers. A large majority of respondents, whether they have used the library recently or not, believe the library is either very important or essential to the quality of life in our community. For those who had recent contact with the library 93.5% agreed with this statement. A strong majority (83.7 %) of those who have not had recent contact with the library agreed with this statement. Similarly, respondents reported a high level of satisfaction with the library, with 83.6% stating their overall satisfaction level is either very good, or excellent. Those rating satisfaction as "good" represent 11.5% of the respondents. The library can take cues from comments left in "other" categories, as well as ratings in the collection and programs, to design improvements. No respondents rated their library satisfaction level as "poor," and only 4 respondents rated their experience as "fair." Expansion of Library Services to the West Side Respondents Who do Not Live on the West Side or Do Not Visit the West Side Mail Web- Patron Web -Open In- Library School District 36.1% 90.5% 92.2% 100% 81.4% To address the question of expansion of services to the west side of the city, the survey combined a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 representing "not important at all" and 5 representing "very important" was asked. 2 How Important is Library Expansion to the West Side? Rank Mail Web — Patron Web — Open In- Library School District 1— Not at All Important 33.3% 31.5% 25.3% 30.4% 16.5% 2 13.3% 14.9% 10.7% 6.3% 12.6% 3 23.8% 24.4% 24.0% 24.1% 30.2% 4 14.6% 14.7% 14.7% 20.3% 21.4% 5 —Very Important 15.1% 14.4% 25.3% 19.0% 19.2% An average of 35.7% of respondents to all surveys (mail, web, and in- library) ranked west side service as important or very important. An average of 39% of respondents to all surveys (mail, web, and in- library) ranked west side service as unimportant or not at all important, and an average of 25.3% (351 people) were neutrallundecided /no opinion. This varies from a 2004 library survey that asked, "... how important would you say offering expanded library services to the west side of Dubuque is to you and your family ?" About 53% responded important or very important, 31% responded unimportant or not at all important, and 10% were neutrallundecided /no opinion. In 2004 the library had no west side service. Since then, a drop off -pick up point at Kennedy Mall has been introduced, as have material return boxes at Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School and a vending machine at Hy -Vee with a material return box, so it is not surprising to see the slight decrease in demand for expanding west side service. However, the decrease in demand did not necessarily transfer over to choosing "unimportant or not at all important" (which changed less than 5 %); instead, there was a significant increase in those who were neutrallundecided / no opinion. This category was around 10% in 2004 and jumped to more than 25% in the recent survey. The closeness of these responses makes the more neutral rating of 3 particularly important. Those in the middle represent nearly 24% of all respondents, and when this group has more information — either for or against west side library expansion — they may hold stronger opinions to create a clearer majority. 3 Which Services Would You Most Likely Use if Available on the West Side? Rank Mail Web — Patron Web — Open In- Library School District 1 Adult Books Adult Books Adult Books Adult Books Adult Books 2 DVDs Children's Books DVDs DVDs Children's Books 3 Ref Info DVDs CDs Children's Books DVDs 4 Comfortable Seating for Reading /Study- ing CDs Children's Books CDs Storytimes Wi -Fi Storytimes Comfortable Seating for Reading /Study- ing Adult Programs Tie Teen Books CDs Mags/News- papers Comfortable Seating for Reading /Study -ing Teen Books Teen Books Tie Adult Programs Wi -Fi Computers Teen Books Tie Ref /Info Mags /Newspa- pers Computers Computers 8 Adult Programs Drop -Off Pick Up Tie Adult Programs Meeting Rooms Tie Storytime Meeting Rooms Wi -Fi Mags/Newspa- pers Comfortable Seating for Reading /Study -ing 9 Meeting Rooms Wi -Fi Tie Drop Off/Pick Up p Ref Info Computers Off /Pick Up Wi -Fi 10 CDs Mags/News- papers Genealogy Genealogy Meeting Rooms 4 Services Most Likely to be Used — West Side Expansion Respondents to all surveys (mail, web, and in- library) showed a preference for a services that would require a building if expansion were to take place on the west side ofthe city. A collection of varied formats for adults and children topped the lists. Also noted in the top five rankings were comfortable seating for reading /studying and programs. How to Pay for Expansion of Library Services to the West Side? Option Mail Web — Patron Web — Open In- Library School District Taxes 15.7% 16.4% 20.3% 20% 17.1% Bond 8.0% 14.3% 18.9% 9.3% 11.9% Library Levy 44.6% 40.7% 41.9 °'0 37.3% 38.1% None of the Above 27.1% 24.8% 17.6% 24% 26.1% Paying for Expansion of Library Services Respondents chose a library levy to provide funding for the expansion of library services to the west side of the city. Voters determine whether the city adopt a library levy, which would be $.27 per $1,000 ofthe assessed valuation of property. A home valued at $100,000 would contribute approximately $2.50 annually to a library levy that can be expected to generate about $550,000 annually. Miscellaneous A total of 590 comments were added to the surveys. They can be categorized as: Positive — 43.4% (n =256) of the positive comments 17% were about staff (n= 44) Negative — 3.7% (n =22) of the negative comments 18% were about staff (n= 4) West Side — Support 16.6% (n =98) West Side — Oppose 9.9% (n =58) Suggestions — 10.0% (n =61) (collection, policy, program, or facility related) 5