Listening to your Community
Listening to your Community
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One of the key ways a library can continue to serve the needs of their community is by directly listening to them. Sometimes this can be accomplished by a town hall style type of programming, but it is most often carried out through the creation of a community survey. Here we will give some tips and examples of ways to conduct a successful community survey for your library.
Tips in steps:
Develop a focus group made up of community stakeholders to develop questions for the survey.
Involve all admin staff on edits- based on your relationship with the board, possibly form a committee from board of trustees to assist with stakeholders.
Create a marketing kit and promotion plan- important things to consider are sharing with outside organizations, using similar color scheme/theme throughout promotion, social media, local papers, local news, and have board members share with their personal and professional networks. Also, incentivize participation with raffle prizes or library swag.
Assess and implement accessibility- offering digital & paper options, offering translated versions for common languages in community, include multiple choice & long responses for additional comments.
Once data is taken, use answers to draft a long range plan or strategic plan. Include a summary of survey takeaways and a timeline/plan to implement changes.
Examples:
Community Survey from Utica Public Library
Folks involved in creation of questions: Local directors of library partner organizations, leaders in large local non profits, three staff members (two admin & one librarian).
Marketing materials and promotional outputs utilized: Facebook and Instagram, local news tv station, two local newspapers, flyers at local community boards, customized bookmarks inserted into checkouts, physical and digital signage in library.
Accessibility features: Offering in English and Spanish, google form and paper form, high contrast colors for easier visibility.
Survey & long range plan:
More examples of larger library system long range plans
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