The Wisconsin Library User (and Non-User):Outcomes of a Statewide Survey

A Report Prepared for the

Wisconsin Public Library Consortiumwww.winnefox.org/wplc

Presented By:

Joshua H. Morrill(Morrill Solutions® 608-242-0924)

copyright 2003 Wisconsin Public Library Consortium

WHY DO A STATE SURVEY? Old Information Currently Guides

Policy Political Action! Funding Potentials Baseline For Future Surveys

“Knowledge is Power– BE POWERFUL”

HOW DID WE DO A STATE SURVEY?

SCLS Training Room Reference-USA sold us call lists Hired/ Trained 5 Interviewers Called Evenings and Saturdays

(Jan 29th- Feb. 15th)

SURVEY INFO?

611 people completed the survey

Completion Rate: 17.1%

SURVEY RELIABLITY?

Sampling Error = +/- 4 percentage points

(OK…What does this MEAN…?)

(Is this giving the WHOLE story…?)

The REAL Worry In Surveys…

Non-Sampling Error!

To examine the extent that this may be a

problem in our study…we compared our

demographic findings to US census data.

An Example Comparison(Census Region Comparison)

% of WI State Population (2000 Census)

% of Survey Responses

Metro Core 25.7% 19.8%

Metro 42.1% 39.8%

Urban/ Non-Metro 10.8% 10.0%

Rural not adjacent to Metro 7.3% 11.1%

Rural 14.1% 19.3%

TOTAL SAMPLE SIZE = 5,363,675 611

WI State Population (2000 U.S. Census)

Survey Responses

Median Age (in years)

36.00 47.00

‘Adjusted’ Median

(Appox.) 41.50 -

TOTAL SAMPLE SIZE

5,363,675 611

Keep in mind that we only sampled 14+ years old.

Comparison II(Age)

Facts About Library Users-And Non-Users I

(Region)

Region of WI as a predictor of Library Use

Library Users (N =294)

Non-Library Users (N= 317)

n % n %

North East 64 21.8% 61 19.3% South East 130 44.2% 126 39.7% South West 61 20.7% 81 25.5% North West 39 13.3% 49 15.5%

There were no significant differences of regions predicting library use [t(609)= 1.52, ns].

Facts About Library Users-And Non-Users II

(Political Affiliation)

There were no significant association between political affiliation and library use (r= .04).

Political Party Affiliation as a predictor of Library Use

Library Users (N=294)

Non Library Users (N = 317)

n % n %

Democrats 64 21.8% 66 20.8%

Republicans 58 19.7% 49 15.5%

Greens/Libertarians/ Independents/Other

20 6.8% 18 5.7%

Not affiliated with any political party

126 42.9% 146 46.1%

Unsure/Refused 26 8.8% 38 12.0%

Facts About Library Users-And Non-Users III

(Voting Behavior)

There was a significant difference between users and non-users in voting behavior----

LIBRARY USERS VOTE!

Did you Vote in the most Recent WI Gubernatorial Election?

Library Users (N=280)

Non-Library Users (N = 299)

n % n % YES 224 80.0% 195 65.2% NO 52 18.6% 95 31.8% UNSURE 2 0.7% 1 0.3% Refused 2 0.7% 8 2.7%

Perspectives on Library Funding

“ Which statement most closely represents your opinion regarding state funding of public libraries?”

Library Users (N =294)

Non-Library Users (N= 317)

n % n %

Public Libraries deserve MORE state financial support

134

45.6%

104

32.8%

Public Libraries deserve LESS state financial support

6

2.0%

7

2.2%

Public Libraries have an ADEQUATE amount of state financial support

89

30.3%

117

36.9%

-UNSURE-

61

20.7%

84

26.5%

-REFUSED-

4

1.4%

5

1.6%

Patron Views of Their Library What is the relationship between:

-Staff HELPFULNESS-Staff FRIENDLINESS-Library HOURS-Library COLLECTION

These items were highly associated and formed a reliable scale [alpha = .91]

In Other Words…

Helpfulness Friendliness Hours Collection

Local Library Perception

IS MY ENEMY--- MY FRIEND?(Bookstores and Libraries)

“During the past 4 months, please estimate how many times you have PURCHASED a book from either a physical or online bookstore?”

Library Users

(N=294) Non-Library Users

(N = 317) n % n %

1 to 5 times 125 42.5% 123 38.8% 6 to 10 times 47 16.0% 37 11.7% More than 10 times 25 8.5% 25 7.9% Have not purchased any books 97 33.0% 132 41.6%

Library Users BUY More Books!!!

New Initiatives I?(NetLibrary Potential)

“How interested are you in being able to read full-text books from your home or work computer?” (Library Users and Non-Users)

Library Users

(N=294) Non Library Users

(N = 317) n % n %

Very Interested 38 12.9% 24 7.6%

Somewhat Interested 60 20.5% 81 25.6% Not at all Interested 193 65.6% 205 64.7% Refused/ ‘Not applicable’/ ‘Unsure’ 3 1.0% 7 2.2%

Those who were interested--- Were Younger.

New Initiatives II?(MP3 Players)

“How interested are you in being able to check out an MP3 player from your local public library?” (Library Users and Non-Users)

Library Users (N=294)

Non Library Users (N = 317)

n % n %

Very Interested 29 9.9% 22 6.9%

Somewhat Interested 69 23.5% 63 19.9%

Not at all Interested 191 65.0% 221 69.7%

Refused/ ‘Not applicable’/ ‘Unsure’ 5 1.7% 11 3.5%

Again- interest from younger demographics

New Initiatives III?(24/7)

“How interested are you in being able to contact a librarian to answer a question 24 hours a day / 7 days a week?” (Individuals with Internet access)

Library Users (N=207)

Non Library Users (N = 192)

n % n %

Very Interested 40 19.3% 22 11.5%

Somewhat Interested 79 38.2% 78 40.6%

Not at all Interested 88 42.5% 89 46.4%

Refused/ ‘Not applicable’/ ‘Unsure’ 0 - 3 1.6%

New Initiatives IV?(Delivery)

“How interested are you in having library materials delivered to your home or place of work?”

Library Users (N=207)

Non-Library Users (N = 317)

n % n %

Very Interested 52 17.7% 36 11.4% Somewhat Interested 82 27.9% 83 26.2% Not at all Interested 158 53.7% 194 61.2% Refused/ ‘Not applicable’/ ‘Unsure’ 2 0.7% 4 1.3%

Of Interested Individuals--- 73.9% would pay a fee for this service!

The Library OVERALL

“Overall how satisfied are you with your Public Library?”

Library Users (N=294)

Non Library Users (N = 317)

n % n %

Very Satisfied 204 69.4% 134 42.3% Somewhat Satisfied 84 28.6% 130 41.0% Somewhat Dissatisfied 5 1.7% 10 3.2% Very Dissatisfied 0 0.0% 2 0.6% ‘Refused’/ ‘Not Applicable’ 1 0.3% 41 12.9%

Good Job!

Some Remarks on The Remarks

Take them for what they are…but do not over generalize from them.

Most people offered no feedback….

FEELING POWERFUL YET??

The full report is available at the WPLC web site:

www.winnefox.org/wplc/current/survey2003/