University of Sussex Library Survey:
Summary of results 2014
Joanna Ball and Suzanne Tatham
6/1/2015
Introduction
Summary of main findings
1. Demographic information.................................................................................................. 2
1.1 Division of respondents ............................................................................................... 2
1.2 Full-time or part-time .................................................................................................. 2
1.3 Academic department representation ........................................................................ 2
2. Use of the Library ............................................................................................................... 2
2.1 Study spaces................................................................................................................. 2
2.2 Ebooks .......................................................................................................................... 3
2.3 Access to Library material ............................................................................................ 3
2.4 Library communications .............................................................................................. 4
2.5 Making use of Library resources .................................................................................. 5
2.6 Laptop loan service ...................................................................................................... 5
3. Satisfaction with current provision .................................................................................... 5
3.1 Service .......................................................................................................................... 5
3.2 Range of books ............................................................................................................. 5
3.3 Range of online resources ........................................................................................... 5
3.4 Ease of use of the website ........................................................................................... 5
3.5 Balance of study areas ................................................................................................. 5
4. Value of the Library ............................................................................................................ 6
Plans for improvement .............................................................................................................. 6
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Introduction
During November 2014 the Library conducted a short online survey inviting responses from students
and all University staff. The purpose of this consultation was to measure current use and levels of
satisfaction with the Library and to identify priorities for the future. The survey was made available
online via the University and Library websites and all staff and students were sent an email inviting
them to participate in the survey.
A total of 1100 respondents completed the survey, representing 7% of the University community,
the same proportion as 2013.
We will be running our next full survey of Library users in November 2015. During 2014/2015 we will
continue to engage and consult using the variety of methods agreed in our Customer Consultation
and Feedback Policy.
Summary of main findings
1. Demographic information
1.1 Division of respondents
Undergraduate:
Postgraduate (taught):
Postgraduate (research):
Academic staff:
Professional services staff:
Other:
61%
15%
8%
8%
8%
1%
(671)
(163)
(85)
(84)
(89)
(8)
1.2 Full-time or part-time
93% of the taught course students (UG and PGT) who responded are studying full-time, with 32% of
undergraduate students in their first year, 33% in their second, 39% in their third and 7% in their
fourth or fifth year.
1.3 Academic department representation
All academic departments are represented.
2. Use of the Library
2.1 Study spaces
41% prefer to work in silent study space, 41% in quiet study space and 18% prefer to work in the
group study spaces. The main reason given by academic staff and postgraduates for not using Library
space is that they have their own office space, but noise and lack of space were also raised.
It's always too busy and I can never find a computer to work from.
It's too noisy and full of people eating, drinking and using their phones.
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2.2 Ebooks
Our users have a preference for accessing books in print. Amongst taught course students, 66%
prefer to access a book in print with 34% preferring ebooks or having no preference at all. Amongst
researchers (PGRs and academic staff), 63% prefer print with 37% preferring ebooks or having no
preference at all.
Many of our users distinguished between the use of print and ebooks for different purposes:
To quickly read/check something, ebook is preferred, but if I want to read a significant amount of it,
then it's better to get the print copy out.
There is usually a wide selection of print books available and recommended by lecturers in the library,
while I find it somewhat harder to locate an ebook relevant to the topic at hand.
Preference is determined by study pattern. If I'm at home and need to quickly check a reference in a
book I'll prefer e-resources. If I'm at the library I'd rather grab the book and explore.
In general I prefer to read from a print book, particularly if I need to read a lot in one go. However,
having books available as ebooks means I can access things easily without physically visiting the
library.
2.3 Access to Library material
We asked our users how they prefer to access the Library’s online resources
 89% said on a PC or laptop
 2% on a mobile
 5% on a tablet or e-reader
 4% expressed no preference
55% of users reported that at some point they have experienced difficulties in accessing Library
resources they need.
We asked what prevented our users from obtaining Library material that they wished to read
 108 said that a reading list was not available (in print or online)
 390 said not enough copies of a book were available in the Library
 184 said that they were unable to find the material using Library search
 201 couldn’t find the material on the shelf
 76 said that online access was not available
and 74 gave other reasons, many of which related to the lack of computers or problems with wifi,
but also included:
Books not available.
Difficulties with document format from ILL
Especially concerning newly published books and new editions, the library sometimes only has the
first edition, but does not cover the recent development in particular areas
I've had difficulties finding the site with audio-visual material, both for teaching and related to my
research interests.
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Internet is extremely difficult to connect to ALL the time. Stopping me from getting the resources I
need, unless I'm on a computer, of which there are not enough.
Library does not have print or electronic copy of a book on a reading list
Library doesn't own some of the books I was looking for when I was still teaching, and inter-library
loan was too much hassle.
Occasionally books seem to be missing...
The library is still building collections in the areas in which I teach and research, so if I haven't asked
the library to order the book it usually isn't there.
The optimization of the book searching engine is urgently needed. The current one does not correct
misspelling or does not suggest a book unless I type in the full length of a book title. I would like to
have the "Did you mean" results which are similar to what amazon or Google provides.
Very frustrating when books aren't where they should be on the shelves - this has happened to me
several times.
You have 2 search, Library and Catalogue, which is confused.
Some of the online resources, e.g. Web of Knowledge are not the easiest to find, requiring many clickthroughs to get there.
The link for accessing e-journals or e-books often fails to connect when not on campus - I mean the
link between logging in w my sussex id and authenticating myself in order to access the resource.
This happens on a regular basis sometimes trying again works but most time a message appears that
the server can't be found.
I had encountered difficulty with some of the books available in e-format. I cannot find them in the
catalogue, but when I asked to order them, I discovered that they were available in the form of an ebook and sent a link to them.
The website feels finicky to me: I have struggled to locate Sussex theses, and/or to hone in on the
specific book I'm looking for. A great improvement has surfaced with the listing of contents for books
- that's really great and entirely useful.
2.4 Library communications
We asked our users which methods of communication they find useful in getting information about
the library.
 87% find the Library webpages very useful or quite useful
 69% email
 52% the Library’s plasma screens
 18% Facebook
 18% our instant messaging service
 13% Twitter
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2.5 Making use of Library resources
We asked how confident our users feel in accessing and using a range of Library resources:
 92% said they feel very confident or quite confident in using Library search
 87 % in finding resources for research
 73% in finding ebooks
 65 % in downloading ebooks
 78% in referencing and citing works
2.6 Laptop loan service
23% of undergraduate and taught postgraduate students have found our new laptop loan service
useful.
3. Satisfaction with current provision
3.1 Service
90% of respondents either agree or tend to agree that the Library provides a good service overall.
This rises to 92% when the data is filtered for undergraduates alone.
This result is marginally lower than last year when 91% of respondents overall agreed or tended to
agree that the Library provides a good service overall.
3.2 Range of books
85% of respondents either agree or tend to agree that the Library provides a good range of books.
This rises to 87% when the data is filtered for undergraduates and taught postgraduates alone. The
response falls to 76% for postgraduate researchers and academics.
This is a marginally improved result from last year when 84% of respondents overall agreed or
tended to agree that the Library provides a good range of books.
3.3 Range of online resources
72% of respondents either agree or tend to agree that the Library provides a good range of online
resources. In 2013 the satisfaction rate was 76% among all respondents.
3.4 Ease of use of the website
70% of respondents either agree or tend to agree that the information on the Library website is easy
to find, an increase on the 2013 result of 66%.
3.5 Balance of study areas
68% of respondents either agree or tend to agree that the Library has a good selection of study
areas; this rises to 73% when UG responses only are taken into account. In the 2013 survey the
satisfaction rate for study areas was 73% overall and 77% for undergraduates.
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4. Value of the Library
We asked respondents to tell us one thing that they valued about the Library. We received 643
responses.
325 positive comments were about the study environment offered by the Library. Users
particularly value the quiet and silent areas, and the long opening hours.
great place to spend time in: warm in winter, good atmosphere, quiet and social areas depending on
what you want
Having different areas to study in offers the choice of a change in environment, which is really helpful
if someone were to be in the library the whole day. They could require a group study area for
socialising, but then maybe a quiet or silent study area just to work individually
Having to use our library cards to enter is very settling. Staying in the library late, and knowing that
only students can enter, and that each person is accounted for definitely gives a feeling of security
Group study rooms, and availability of white board supplies
I really value that there is almost always a space available to work in and that the entire space has
been constructed with studying in mind. It is a wonderful resource
It is the most comfortable library I have ever had the pleasure of visiting
The long opening hours so students can study in the library whenever they need to.
221 comments were on resources including the range of books, ebooks and journals available:
Electronic access to key literature has transformed my working life. Please keep up the good work
Library does a great job at purchasing books I need for my research
Good range of books I can't find elsewhere
Good on line resources that are easy to search and access.
94 comments were about the value of our staff:
For me the library is the part of the university that functions best. It is well managed and its staff are
unfailingly helpful. The electronic resources we have are brilliant
I would like to appreciate the service provided by the kind, approachable staff, which is a genuine
asset of the Library.
Knowledgeable and approachable staff
As an academic, I have very much appreciated the openness and responsiveness of how the library
staff respond to our requests, for example to start a new subscription or buy a new book. Over the
past year, I was happy to notice that 80% of the resources I needed for my research were available
either in hard copy or online.
Plans for improvement
We asked respondents to tell us about one thing that we don’t currently offer which they felt would
add some value to our service. We received a total of 566 suggestions with the largest number of
comments requesting improvements to the Library’s space and working environment, more
computers and printing facilities, more reliable Wifi, better range and more copies of core books and
journals, and spaces for eating and drinking.
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Space and working environment
We will be refurbishing the Library’s second-floor space over the summer vacation to increase the
number of silent study spaces available and to provide additional toilet facilities.
Laptop loans
Our laptop loan pilot has been very successful in increasing the number of computers available for
student use, and we are working with ITS to expand this service.
Wifi and printing facilities
We will work with ITS to improve reliability of our Wifi and increase capacity if necessary. We have
recently installed multi-functional printing devices to improve printing facilities for students, and
work with ITS to develop this further.
Wider range of books and other resources
We work with academic staff to improve our provision of books on reading lists based on feedback
from the NSS and our student forum. We will be reviewing our purchasing policy over the next year
to improve the provision of both ebook and print books on reading lists.
Borrowing and fines
We will be reviewing our fines policy and consulting closely with our users.
Improved discovery service
We will be replacing our library management system in summer 2015 which will lead to an improved
performance of Library Search
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