Four years of info and feedback

I realized today that this is our 400th blog post.  We began this blog in 2008, after that year's WSML Public Services User Survey.  The survey was an attempt to gather information more systematically about our user's wants and needs, and whether they feel we are meeting them.

It became clear through the 2008 Survey that we needed a simple way to get announcements out to our users quickly, especially in case of an unexpected closure, technology fail or other problem.  Also, we needed to interpret better the ongoing work we do to update and improve our collections and services, so people could understand what goes on here and state their reactions if they wished.  So, the 2008 Survey led directly to the founding of this blog.  Now, it gets 350-500 visits every month, so apparently it is doing its job!

The 2010 Survey revealed a strong opinion in favor of Sunday open hours.  So, we began Sunday hours on a trial basis, worked out the staffing issues and continued the policy throughout the academic year.  Again, the Survey had a direct impact on services.

It's almost time for the 2012 Survey -- we will distribute it next week.  There will be photocopy coupons and nice prizes again, as a thank-you to those who take the time to fill it in and return it.  Also, this year it will move to SurveyMonkey, so we can ask more specific questions of particular user groups and collect better information.

I expect that the 2012 Survey will lead us to new policy changes and improvements.

Paula