Thanks to the randomly selected 1,398 people in Boone and Callaway Counties who took time to answer our survey, we have a better sense of what we’re doing right and where we can improve. The information will also be valuable when we begin drafting our next long-range strategic plan.
ETC Institute, an Olathe, Kansas research firm that does studies for public libraries and municipalities all across the country, conducted this survey on our behalf. See some of the major findings below, or read the full report.
ETC compared some of our findings with other governmental organizations and reported that:
- Overall satisfaction with DBRL’s services is 93%. This is 29% above the national average of 64% for public libraries.
- Of those surveyed, 91% are satisfied with the overall value they receive for their tax dollars, which is 58% higher than the national average for local governments.
- Satisfaction with service provided by DBRL staff is 94%, which is 55% above the national average for governmental organizations.
Survey respondents agreed with the following statements:
- 99% think libraries are important to our community and
95% felt libraries were important to them personally. - 97% agreed that the library is a place of lifelong learning.
- 90% are happy with the quality of the physical book collection.
- 89% are satisfied with our website and digital services.
- 87% think our library facilities meet the needs of the community.
- 86% feel that the library serves as a community hub.
- 85% are pleased with the quality of library programs.
- 80% are satisfied with the quality of the eBook collection.
- 76% disagreed that the internet was making libraries obsolete.
