Kilmacolm  New   Community  Centre

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THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS GATHERED FROM SURVEYS

CARRIED OUT BY FORUM MEMBERS DURING OCTOBER 2002

 

KILMACOLM  LIBRARY  PERCEPTION  STUDY -  OCTOBER  2002

  

ANALYSIS BY: -  KILMACOLM VILLAGE CENTRE FORUM

 

 

CONTENTS

 

  

          1.       INTRODUCTION                                                             

 

                        1.1     Background                                                    

                        1.2     Kilmacolm Library History                                  

                        1.3     Perception Study Questionnaire and Scope          

                        1.4     Audit Commission and Peoples Network                

 

          2.       PRINCIPAL FINDINGS                                                      

 

                        2.1     Kilmacolm Library Survey                                  

                        2.2     General Issues Survey                                      

 

          3.       ANALYSIS OF PERCEPTION STUDY REPLIES -                      

                   KILMACOLM LIBRARY                                                        

 

          4.       ANALYSIS OF PERCEPTION STUDY REPLIES -                     

                   GENERAL ISSUES                                                             

 

          5.       THE NEXT STAGE                                                         

 

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1.  INTRODUCTION

 

 

1.1     Background

 

          As part of a process of determining what future facilities and services require to be catered for in a new Village Centre, Kilmacolm Village Centre Forum and Inverclyde Council decided to undertake two studies:-

 

              -   a Facilities Survey of existing and future community accommodation requirements;

 

              -   a Kilmacolm Library Perception Survey which involved residents defining their views on the present Library services, and what improve-ments or developments they feel may be necessary in the future.

 

          This report deals with the second of these surveys.

 

1.2     Kilmacolm Library History

 

          According to the Third Statistical Account of Scotland the Kilmacolm branch of the County Library was set up in 1958 as part of a modern community service.  Forty-four years later it is still located in the Community Centre at Kilmacolm Cross.  Several constraints to its development now exist not least in terms of space and accessibility, particularly for the disabled.  To overcome this and cope with future reading and learning demands the possibility of relocating it to a more suitable site is now being actively considered by Inverclyde Council.

 

          Currently there are over 13,000 library user visits a year.

 

1.3     Perception Study Questionnaire and Scope

 

          A Perception Study Questionnaire was prepared by Kilmacolm Village Centre Forum and Inverclyde Council to obtain residents' views on a range of related issues, a copy of which was sent to households in Kilmacolm and Quarriers Village.  Three hundred and forty-five households replied mainly from Kilmacolm representing eight hundred and three residents.

 

1.4     Audit Commission Report and Peoples Network

 

          In preparing the questionnaire two important matters had to be taken into account:-

 

              *   An Audit Commission Report dated 2002 – Building Better Library Services.  A section of the report "Learning from Audit, Inspection and Research" is at Appendix I, in which it states that "Libraries are an important, valued council services, with the potential to contribute to priorities for learning, inclusion and e-government".

 

              *   The Peoples Network which is a Government initiative launched in 1997 with the objective of connecting all public libraries in the United Kingdom to the Internet by March 2003.  Its aim is not only to provide the public with access to a computer, but also to introduce new users to I.T.  A special Government grant has been received by Inverclyde Council and the Council will provide additional funds to develop this project as necessary.

 

 

          Against this background, and with the Perception Study information contained in this report, Inverclyde Council's Libraries and Museums will be able to plan a programme of change which could be incorporated into a new Kilmacolm Library and Learning Centre.

 

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2.  PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

 

 

2.1     KILMACOLM LIBRARY SURVEY

 

          Section 1.

 

          This indicates that 803 residents participated in the survey of which 376 were males and 427 females.

 

          The following table illustrates the age profile of participants:-

 

 

 

 

           

          Almost 24% of households which participated in the survey were non users.

  

          Approximately 24% of households were not aware of the Library opening hours.

 

          The percentage of households which indicated that the standard of service was poor or very poor was as follows:

 

 

Service

Poor Very Poor %

Hours of Opening etc	13
Books/Other Material	33
Information & Enquiry Service	13

 

 
 

          The analysis of comments in Annex A (Section 3.4) confirms these findings.  On the other hand Staff Knowledge and Expertise and Staff Helpfulness were highly rated by participants as the following table shows:-

 

 

Good Very Good %

Staff Knowledge and Expertise	76
Staff Helpfulness	87

 

  

          The results of the survey on the Awareness of Library show the following:-

 

 

Issue

%

Does Not Build Awareness	61
Needs to Raise its Profile	83
Library not Tailored to Meet the Needs of the Community	65

 

 

            In addition to this analysis of 166 written comments, 45 (i.e. 27%) related to a call for a wider selection/more books, 38 (i.e. 22%) suggest that larger premises are required.

 

 

 

          The most significant outputs from the Kilmacolm Library Experience section are:-

 

              *   62% of participants believe the books etc are attractively displayed and 69% believe that stock is arranged in the best way to meet the needs of users.

 

              *   73% find books and information easy to locate.

 

              *   50% say they would use café facilities if they were available.

 

              *   Significantly 80% would find it helpful if the Library promoted other Council services.

 

              *   More than 53% who came to the Library for a particular book were not successful in finding it.

 

              *   88% on the other hand who sought information from a member of staff were able to obtain it.

 

              *   95% of participants consulted staff.

 

 

 

          The designated areas listed below would, according to participants, be of benefit to users-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

The following table extracted from the Survey gives a pointer to the Services where the demand would be greatest in future:-

 

Adult Books	97
Children's Books	45
Pre School Books	29
Compact Discs	56
CDs-Roms	48
Newspapers/Magazines	68

 

 

 

          The results in this section indicate that there would be a substantial demand for the following Extension Services:-

 

% Demand

Local History Activities	68
Themed Activity Lessons	28
Reference/Information both through books and the Internet	79
Local History	77
Community Information	88
Family History	47

 

 

 

          Participants are interested in the full range of I.T. provision, particularly I.T. training (54%), while One-to-One and Tutor Group courses have attracted a substantial volume of support.

 

          Other facilities which participants would use are:-

 

% Saying Yes