The Elusive Library Non-User

Presented Carmen Patlan, Community Engagement & Outreach Manager, Waukegan Public Library, Donna Fletcher, President, Donna E. Fletcher Consulting, Inc., Elizabeth Stearns, Assistant Director, Community Services, Waukegan Public Library, Paula Singer, CEO/Chief Strategist, The Singer Group, Inc., Susan Bochenski, Library Director, Lincolnwood Public Library Dist.

www.singergrp.com (Check out ‘Resources’ and ‘Blog’ for management and leadership information.)

www.librarysurveys.org (Check out ‘Blogs & Tips’ and ‘Resources’.)

The library non-user is: someone who never visits the library or who hasn’t visited in a year; someone who downloads; those who think they can find whatever they need online. It can include people who bring their children to the library, but don’t use its services for themselves.

The purpose of attracting the non-user to the library is twofold: you want to bring in those who need the library and you also want to market for supporters.

Focus groups generally don’t work. Most of the time no one comes. It’s intimidating or they think, “Why Come? I’m not using the library anyway.” It also takes time. Food is not a motivator.

Go to the non-user. Conduct qualitative surveys—just talk with them. But also conduct quantitative surveys so you can count responses You need at least 400 responses. Go out to farmer’s markets, churches, fairs, Boys and Girls Clubs, movie theaters, and geed stores. Connect with regularly schedule meetings. Ask for time on the agenda. Visit senior groups. Staff can go out to these places. Each staff member or volunteer can go to five locations and interview 10 people at each location. Get permission from the manager of each location. Talk with non-users in the library. Follow-up with more in-depth interviews via phone interviews. Ask respondents if they are willing and schedule a time. Ask for 10-15 minutes for the interview. It can be the last question on the survey. An additional lengthier interview can get the whys behind the answers. For example, to the question, ‘Did you every use the library?’, you can find out if the stopped going because of a bad experience and what it was. Dig deeply to find barriers.

If you are looking for new ideas for the library, keep in mind that respondents can’t invent services, even if that is what they actually want. So brainstorm with staff concepts about potential services. Give respondents a description of possible new services and have respondents rate them. 

Make it very convenient to participate in a survey. The most productive surveys are mail or phone because you are basically handing them the survey. You can distribute it into other areas of the community. Send staff out into the library to hand out surveys during peak times. Don’t just set them on the counter. Online surveys tend to be the least successful. Also, most respondents are already library users. If you do use an online survey, try to run it from the city, county, or chamber website. Put up signage about the survey around the community.

The survey should last ten minutes, not more than twelve. Utilize white space on the survey and a font size of 11 or 12.

Sample surveys are available online. One easy style is to have respondents circle all that apply in response to each question. A good question is, “Does the library have any qualities that discourage you from going there?”

Survey results from other library systems showed:

• Most people don’t know about the library and its service.
• Many think the hours are inconvenient.
• The library doesn’t have the material in house when they want it, so they buy it.
• Many non-users have just moved to the community.
• The space is uncomfortable.
• The collection is limited.
• Parking difficulties
• Bad experiences with the library. Negative experiences created barriers.
• Children program times were inconvenient. Respondents felt they were not served well by youth services.
• Most respondents were unaware of many of the library’s services.

As a result of surveys, libraries represented at this sessions changed things and added services:

• Computer classes were redesigned to help with job and career development.
• Children’s programming was revamped. The librarians reached out to the school districts to develop better cooperation in meeting the needs of children and their families.
• Reduce barriers to patron service by reducing barriers to staff effectiveness.
• Keep a ‘No to Yes Log’. Staff members jot down every time they had to say “no” to a patron. Review these situations to determine how they could have said, “yes.”
• Welcome young patrons. Some libraries had been treating after school kids as a      problem. They changed their attitude and relaxed expectations.
• Make the library easier to use.
• One library just provided pencils and scrap paper.
• Provide more outlets and power strips.
• Look at the library’s attitude toward lending materials. Library staff often feel       protective of the library’s collection.
• Reduce the time to get new items to the shelf.
• Changed branch hours
• Put up signs and posters about unknown library services. Put them in unexpected places—the door, bathroom stalls, etc.
• Recruit volunteers to help impart to the community the value of the library in their lives. Give volunteers talking points. For example, many people don’t know the importance of being ready for school and what the library does to help young children and their families.