Did you find what you needed?

Who it's for

Public and school libraries. Run it for a few weeks, once or twice a year.

Who answers

Visitors, in two minutes, on a phone or on a tablet at the desk.

What you'll see

• What people came looking for and could not find, which is a ready-made buying list
• What people actually do in the building: borrow, study, work, bring children, use the computers
• The collection, the staff and the space rated separately
• What would make it a better place to be

How to get good answers

• The "looked for and did not find" question is the one to act on. The lending system records what was borrowed; it can never record what was missing.
• Ask visitors while they are there. A QR at the desk and on the shelves beats an email to members.
• Include people who come in and never borrow anything. In most libraries they are now the majority.
• Report back on what you bought because of the survey. Nothing raises next year's response rate like a shelf label saying you asked for this.