The Library's Contribution To The Community

Case Study in the Exeter Branch, Huron County Library

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SOLS CONSULTANTS: Hélène Golden, Gwen Wheeler

DATE COMPLETED: August 23, 1999

1. PURPOSE

"The Library’s Contribution to Your Community: a Resource Manual for Libraries to Document their Social and Economic Contribution to the Local Community" was developed under the auspices of the Strategic Directions Council and the Southern Ontario Library Service by a Steering Committee representing the Ontario public library community. The basic premise of the manual is that libraries which are able to document and communicate the value of their contribution to the community are better placed to receive adequate and stable municipal funding.

 The Exeter Branch of the Huron County Library used "The Library’s Contribution to Your Community" in order to document the extent to which the library contributes to the quality of life in Exeter and to communicate that value as part of the public fundraising campaign for a new facility. The study also examined the extent to which the library’s ability to increase its contribution to the community is affected by the current facility.

2. BACKGROUND

The Exeter Branch of the Huron County Library serves the town of Exeter (population 4,500), and the surrounding townships and villages. The Exeter Branch is housed in a Carnegie Library, built in 1915. The present Carnegie offers service on two floors, neither of which is accessible without stairs. There is no space for community programming, for leisure use of the library and browsing, and working has become difficult. The number of books and other materials housed in the library is fewer than one would normally find to serve a community the size of Exeter. There is an active Library Development Committee working to prepare the way for a fundraising project for the building of a new branch library. Support is strong at the Municipal level.

3. THE STUDY

.1 Profile of the Library’s Services

• The Exeter Branch has been identified as a Branch 1 by the Huron County Library Board, and as such offers a variety of services and collections to meet the reference, information and leisure needs of a population of 15,000.
• The branch is open 31 hours per week over 5 days, including evening and weekend hours
• Limited programming is offered, due to space restrictions
• A full range of library services are offered, including Internet access, Reference, Inter Library Loan, and Reader Advisory

.2 Focus for the Investigation

The following benefits were selected for their potential to best demonstrate the extent to which the community values library service and because findings from the study of these four benefits would be of value to the building project needs assessment and the public fund raising campaign:

• satisfaction with the community as a place to live / sense of community
• reading readiness
• use of leisure time
• support for the retail sector

.3 Community Resources

The following people or groups provided assistance with the project

• the members of the Library Redevelopment Committee were involved in the selection of the benefits to be measured and acted as advisors to the study
• the Town’s Chief Administrative Office acted as an advisor
• the Chamber of Commerce and Business Improvement Association offered assistance with a brief survey of downtown business owners
• the weekly newspaper, which is widely distributed, published the community survey

.4 The Scope of the Investigation

• the library supplied information from their membership database on the number of members, the number of children members, and the number of users who are non residents
• the library supplied information on circulation of recreational material, the circulation of special formats, the number of items circulated through outreach programs, the number of library visits annually, the number of visits by children, number of parenting books circulated
• the library supplied information on the number of special format items, the number of preschool reading readiness items, the number of parenting books
• the library provided program statistics
• the library conducted both an in-house survey and a community survey
• the consultants facilitated a parent/educators focus group, children’s focus group and seniors focus group
• the consultants conducted key informant interviews with the CAO, a member of council and a literacy tutor
• a brief survey was distributed to members of the Business Improvement Association

.5 Making the Case

.5.1 Satisfaction with the Community as a Place to Live

This measure was modified to comprise the two closely related measures of Sense of community and Satisfaction with the Community as a Place of Live.

Key Findings

• comments from the survey provided evidence that the library is valued as a place for young mothers to meet and as a venue where preschoolers can have an important social experience
• written comments and questions from the survey revealed that people consider library service as one of the criteria by which they measure their satisfaction with the community in which they choose to live.
• frequent use ( 80% of users visit at least once every three weeks) demonstrated the degree to which the library is an important part of community life

Building Implications

• the new facility will be a public statement of community values and identity and should respond to the view of the library as an important institution in the community in terms of appropriate site selection and architectural design
• the facility needs to address the need of people to meet and interact with others in the community and include gathering space that includes open public spaces that invite conversation
• space should be allocated for community information display area

 

Information Collected	Source		Findings
visits to the library	annual statistics		27,876
items circulated through outreach programmes	annual statistics		728
outreach services provided	annual statistics		bulk loans to nursery schools and teachers book selection for shut-ins
numbers served by outreach	annual statistics		16 people
community programmes offered in partnership	scan of community		Community Access Project - Internet access with assistance
perceived value of the library as a focus for social interaction	focus groups key informant surveys	"the library is a meeting place that helps preserve community"
perceived contribution of the library to the community’s well being	focus groups key informant interviews	"it keeps people coming downtown - they get comfortable / familiar, and then they want to come back to use other services"

 .5.2 Reading Readiness

Key Findings

• participants in the focus group discussion provided the most compelling evidence of the value of the library to preschoolers in their statements on the importance of reading in child development
• people value the library’s role in providing opportunities for family activity
• the library supports parents by providing opportunities for social development and intellectual stimulation
• preschool programming is considered by users to be an important library service

Building Implications

• programming space is an essential part of this building project
• it is necessary to provide adequate space for an expanded children’s collection and for seating that permits both children and adults to be comfortable in the children’s area
• improved access to the building and the services that meets the needs of children and their families must be part of the design considerations

.5.3 Use of Leisure Time

Key Findings

• the most frequently cited reason for using the library was to borrow materials for pleasure
• many survey respondents wrote comments which clearly showed support and value for all library services - even those they personally did not use
• the community can identify the limitations for the current facility

Space Implications

• the new facility needs to provide adequate space to house a collection that meets the needs of the community
• aisles need to be wide enough for comfortable browsing and shelf height should be no higher than 60 inches for adults
• space should be dedicated to display of materials

 

Information Collected	Source	Findings
number of children using the library annually	circulation records	6000
children members of the library	membership database	1307
proportion of children in the community who are library members	census	60%
children attending reading readiness programmes	programme statistics	443
number of programmes held	programme statistics	34
class visits	programme statistics	3
number of reader advisory lists or displays prepared by staff	annual statistics	84
user’s perception of the importance of this service	in-house survey, focus groups	This service was rated the highest in the user survey
number of books for parents circulated	circulation records	150
reading readiness materials circulated	collection management database	2949

 

Information Collected	Source	Findings
total number of library users	annual statistics	5,929
proportion of the population that are library users	membership data, census figures	72% of the Town of Exeter 40% of catchment area in surrounding townships
library membership per capita	membership data, Census figures	.56
circulation of recreational materials	circulation records	31,601
demographic profile of the library users	user survey	varied demographic, but mostly well-educated, people in their 30’s some children mostly female
average number of users in the library per hour	annual statistics	17
frequency of use of the library by members	user survey	once per week - 38% once every 2-3 weeks - 42% once a month - 12% less than 1/month - 8%
number and circulation of holdings to special needs users	circulation records, holdings	holdings - 899 circulation - 5,141

 .5.4 Support for the Retail Sector

Key Findings

• support for the benefit was mixed
• business owners have differing views on the role the public library in the viability of the downtown core
• there was support for the library to continue to occupy a highly visible space in the downtown sector

Building Implications

• the new facility should be built on, or near, the existing location in order for the library to contribute to downtown development

Information Collected	Source	Findings
proportion of users who shop locally when visiting a library	user survey	60% of library users would normally combine a visit to the library with one or more of the following: shopping, banking, recreational activity
proportion of library users who are non-residents	user survey	37%
average number of visits for non-residents	user survey	once every 2 or 3 weeks
average expenditures in the local retail sector attributed to library users	user survey	$50.00 (median)
perceived importance of the library in attracting customers to local retail businesses	key informant interviews	a trip to town meant an opportunity for shopping if good library services are available, then people will come downtown, and get used to spending time and money in Exeter importance of library in the downtown core

 

.6 Report to the Library

A comprehensive report included documentation of each of the four benefit measures, notes on the implications for the new facility, and recommendation for a communication plan. The report included statistical data from the surveys, focus groups and key informant interview notes, and an estimate of space needs.

.7 Communicating the Results 

The communication plan derived from this study will focus on developing community funding support for the building project. Municipal funders are already committed to the project and so the communication plan will create key messages targeted to specific audiences in the community. Success in fundraising is directly related to the level of community awareness of the value of the library. The approach to communicating the results was drawn from the methods outlined in CLA’s workbook Library Advocacy Now! For the future of Canada’s libraries and librarians.

The findings from this study will be particularly useful in the work on determining target audiences and what is known about them. The process developed the following recommendations:

• target general users and parents of preschool and school aged children.
• promotional materials targeted to parents address the value of the library as a balanced alternative to other activities parents fund for their children.
• target community business owners and non-users who value downtown development.
• anticipate obstacles that might thwart the campaign and address concerns in a marketing campaign.
• concerns about moving the library from the current historic building could be addressed in a campaign around the concept that " Sometimes we grow out of the spaces we love"

4. OBSERVATIONS

.1 Time Committed to the Project

 

Steps	Responsibility	Hours
1. Select Focus	Library/SOLS	5.5
2. Identify Resources	Library/SOLS	6
3. Identify Scope	Library / SOLS	1
4. Make the Case
.1 Survey design survey instruments administer survey(s) enter data analyze data	SOLS / Library Library Library SOLS	12 5 21 13
.2 Assemble Library data	Library	6
.3 Conduct Key Informant Interviews and focus groups identify participants conduct interviews	Library SOLS	? 9
.4 Document results determine format for presentation write up results	SOLS SOLS	2.5 14
5. Communicate Results prepare communication plan communicate results	SOLS Library	4
6. Write up Case Study Report	SOLS	4

 .2 Observations by SOLS Consultants

• the commitment and work of the county staff and the town CAO were important factors in the success of this project
• a sharply focused study facilitated the sometimes difficult choice of benefits for measurement
• although not specifically referred to in the manual, the use of collection information was necessary and beneficial to the case study
• with a slight change in the focus, and a judicious choice of benefits, the process can prove worthwhile in a building project

5. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

.1 On the study methods, how SOLS could assist your library in conducting a study or "The Library’s Contribution to Your Community", contact the Director of Library Development, Southern Ontario Library Service:

Email:
Telephone:	416-961-1669 (press 0), 1-800-387-5765
Fax:
SOLS Route/Mailing:

 

.2 On the Library Advocacy Now! For the future of Canada’s libraries and librarians. contact the CLA (613) 232-9625