netLibrary Evaluation

netLibrary is a Valuable Library Resource
Users say, “Build the Collection.”

 The Wisconsin Public Library Consortium provides netLibrary e-books to 14 of the seventeen public library systems and the Milwaukee Public Library.  The collection of 7,000 titles is available to residents of the library systems through the netLibrary website and a password protected account created at a participating public library.  The titles are available as an indexed and searchable electronic file on the user’s computer at their home, work, or school.  The collection includes titles in business, computers, literary criticism, finance, investments, health, gardening, etc.  Although a small collection, it covers a broad range of topics.

 At the end of 2000 and early in 2001, participating library staff were trained on how netLibrary accounts are created, how the titles are retrieved, and how the titles can be searched for specific information.  netLibrary provided promotional materials and librarians encouraged users to try this new service.

However, the libraries discovered there was no way to know how the service was being used and whether the users were satisfied with the service.  Once a user created an account at the public library, he or she could use it at home, work, or at school.  The user would not necessarily use it at the library. 

To find out how netLibrary is being used, the Consortium asked Josh Morrill, a research consultant from Madison, to create and conduct an end user survey of the netLibrary service.  He sent out a web-based survey to current users of netLibrary, did some focus group surveys among users at two participating libraries, and asked the Consortium partners about the success of the community partnerships. 

Morrill sent e-mailed surveys to all 5,646 registered users of netLibrary and received responses from 736 individuals - a response rate of 13%, which was much better than expected.  Of the 736 responses, 207 were librarians.  In the following analysis, Morrill excluded the librarian group.

The survey respondents were evenly divided between male and female and the average age was 44 years, even though the respondent’s ages ranged from 11 to 86 years.  Most of the respondents came from a metropolitan area or on the border of a metropolitan area.  Most use a dial-up connection for their Internet access.  Most of the netLibrary users are searching for a specific item or piece of information.  Neither the speed of their Internet access nor their training on the use of netLibrary affected their use of netLibrary. 

About 74% of the respondents agreed that netLibrary was a valuable resource.  Morrill explains that usability and design of netLibrary’s website influences a user’s perception of the value of netLibrary.  He remarks that even though users place a high value on netLibrary, many made comments about the website design and user interface. 

As for the size of the collection, 58% of the respondents indicated that the collection was too small.  Morrill recommends that the Consortium not allow the collection to stagnate or remain underdeveloped.  Simply put, the partners need to purchase more titles or work with netLibrary to make more titles available to the users. 

Morrill also noted that after analyzing the 207 responses from librarians, there were only four areas of difference between the users’ and the librarians’ perception of netLibrary.  Whereas, the users agreed that the collection was too small, that the netlibrary web page is difficult to navigate, that they would use netLibrary more if they had better training, and that the netLibrary materials are not current, the librarians disagreed with those statements. 

In the controlled focus group survey, Morrill found that young people were attracted to netLibrary resources.  Even though this age group may not perceive libraries as essential or vital resources and may not be regular users of libraries, they did view netLibrary as a valuable resource, would recommend it to their friends, and agreed that libraries should continue to fund netLibrary services. 

Also the focus group brought out comments on promotion of this resource among students and the general adult population.  The group also challenged netLibrary to position itself as different from other online resources available to Internet users.  The use of netLibrary as a reference tool was identified as a potential benefit for libraries and users. 

In conclusion, Morrill’s evaluation showed that the respondents view netLibrary as a valuable resource, that the Consortium should have a larger and more current collection, that netLibrary is a desired service by teenagers and young adults, and that promotion of the service to students and organizations serving teenagers would be valuable.