On behalf of Rand Simmons, Washington State Library

The Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, faces a severe reduction in operating funds for the 2015-2017 biennium due to a revenue shortfall. If the state legislature does not appropriate “back-fill” funds the State Library will be an estimated $2.4 million short, a quarter of the budget.

Therefore, we are examining our services to determine which are essential and we want your perspective. Please take a few minutes to complete our online survey located at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2014WSLCustomerSurvey. Thank you for helping us develop a preferred future for the Washington State Library.

Please complete the survey by close of day Friday, October 17, 2014. Please don’t respond to it more than once.

Volume 7, September 15, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT WORKSHOPS

2) RETHINKING REFERENCE COLLECTIONS

3) ONLINE NORTHWEST CALLS FOR PROPOSALS

4) SURVEY – PROFESSIONAL IDENTITIES AND SOCIAL NETWORKING

5) FUNDAMENTALS OF PRESERVATION

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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In approaching a new contract for statewide database licensing in Washington State, the Washington State Library decided to create two surveys, one for staff at libraries of all types throughout Washington, and another for the users of public libraries in Washington. Today we are publishing a report that provides a summary of that second survey for public library users.

The survey was administered by providing a link and image for public libraries to put on their websites. In the interest of user anonymity, we did not collect any information about which users came from which libraries, which means that we cannot parse out data based on library size. This summary aggregates responses and comments from all users that started the survey. 1,209 library users started the survey, with 90.1% (1,089 library users) completing it.

Interested parties may download the report (pdf) and complete results (xls) below:

• Electronic Resources for Library Users – Survey Report and Analysis
• Electronic Resources for Library Users – Complete Survey Results with Comments

A report and analysis of the survey for library staff will also be published and made available once it is completed.

Topics include:

1) DOWNLOADABLE AUDIOBOOKS PORTAL LAUNCH

2) ROUND TWO BROADBAND APPLICATION FILED

3) CURRENT ISSUES – LIBRARY TRENDS WITH GEORGE AND JAMES

4) NEW STUDY DESCRIBES PUBLIC LIBRARY INTERNET USE

5) YOUTH PROGRAMS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FUNDED

6) AMERICA – THE STORY OF US CONTESTS

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Over the last two weeks we had some very successful QuestionPoint training sessions online using Wimba software. At least, I’d like to think they were very successful. Thanks to everyone who attended the sessions; I enjoyed your great questions and hope the trainings were useful and worthwhile.

If you attended either (or both) of the trainings, PLEASE fill out the survey linked below. It should take you about 10 minutes and will be immensely helpful for me, both for statistical purposes and for planning future trainings to your needs.

QP Training Survey: http://tinyurl.com/qptrainsurvey

If you know someone who attended these trainings but is not on the Ask-WA email list and doesn’t read this blog, please forward this along to them so they may complete the survey.

If you didn’t make the live training sessions, below are links to the archived sessions. After clicking the link, select “Participant Login”, type in WA_TrainingRoom1 for the room and whatever you like for your name. If you haven’t run the Wimba wizard on your computer yet, you should do so before trying to view the archived session. If you have already run the wizard, there is a link below the wizard button (about 2 inches down) allowing you to skip the process.

QuestionPoint Training #1 (Wimba Archived Session):

http://tinyurl.com/qptrain01

QuestionPoint Training #2 (Wimba Archived Sessions):

http://tinyurl.com/qptrain02

If you have any thoughts or questions, or if you would like to suggest any material for future trainings, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks!