Students have their say

On January 8th, MVRHS students were surveyed during their advisory period.  We received 520 survey responses. We wanted to find out what the  feeling was about the library, what students thought needed to be changed, if anything, whether they felt the library was helping them, and how often they visit.  The original survey instrument is here.

Summary

More than any other comments, students identified better computers as a need (the word ‘computer’ was mentioned 185 times).  Opening access to wifi was mentioned many times (45).  A theme throughout many of the comments were suggestions for improving the space and furniture.  Some of these were what may be described as ‘creature comforts’  ‘comfy’ / ‘comfortable’ (48), ‘couches’ (48), ‘beanbags’ (31), ‘chairs’ (55).

What is clear is that the library is seen serving multiple, sometimes conflicting purposes.  Survey respondents identified the need for a broad spectrum of social and academic activity, along with quiet spaces for individuals and groups to read.

Distribution of respondents

A total of 520 students responded to the survey, roughly 75% of the total student population.

“Library visiting habits”

Since student schedules rotate every day, and each period meets every other day, it can be reasonably interpreted that responses of “Every day” (5%) and “Every other day” (36%) are habitual library users who go to the library instead of their study halls (“learning centers”).  That means over half of the school visit on an as-needed basis, or rarely use the library.

 “What prevents you from using the library more often?”

The overwhelming response to the question was “my schedule”, which is not surprising.  It will be interesting to see how many of the students who rarely or infrequently visit the library answered this question as opposed to those who are “regulars” as indicated above.

Based on the difference of 58 to 12, a majority of students cited the noise as a detriment.

The “Other” category was long enough (135) to interest some closer inspection.  Many of these responses were related to crowding, the pass system, and the amount of space.

Library as an indicator of student achievement

Students were asked if the library has helped them become a more successful student.  Since the answer was more or less split down the middle, this along with a similar 50-50 split of students who frequently vs. infrequently visit the library points to the possibility that further analysis correlating these two trends might prove meaningful.

Library as a source of inspiration

21st century libraries strive to become a place where activities centered around creativity, innovation, and critical thinking (in their many interpretations) come together in a sort of melting pot of ideas, people and subjects. This question was meant to serve as a dip-stick into attitudes among students whether the library was serving this intended purpose.  Clearly the library is not seen as fulfilling this role currently.

What should we do to improve?

As mentioned, the open-ended part of the survey provided some rich information.  Most of the responses are on display in the library.

Among all of the many comments, here is a list covering most of the unique ideas:

This word-cloud gives a bit of a view from above:

Most Frequently mentioned words:

A willingness to help and participate

This question helped us both in identifying students who might be willing to participate in a focus group or further surveys, as well as giving us an overall sense of how many students generally felt “invested” in the library.