Do Academic Libraries Survey Their Users Strategically?

p strongAcademic libraries devote real staff capacity to surveying, but many still lack the demographic insight and digital-feedback capability needed to turn responses into management decisions./strong/p p Primary Research Group's study of 51 library directors and other senior officials found that more than one-third of libraries had at least one employee largely dedicated to surveying patrons and processing results. Yet about one-third of respondents said they did not know how satisfaction with library services varied by demographic group./p p Digital feedback is a particular weakness. Only 3.9% were highly satisfied with their ability to use feedback from library websites and discovery tools. The report also tracks use of Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, LibWizard, LibInsight, LibQUAL+ and multiple benchmarking sources. Public institutions were more likely than private ones to use LibInsight data extensively./p p A strategic survey program begins with a decision, not a questionnaire. Before collecting data, leaders should identify what could change&mdashhours, spaces, collections, staffing or an online workflow&mdashand which groups may experience the service differently. Short transactional surveys, periodic broad studies, focus groups and behavioral data answer different questions and should not be treated as substitutes./p p The strongest measure of survey performance is action. Libraries should document what they learned, what they changed and whether the follow-up measure improved. Otherwise, even a sophisticated instrument can become an exercise in collecting opinions without building trust./p p  /p