No. 136, April 2004

Use of the NDL services
and user satisfaction & needs:
report of user questionnaire survey of FY2003

Planning and Cooperation Division
Administrative Department

This is an abridged translation of the article of the same title
in the NDL Monthly Bulletin No. 516 (March 2004).

Introduction

The National Diet Library (NDL) conducted a user questionnaire survey in the autumn of 2003, with the purpose of using the results for the improvement of its services and operations. It was the first large-scale user survey since 1989, using a variety of questions on all NDL's services. In addition to the questions intended to get a picture of NDL use, such as purpose and frequency of using the NDL, and use of each service, we put questions to grasp the level of user satisfaction and requests from users.

Table 1: Outline of the user questionnaire survey FY2003

Respondents	Method	Period	Number of Collected Answers (Response Rates)
On-site users of the Tokyo Main Library	Handed out at the user entrance or picked up from boxes put at several places in the library. Collected in boxes put in the library.	Sep. 18 - 25 (5 days)	1,366 (45.2%)*
On-site users of the Kansai-kan	Handed out at the user entrance or picked up from boxes put at several places in the library. Collected in boxes put in the library.	Sep. 26 - Oct. 11 (14 days)	1,282 (60.3%)*
On-site users of the ILCL	Handed out at the user entrance.Collected with boxes put in the library	Oct. 17 - 26 (9 days)	Adults: 1,938 (69.5%)* Children: 352 (64.6%)*
Users of the NDL Website	Distributed on the NDL website (PDF and Word format)Answers sent by e-mail, fax, or post	Sep. 24 - Oct. 24 (31 days)	78 (1.5%)**
Libraries and related institutions in Japan	Sent to the institutions receiving Library Cooperation Newsletter*** (4634 institutions)  Answers sent by fax or post	Sep. 22 - Oct. 24 (33 days)	3,055 (65.9%)

* Calculated from the number of all users visiting the libraries.
** Calculated from the number of accesses to the questionnaire page on the website (4,987).
*** Ceased publication in 2003. Currently distributed monthly as an e-mail magazine "Library Cooperation News." 

In this article, we report the gist of the survey results and try to define the expectation that individual users and user institutions have of the NDL services and activities, with the hope that it will result in improvements.

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1. Survey results from on-site users of the Tokyo Main Library, the Kansai-kan, and the International Library of Children's Literature (ILCL)

1.1 Characteristics of users
1.1.1 What is your purpose in visiting the NDL? How often do you come?
From the answers to these two questions, we can find the characteristics of users of the three facilities. (Figures 1 and 2)

Figure 1: Purpose of visiting the NDL (Please click on the image for a clearer one)

Figure 2: Frequency of visits to the NDL

A large part of the users of the Tokyo Main Library visit the Library for "academic research" or "business." On Saturdays, users for business purposes are 10% fewer than weekdays, and users coming for hobbies and cultural interests are 10% more. About 60% use the library more than once a month. On the other hand, many users of the Kansai-kan and the ILCL (about 60%) visit the libraries "to see the facilities." Since both libraries were recently opened, many respondents, 50% in the Kansai-kan and 70% in the ILCL, answered that they were visiting the library for the first time. However, in the Kansai-kan, 20% are repeat visitors who use the library more than once a week, which is close to the rate of repeat visitors in the Tokyo Main Library (30%).

In the Tokyo Main Library, more than half the users stay three hours or longer, which is longer than users of the Kansai-kan and the ILCL. Half of the ILCL users stay less than one hour.

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1.1.2 Did you know if the NDL held the materials you were looking for before visiting the library?
80% of Tokyo Main Library users, 40% of Kansai-kan users, and 20% of ILCL users answered "Yes" to the above question. Although the rate of knowledge of the holdings was low among the total of ILCL users, nearly 50% of those coming for "academic research" and "copying library materials" knew the information beforehand. Naturally, the recognition rate among visitors coming to "see the facilities" was low at all the three facilities. 

As for the means of finding out information on the holdings, half of the Tokyo Main Library and the Kansai-kan users who knew the information beforehand answered that they searched the NDL-OPAC on the NDL website. That indicates the NDL website is getting familiar to users. On the contrary, among ILCL users, only 20% out of the users who knew the information searched the Union Catalog of Children's Literature on the ILCL website, while 30% got the information from their acquaintances.

1.1.3 Did you use the OPAC in the NDL?
The NDL-OPAC is also available via the computer terminals placed in the three facilities. The rate of its use is more than 60% at the Tokyo Main Library and the Kansai-kan. At the ILCL, the rate is as low as that of users of the NDL-OPAC on the Internet, 10% among all visitors. The ILCL also provides on-site users with the Union Catalog of Children's Literature, which is used by a little over 10% of all visitors. However, when limited to the users who came for "academic research" or "copying of library materials," 20 to 30% use the NDL-OPAC and 40 to 50% use the Union Catalog of Children's Literature in the library. That means at the ILCL, the rate of OPAC use depends on the purpose of the user's visit to the Library.

Out of the users of the NDL-OPAC and the Union Catalog of Children's Literature, 90% at the Tokyo Main Library and 80% at the Kansai-kan and the ILCL successfully found the materials they were looking for on the OPACs. 

On the NDL-OPAC, not only the search for the publications held, but also the database of journal articles (Japanese Periodicals Index) is available for search. However, out of NDL-OPAC users, only 50% at the Tokyo Main Library and 30% at both the Kansai-kan and the ILCL use the Japanese Periodicals Index. 20% of the Tokyo Main Library users and 30% of users of the Kansai-kan and the ILCL did not know that the Index exists.

1.1.4 Are you a registered user?
The NDL introduced a user registration system in FY2002 when the Kansai-kan opened. Registered users may request via the Internet the copying service for materials held at the Tokyo Main Library and the Kansai-kan. In the Kansai-kan, 40% of visitors have already registered, because of some merits such as that it is simpler for registered users to enter the library. Although registered users will be able to receive the same advantages in the Tokyo Main Library from October 2004 when the renovation is completed, only 10% of the users of the Tokyo Main Library have registered and 40% replied that they did not know about the system.

1.1.5 Have you ever used the copying service by mail?
"Copying service by mail" is one of the remote services, by which users can receive by mail the copies they requested through one of the following ways: requesting at the nearest library, sending a request form to the NDL by mail, and requesting via the Internet. At all three facilities, only 10% of users have used the service through a nearest library or post. Only 3% of the users of the Tokyo Main Library and the Kansai-kan have used the service via the Internet. Even among the registered users, the rates are less than 20% at the Tokyo Main Library and less than 10% at the Kansai-kan. It seems that people who can visit one of the NDL facilities find it more convenient to come in person than use the remote services.

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1.2 Satisfaction and needs for improvements in our services
1.2.1How do you rate your degree of satisfaction in general? Have you achieved your purpose in visiting the NDL?
80% of visitors to the Tokyo Main Library and the Kansai-kan, and 90% of those to the ILCL answered "satisfied" or "fairly satisfied" about the services provided on-site (Figure 3). These rates correspond with the percentage of those who answered "achieved" to the question about the achievement of the purpose. 30-40% of visitors who failed to achieve their purpose rated their degree of satisfaction low ("not very satisfied" or "dissatisfied"). Comparing this dissatisfaction rate with that of the whole sample (10%), we can say that there is a connection to some extent between negative rates in satisfaction degree and failure to get what they came for.

As a reason for failing in their purpose, 50% of respondents at the Tokyo Main Library and the Kansai-kan, and 40 % of those at the ILCL ticked "could not find the materials wanted." The reasons ranked second vary according to facility: at the Tokyo Main Library, it is that they "could not request materials within the service hours"(30%); in the Kansai-kan, "the material wanted is stored in the Tokyo Main Library or the ILCL, and not held in the Kansai-kan"(30%); at the ILCL, "the material is not available (being at the binder's / being used by someone else)" (10%).

At the ILCL, questionnaire sheets for children were also prepared. 90% of the children answered positively to the question "Do you want to come again?" We may say that their satisfaction degree is as high as that of adults.

Figure 3: User Satisfaction degree in general (Please click on the image for a clearer one)

1.2.2 How do you rate your degree of satisfaction with each of the servicses specified below? What improvements to the NDL services would you like to see most?
Figures 4-6 show the results to the question about visitors' satisfaction with each aspect of on-site services in each of the three facilities of the NDL. In these figures, blue bar represents the percentage of "Satisfied users" (respondents who answered "satisfied" or "fairly satisfied"), and the purple bar,  "Dissatisfied users" (those who answered "not very satisfied" or "dissatisfied"). 

Figure 4: User Satisfaction degree with each service at the Tokyo Main Library

Figure 5: User Satisfaction degree with each service at the Kansai-kan 

Figure 6: User Satisfaction degree with each service at the ILCL

*The ILCL has two reading rooms for children: Children's Library and Meet the World.

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Figures 7-9 show the ten aspects of NDL service in which users most wanted to see improvement. The bar represents percentage of on-site users who chose each item as a service to be improved.

Figure 7: Top-10 requests for improvement in NDL Services at the Tokyo Main Library
(Please click on the image for a clearer one)

Figure 8: Top-10 requests for improvement in NDL Services at the Kansai-kan

Figure 9: Top-10 requests for improvement of NDL Services at the ILCL

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Comparing two different charts for each facility, we can see how much we are expected to improve each aspect of our services. Higher request for improvements means that users think the service is important. If more than one service rates equally low in satisfaction level, higher rates in Figure 7-9 indicate the services whose improvement users want most.

At the Tokyo Main Library, users expressed low satisfaction with "The number of items that can be ordered at one time" and "Speed of delivery" and strongly requested improvement. Reduced waiting time for same-day copying service is also wanted by many users: an acceptable waiting time would be "10 minutes or less" (20 %) or "20 minutes or less" (50%), according to the answers to the questionnaire. We now operate the service based on a rough standard "30 minutes or less," but this satisfies only slightly over 20% of users. We are strongly expected to take steps to shorten the waiting time.

At the Kansai-kan, not a few users presented dissatisfaction with "Interface of terminals for copying request form" and "Reservation service for reading on-site." However, requests for improvements in these services are also low. 58% of Kansai-kan users requested "Expansion of range and depth of collection" and it ranked as the No.1 request. However, "satisfied" users exceed "dissatisfied" by 20%. The same pattern can be observed in "Prompt provision of materials recently published" and "Increased open access materials in the General Collections Room." Seeing this, we may say that there is no area requiring immediate action, but nonetheless we are expected to aim at further user-friendliness of library equipment & systems, expansion of open-access materials and greater availability of current materials. The high rate of requests for "Expansion of range and depth of collection" among Kansai-kan users reflects their dissatisfaction caused by unfulfillment of the purpose for their visit because "the material wanted is stored in the Tokyo Main Library or the ILCL, and not held in the Kansai-kan." At the same time, 60% of Kansai-kan users visit the Library without any information about its holdings: we should stress promotion activities to enhance use of the NDL-OPAC via our website and other ways to obtain information on what the Kansai-kan holds (see 1.1.2).

Most aspects of the ILCL services gained rather high satisfaction ratings, compared with the other two facilities. We may say that most users are satisfied with NDL's service at the ILCL. On the other hand, we also received a number of requests for "Expansion of range and depth of collection" and "Increased open access materials in the Children' Library." Considering that the ILCL holds 200,000 books (children' s literature and related materials) and 1,600 titles of periodicals, and about 7,000 books and periodicals are available on open shelves on the Children's Library, we can deduce that requests for improvements may stem from their failure to find the materials they want. Less than 10% of ILCL visitors use online catalogs (Union Catalog Database of Children's Literature and NDL-OPAC) in the Library.

In the survey on requests for improvements, we also asked about our services for remote users. All the three facilities received most requests for "Increased number of titles whose full texts are available on the NDL website." It indicates that there are many users who wish to enjoy library services such as reading and copying NDL collections without visiting the Library. Currently, the NDL provides the "Digital Library from the Meiji Era" on our website, a virtual library consisting of images of all the pages of the NDL collection of books published in the Meiji era. Through the ILCL website, the "Digital Library of Children's Literature" is available, which provides image data of children's books published before 1950. We will continue to increase the digital library services to assist remote use.

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2. Survey results of domestic libraries and related institutes

Approximately 4,600 domestic libraries and related institutes were surveyed, and prefectural, city, ward, town and village libraries including their branches (60%), university libraries (27%), special libraries (7%), parliamentary libraries (2%) and other libraries (5%) replied.

2.1 Usage of each service
2.1.1. Do you use the NDL website?
Over 50% of libraries use the NDL website once a week or more and 97% of them answered that they had used the NDL-OPAC. As the result shows, the major part of the libraries visit the NDL website to use the NDL-OPAC. Second to fifth frequently used menus are user guidance such as the Guidance of User Registration. The sixth is a reference tool, the Guide for Search by Theme, but only 20% of libraries have ever used it.

We asked libraries to rate accessibility, appearance, and amount of information provided on the website on a scale of five, and found that over 70% of them were satisfied. The item "accessibility to the necessary information" got the most "dissatisfied" replies. We have to improve the structure of our website to make it easier to be accessed. In addition, 2% of libraries replied that they do not have the environment to use the NDL website.

2.1.2 Do you use the NDL-OPAC?
30% of libraries answered that they use the NDL-OPAC on the web "frequently," and if we add the answer "occasionally," 80% of them use the NDL-OPAC. "Search of the Japanese Periodicals Index" that is less recognized by on-site users is used by 50% of libraries. It is used by libraries and institutes to some degree, but less used compared with "Search of general materials" that is used by almost 90% of them. The reasons for using the NDL-OPAC are "confirmation of availability of materials" (90%), "reference work" (50%), and "making bibliographic data" (over 20%).

2.1.3 Do you use the Japanese National Bibliography, JAPAN/MARC and J-BISC?
The Japanese National Bibliography is a publication that provides standard bibliographic data of publications acquired by the NDL through the legal deposit system. Since April 2002, we have been providing the latest four issues on the web. Asked about usage of the Japanese National Bibliography, 8% answered "use on the web," 5% answered "use paper edition," 70% had not used it, and almost 20% did not even know of its existence. The data of the Japanese National Bibliography are provided as the JAPAN/MARC (magnetic tape) and the J-BISC (optical disc) and they are used by almost 40% of libraries. The reasons for using the Japanese National Bibliography are "book selection" (50%), "reference work" (40%), and "making bibliographic data" (30%), while those for using JAPAN/MARC and J-BISC are "confirmation of availability of materials" "making bibliographic data (60%) and "reference work" (40%). These characteristics of usage are also different from that of the NDL-OPAC. Almost 90% of the libraries that have used the Japanese National Bibliography answered that it is "useful" or "useful to some degree," but, as it is used only by small percentage of libraries so far, we have to expand its usage first.

2.1.4 Do you use ILL, copying service by mail, and reference service?
Libraries that have ever used those services account for 60% (ILL), 50% (copying service by mail), and 40% (reference service). See Figures 10 to 12 that show frequency of usage by kind of library. Prefectural libraries and major municipal libraries use ILL and reference service often, while university libraries use copying service by mail often. However, libraries that answered "use once a week or more" account for 10% for ILL and copying service by mail, and only 1% for reference service. Most libraries use each service only "several times a year."

Figure 10: Frequency of usage of ILL service by kind of library (Please click on the image for a clearer one)

Figure 11: Frequency of usage of copying service by mail by kind of library 

Figure 12: Frequency of usage of reference service by kind of library 

Note:
"Nearly every day," "Two or three times a week" and "Once a week" are compiled as "Once a week or more." "Once or twice a month" and "Several times a year" are compiled as "Less than once or twice a month."

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2.2 Satisfaction and need for improvement in our services
70% are "satisfied" or "fairly satisfied" with our services overall, while 10% are "not very satisfied" or "dissatisfied." Satisfaction levels with interlibrary loan (ILL) service, copying service by mail and reference service, all of which are used frequently, rate nearly the same as that with our services on the whole. (Fig. 13)

Figure 13: Satisfaction of Japanese libraries & relevant institutions with NDL services

Figure 14 shows the level of satisfaction with each service. Institutions that answered "satisfied" or "fairly satisfied" are included in "Satisfied institutions," and those that answered "not very satisfied" or "dissatisfied" are included in "Dissatisfied institutions."

Figure 15 shows the top-10 services that respondents think need improvements, with the percentage of the respondents that answered so. 

Many institutions are not satisfied with "number of days until receiving an answer to a reference question," "number of days until receiving photocopies by mail" and "training programs for library staff," while almost the same percentage of institutions answered they were satisfied with these services. Especially, more than 20% of respondents suggested that they wanted "speedy response to a reference question" and "extensive training programs for library staff."

Figure 14: Japanese libraries' & institutions' satisfaction level with each NDL service

Figure 15: Top-10 requests for NDL services from Japanese libraries and institutions 

While 47% of respondents indicated that the range and depth of the collections needed to be improved, the satisfaction level is quite high. It implies that even the institutions which answered they were "satisfied" with our holdings want them to be improved in some ways. Since "providing bibliographic data of the latest materials" and "expanding search functions of the NDL-OPAC" were the third and forth highest requests respectively, it is possible to think that they answered that library holdings needed to be improved because they were dissatisfied with the availability of newly published materials and with the scope of searchable materials. We also assume it results from their high expectation of our library as the sole national library in Japan.

"Expanding titles of periodicals covered in the Japanese Periodicals Index," which was the commonest request for improvement in our services, was also demanded by many users of both the Tokyo Main Library and the Kansai-kan. However, it is not used very often on-site (see 1.1.3), and only 50% of libraries and relevant institutions use this index (see 2.1.2). This is probably because of some problems in the coverage of the Index, as well as insufficient PR activities.

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Conclusion

Looking at the survey results on the whole, we found out how users' demands for up-to-date materials and prompt services have grown in this Internet society where people can get information any time. We also realized that we needed to publicize our services more effectively.

We are planning to conduct this sort of survey regularly, inquiring in detail about problems that were not specified this time. Especially, as we could not collect enough responses from remote users through our website to be statistically significant, we will conduct a survey for remote users again by another method in the near future.

From FY 2004, we are going to introduce an assessment system, and the services that turned out to have problems will be improved in the framework of this system. In this assessment system, aiming at effective management based on firm organizational objectives and improvement in user satisfaction, first we will publicize the service time and quality standards, and then we will evaluate our performance. We would like to verify the effectiveness of assessment system through cyclic surveys and to make use of it to improve our services.