Electronic Reserve User Survey Report & Results

October 21-27, 2001

Background and Methodology

A user survey was conducted at Rutgers University Libraries during the fall semester, 2001, for the purpose of gathering information about the electronic reserve service. A subgroup of the Libraries Assessment Committee (Judy Gardner and Ann Watkins) consulted with the Access Services Committee and the Electronic Reserves Working Group about information that would be helpful in making decisions about the service. The following issues were identified:

• File size: what is the optimal size of electronic reserve files?
• Paper copies: can we eliminate paper copies of electronic reserve files?
• User instruction: how are users learning about electronic reserves and can we improve user instruction?
• Library networked printing: is the network printing service in the library used for electronic reserves?

In addition, a profile of electronic reserve users was sought-- who uses electronic reserves and what are the characteristics of users of electronic reserves.

The subgroup created a questionnaire that was reviewed by the Libraries Assessment Committee and Electronic Reserves Working Group. Most questions were designed for dichotomous responses. A rating scale was used to obtain evaluations of user satisfaction with resources for user help and instruction, and with the library network printing service. Open-ended questions dealing with user likes, dislikes, and suggestions for the service were included. The questionnaire was pre-tested on a sample of 3 students and edited for content and language.

For delivery to users, the subgroup recommended a self-administered, web-based questionnaire. A web-based survey platform developed by Ron Jantz and SCC staff was used. The Libraries Systems Department created a link on the main Reserve Desk web page in IRIS to the survey on the SCC server. Results were captured using an MS-Access database and also converted to Excel.

The Electronic Reserves Working Group suggested the survey be conducted October 21-27, 2001, deemed a high use period for electronic reserves based on Web access statistics from the past two year. Users were asked to complete the survey once during the week it was available on the Reserve Desk page; 26% of the surveys were submitted on Monday.

Table 1: Electronic Reserve User Surveys Received

Date	# rec.	%
Sun, 10/21/01	14	13%
Mon., 10/22/01	28	26%
Tues., 10/23/01	14	13%
Wed., 10/24/01	17	15%
Thurs., 10/25/01	25	23%
Fri., 10/26/01	8	7%
Sat., 10/27/01	3	3%
Total	109	100%

The questionnaires were coded; open-ended questions were coded by category. Frequency of response and relative frequency for each question were computed (see "Electronic Reserve User Survey & Results -- Frequencies and Percentages"). Answers to question #3 about load time satisfaction, a key question asked to help determine the optimal size of files, failed to code and register on the results page. One duplicate response was received. A sample size of 100 was projected as being necessary to be representative of the electronic reserves user population. In total, 109 valid responses were received during the week. The Excel file was used to sort, tabulate and cross-tabulate questions and categories.

Results -- Frequencies and Percentages

(Refer to "Electronic Reserve User Survey & Results – Frequencies and Percentages")

The majority of electronic reserve users are undergraduates.

• 76% of electronic reserve users are undergraduates,
• 21% of electronic reserve users are graduate students.
• [Note: 72% (34,500) of RU's student population is undergraduate, 28% (13,500) is graduate]

Over 90% of electronic reserve users use electronic reserves outside of a librar

• 92% of electronic reserve users use electronic reserves outside of a library.
• 31% use electronic reserves off campus at home or at work
• 61% use electronic reserves on campus at a lab, dorm, or office.
• 8% use electronic reserves in a library

The majority (almost 80%) of electronic reserve users do not use paper reserve desk copies of electronic reserve documents available in the library.

• 79% of electronic reserve users never use the reserve desk paper copy of an electronic document.
• 21% use reserve desk paper copies of electronic reserve documents at least once a semester.
• 13% use reserve desk paper 1-3 times a semester, and 4% use reserve desk paper copies 5 or more times a semester.
• 4% of electronic reserve users use reserve desk paper copies because the electronic copy is bad, 3% use them because the electronic copy is not available.

Electronic reserves users prefer personal assistance from instructors, friends, and library staff when they need help or to report a problem about electronic reserves.

• 54% electronic reserve users have asked their course professor for assistance using electronic reserves
• 54% have asked a friend or fellow student
• 49% have asked library staff at a Reserve Desk
• 24% have used the online "Ask a Librarian" service
• 20% have used the online electronic reserves guide

The majority (almost 90%) of electronic reserve users are printing paper copies of electronic documents.

• 50% of electronic reserve users only print paper copies and don't read on screen.
• 11% of electronic reserve users only read reserve items on the screen and don't print paper copies.
• 39% both read documents on the screen and print paper copies.
• 89% are printing paper copies of electronic reserve documents.

Over a quarter of electronic reserve user have printed an electronic reserve document in a library using the library network printing service.

• 27% of electronic reserve users have printed copies of an electronic reserve document in a library using a copy card.

Electronic reserve users overwhelming like the geographical convenience of electronic reserves. They also appreciate savings in time and cost.

Electronic reserve users dislike having to wait for electronic reserves to be processed, problems they've experience with network access and PCs, image and print quality, and load time.

Most popular suggestions for electronic reserves include improving remote access and image quality, and putting more materials on reserve in electronic format.

Results -- Cross Tabulations

Table 2: RU Status – Where do you use electronic reserves most of the time?

	Where do you use electronic reserves most of the time?						Total
	Library	Computer Lab	Dorm	Office	Home	Work
Undergraduate	8 7%	38 35%	18< 17%	1 1%	16 15%	2 2%	83 100%
Graduate	1 4%	4 4%	1 1%	2 2%	15 14%	0 0%	23 100%
Faculty	0	0	0	1	1	0	2
Staff	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Total	9	43	19	4	32	2	109

• 3% of undergraduate users are more likely than graduate users to use electronic reserves in the library most of the time.
• 31% of undergraduate users are more likely than graduate users to use electronic reserves in a computer lab most of the time.
• 16% of undergraduate users are more likely than graduate users to use electronic reserves in a dorm most of the time.

Table 3: RU Status – Do you ever use the paper reserve copy when the electronic format for an item is available?

	Do you ever use the paper reserve copy when the electronic format for an item is available?		Total
	Yes	No
Undergraduate	18 22%	65 78%	83 100%
Graduate	5 22%	18 78%	23 100%
Faculty	0	2	2
Staff	0	0	0
Other	0	1	1
Total	23	86	109

• There is no difference in the percentage of undergraduate and graduate users who are more or less likely to use the reserve desk paper copy of an electronic reserve document

Table 4: RU Status – When using electronic reserves do you: only read reserve items off the screen, only print reserve items to read on paper, both read off the screen and print reserve items?

	Only read off Screen /Only print to read on paper/Both read off the screen and print
	Only read off Screen	Only print to read	Both	Total
Undergraduate	9 11%	38 46%	36 43%	83 100%
Graduate	3 13%	14 61%	6 26%	23 100%
Faculty	0	1	1	2
Staff	0	0	0	0
Other	0	1	0	1
Total	12	54	43	109

• 17% of undergraduate electronic reserve users are more likely to both read on screen and print documents than graduate student users.
• 15% of graduate users are more likely to only print documents than undergraduate users.
• 2% or graduate users are more likely to only read document on screen than undergraduates.

Table 5: Screen/Print/Both – Have you ever printed an electronic reserve document in a library on campus using a copy card?

	Print in library on campus with a copy card			Total
	Yes	No	Missing
Only read off screen	0 0%	12 100%	0 0%	12 100%
Only print on paper to read	15 28%	37 68%	2 4%	54 100%
Both read off screen and print paper to read	14 33%	29 67%	0 0%	43 100%
Total	29	78	2	109

• 5% of users who both read on screen and print electronic reserve documents are more likely to use a copy card in the library to print than those who only print electronic reserves.

Table 6: RU Status – Have you ever asked one of the following resources for help or to report a problem using electronic reserves?

	Resource for help or to report a problem using electronic reserves
	Library staff	AAL	Professor	Friend		Guide		Total
Undergraduate	42 25%	16 10%	49 30%	45 27%	14 8%		166 100%
Graduate	10 21%	9 20%	9 20%	13 28%	5 11%		46 100%
Faculty	0 0%	1 25%	1 25%	0 0%	2 50%		4 100%
Staff	0	0	0	0	0		0
Other	1 50%	0 0%	0 0%	0 0%	1 50%		2 100%
Total	53	26	59	58	22		218

• 4% of undergraduate users are more likely to use library staff as a resource for help with electronic reserves than graduate users.
• 10% of undergraduate users are more likely to ask a professor for assistance with electronic reserves than graduate users.
• 10% of graduate users are more likely to use the Ask a Librarian service for assistance with electronic reserves than undergraduate users.

Table 7: RU Status – Used Library Staff for Help and Level of Satisfaction

	>Used Library Staff
	1= low satisfaction	2	3	4	5 =high satisfaction	Used	Not used	Missing	Total
Undergraduate	2	7	5	11	17	42	38	3	83
Graduate	0	2	3	3	2	10	13	0	23
Faculty	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
Staff	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1
Total	2	9	8	14	20	53	53	3	109

Table 8: RU Status – Used Ask a Librarian for Help and Level of Satisfaction

	Used Ask a Librarian
	1= low satisfaction	2	3	4	5 =high satisfaction	Used	Not used	Missing	Total
Undergraduate	0	5	3	5	3	16	64	3	83
Graduate	2	1	3	0	3	9	13	1	23
Faculty	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	2
Staff	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Total	2	6	6	6	6	26	79	4	109

Table 9: RU Status – Used Professor for Help and Level of Satisfaction

	Used Professor
	1= low satisfaction	2	3	4	5 =high satisfaction	Used	Not used	Missing	Total
Undergraduate	3	10	12	10	14	49	30	4	83
Graduate	1	2	2	4	0	9	13	1	23
Faculty	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	2
Staff	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Total	4	12	14	15	14	59	45	5	109

Table 10: RU Status – Used Friend/Colleague for Help and Level of Satisfaction

	Used Friend/Colleague
	1= low satisfaction	2	3	4	5 =high satisfaction	Used	Not used	Missing	Total
Undergraduate	3	4	12	13	13	45	36	2	83
Graduate	1	1	3	4	5	14	8	1	23
Faculty	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
Staff	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Total	4	5	15	17	18	59	47	3	109

Table 11: RU Status – Use Online Guide for Help and Level of Satisfaction

	Used Online Guide
	1= low satisfaction	2	3	4	5 =high satisfaction	Used	Not used	Missing	Total
Undergraduate	1	3	3	5	2	14	65	4	83
Graduate	0	1	2	2	0	6	17	1	23
Faculty	0	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	2
Staff	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1
Total	1	4	7	8	2	22	82	5	109

Table 12: Use of Library Staff and Use of AAL for Help

	Use Library Staff			Do Not Use Library Staff
	Use AAL			Use AAL
	Yes	No	Total	Yes	No	total
Undergraduate	12 29%	30 71%	42 100%	4 11%	34 89%	38 100%
Graduate	5 56%	4 44%	9 100%	4 31%	9 69%	13 100%

Among students who have used library staff for assistance, graduate students are more likely to use AAL. Among students who have not used library staff, graduate students are also more likely to use AAL. Using library staff for assistance increases the probability of using AAL by .25 for graduate students and .18 for undergraduates.

Table 13: Use of Professor and Use of Library Staff for Help

	Use Professor			Do Not Use Professor
	Use Library Staff			Use Library Staff
	Yes	No	Total	Yes	No	total
Undergraduate	33 67%	16 33%	49 100%	10 33%	20 67%	30 100%
Graduate	6 67%	3 33%	9 100%	3 23%	10 77%	13 100%

Among students who use their professors, undergraduates and graduate students are neither more nor less likely to also use library staff for assistance. Among students who do not use their professors, undergraduates are more likely to use library staff. Using a professor increases the probability of using library staff by .34 for undergraduates and .44 for graduate students.

Electronic Reserve User Survey & Results -- Frequencies and Percentages

October 21-27, 2001
Rutgers University Libraries

(1) What is your status at Rutgers?

83 (76%) O undergraduate student

23 (21%) O graduate student

2 (2%) O faculty

0 O staff

1 (1%) O other, please specify: _post baccalaureate student________

0 missing

(2) Where do you use electronic reserves most of the time?

9 (8%) O a library on campus

43 (40%) O a computer lab on campus

19 (17%) O a dorm on campus

4 (4%) O an office on campus

32 (29%) O at home

2 (2%) O at work off campus

0 O other, please specify:______________________

0 missing

(3) Are you satisfied with the time that it takes you to load an electronic reserve document for viewing?

O yes

O no

109 missing

(4) Do you ever use the paper reserve copy when the electronic format for an item is available?

(4a)

23 (21%) O yes

86 (79%) O no

0 missing

(4b) If you answered yes above and use paper copies of electronic reserve documents, please indicate approximately how many times per semester you use paper and why you use paper:

14 (13%) O 1-3 times

5 (5%) O 3-5 times

4 (4%) O more than 5 times

0 missing

why I use paper _______________________________________________

for copy 2 (12%)

saves paper 2 (12%

bad e-copy 4 (25%)

e-copy NA 3 (19%)

prob.w/comp 2 (12%

at lib already 3 (19%)

(5) Have you ever asked one of the following resources for help or to report a problem using electronic reserves? For those you have asked, rate your level of satisfaction with the assistance you received, with 1 as the lowest score and 5 as the highest score.

Yes - level of satisfaction		low   				 high
					1	2	3	4	  5

a) library staff at a Reserve Desk	2 (2%)  9 (8%)	8 (7%)  14 (13%)  20(18%)
b) the online "Ask a Librarian" service	2 (2%)  6 (6%)	6 (6%)  6  (6%)   6 (6%)
c) your course professor		4 (4%) 	12(11%)	14(13%) 15 (14%)  14(13%)
d) a friend or fellow student 	 	4( 4%)  5 (5%)	15(14%) 17 (16%)  18(17%)
e) the online "Electronic Documents
On Reserve: A User's Guide"	 	1 (1%)	4 (4%)	7(6%)   8 (7%) 	  2 (2%)

 
	

						Total	        No		Missing								Yes

a) library staff at a Reserve Desk	    	53 (49%)	53 (49%)	3 (3%)
b) the online "Ask a Librarian" service	        26 (24%)	79 (72%) 	4 (4%)
c) your course professor			59 (54%)	45 (41%)	5 (5%)
d) a friend or fellow student 		    	59 (54%)	47 (43%)	3 (3%)
e) the online "Electronic Documents
On Reserve: A User's Guide"	   	        22 (20%)	82 (75%)	5 (5%)

(6) When using electronic reserves do you:

12 (11%) O only read reserve items off the screen

54 (50%) O only print reserve items to read on paper

43 (39%) O both read off the screen and print reserve items

(7) Have you ever printed an electronic reserve document in a library on campus using a copy card?

(7a)

29 (27%) O yes

78 (71%) O no

2 (2%) missing

(7b) If you answered yes above and have printed electronic reserve documents in a library using your copy card, please rate your level of satisfaction with the printed copies and service you received, with 1 as the lowest score and 5 as the highest score:

level of satisfaction

 	low			        				high		missing
	1		2		3		4		5
	4 (4%)		5(5%)		9 (8%)		6 (6%)		5 (5%)		0

(8) What do you like most about electronic reserves? _______________________________

Geographic Convenience 58 (53%)

Cost 11 (10%)

Misc. other 6 (6%)

Time 5 (5%)

No Response 29 (27%)

(9) What do you dislike most about electronic reserves? ____________________________

Processing/availability 18 (16%)

Network/PC problems 13 (12%)

Load Time 10 (9%)

Printing 10 (9%)

Image Quality 8 (7%)

"Nothing" 5 (5%)

Interface 3 (3%)

Misc. other 1 (1%)

No Response 41 (38%)

(10) What suggestions do you have for improving electronic reserves? __________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Remote Access 8 (7%)

Image Quality 8 (7%)

Put more on 8 (7%)

Multiple formats/links 6 (6%)

"nothing" 6 (6%)

Printing 5 (5%)

Interface 5 (5%)

Faster available 5 (5%)

Misc. other 1 (1%)

No response 57 (52%)

Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire. [SUBMIT]

JEG 12/12/01
[Electronic Reserve User Survey Report&Results.doc}