19 December 2019

Even 93% of respondents recommend visiting libraries

When celebrating its centenary, the National Library had a particular interest in the efficiency and development of partnerships. A successful example is the signing of a cooperation agreement with the market investigation company “Kantar”. This agreement resulted in a representative impact assessment study of Lithuanian libraries.

To quote the Director-General of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania Prof. Dr. Renaldas Gudauskas, “We delight in the overall result, which allows us to assess the complex benefit for Lithuania of projects of the previous decade that were realized or are still under implementation. This assessment is a perfect tool for discovering new directions, drafting new operational strategies and for successful implementation of these strategies”.

Between January and October 2019, there was a polling of opinion of library visitors carried out at Lithuania’s public libraries with the purpose to ascertain how users treat library services and their quality. The polling involved 4 668 respondents. It showed that the Lithuanian library users generally perceive the library as a place with good vibes gratifying for spending time with qualified professionals providing professional help. Library services are rated by users as very good (the average assessment is 9.5 out of 10). Even 93 percent of library visitors would undoubtedly recommend for their family members and friends to visit a library. Such a favourable opinion of the visitors about libraries has been also shown by the NPS (Net Promoter Score) (91%), which defines the level of loyalty and satisfaction of customers.

The most favourably evaluated aspects of library activities are the overall service quality and advice given by librarians as well as events and trainings organized by libraries. 15 percent of the users responded that libraries were the only internet access points for them – especially the users over 55 years of age as well as those with lower level of education and income and people with disabilities. The visitors, especially in rural areas, responded that a library helped them solve practical problems and develop critical thinking. As a reason to use internet at libraries, the visitors indicated advice and help provided  by librarians. Regarding the users’ skills in using information technologies, the comparison with the results of a 2011 analogous study show the advancement of general skills and not so fast improvement of specific skills.