Dec 16

Library Satisfaction Survey for Faculty: Questions to Ask

December 16, 2021
A list of charts of the sort that can be used in library satisfaction surveys

Assessment is one of the key pillars in academic librarianship, especially in our instruction sessions. But another way that assessment can be utilized is with our relationships with faculty, especially if you are a liaison librarian or subject matter librarian. When I started my new position last year, I wanted to know how I was doing with the faculty and how to best support them. I sent out an “end of the semester” library satisfaction survey to one department to test it out. The survey results were helpful. In this blog post, I want to provide some reflective prompts on what you should consider when creating an end-of-semester survey and also provide you with the survey questions. I look forward to updating these questions in the future. 

Reflective Prompts to Consider When Creating an End-of-Semester Library Satisfaction Survey:

  • Have you been able to make contact with anyone in the department? 
    • If not, this is your opportunity to ask why. 
    • If so, how have you been utilized? This information can help inform the questions you will ask in your survey. 
  • What data are you trying to get from using this type of survey?
  • Do you have someone you trust who can look over the survey you created to give you feedback on the questions?
  • When do you want to email the survey? Do you know what time of the semester you will get the most response from faculty?
  • Do you have the flexibility in your schedule to analyze the data from the survey? 

The Survey Questions

* Required 

1. Name 
2. Department* 
3. Over the past semester, how often have you recommended the following Drake Library services to your students? 

  • Online databases and journals: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never 
  • Research guides: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never 
  • Research consultation with a librarian: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never  
  • Library chat service: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never  
  • Call the library: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never 
  • Email the library: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never 
4. Over the past semester, how much have you emphasized the following in the courses you teach? 

  • Questioning the quality of information sources: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never 
  • Appropriately citing sources in a paper or project: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never
  • Not plagiarizing another author’s work: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never 
  • Using peer-reviewed/scholarly articles in assignments: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never
5. Library instruction: 

  • Would your students benefit from librarian instruction about finding reliable resources?: Strongly Agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree, Strongly Disagree 
  • Would your students benefit from librarian instruction on citing their sources?: Strongly Agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree, Strongly Disagree 
  • Would your students benefit from librarian instruction on how to use databases?: Strongly Agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree, Strongly Disagree 
6. Do you make reference to the library’s resources on your syllabus? 

  • Yes 
  • No (didn’t know about it) 
  • No (doesn’t interest me) 
  • Unsure
7. Would you consider adding the library’s resources to your syllabus?

  • Yes (didn’t know about it) 
  • Yes (I already do this) 
  • No 
  • Unsure 
8. Would you consider adding your liaison librarian to your course in Blackboard? 

  • Yes (didn’t know about it) 
  • Yes (I already do this) 
  • No 
  • Unsure 
9. What additional library resources or services would help you teach more effectively?* 
10. What do you appreciate about the library?*
11. How can the library better support your department?*

Make sure that you set time aside in your schedule to analyze the data from the survey. Also, let the faculty know that you are open to feedback. Once you have the information from the survey, this can inform your target outreach plan for the coming semester. Remember, every faculty member can benefit from a librarian being a part of their course. In addition, we can benefit from being a part of their course because this is our connection with the students during their time at the institution. 

When putting the survey together, one of the resources that I liked was the Webster University Library’s faculty/staff survey report prepared by Judy Geczi, which helped me craft the survey questions. I used Microsoft Forms to create my survey. Then I emailed them during Finals week because I knew that faculty would be busy grading the following week. It is essential to assess your relationship with the departments you liaise with continually, and having this type of survey will be helpful to your outreach and/or liaison work. 

See also:

About The Author

Jamia Williams earned her Bachelor of Science in History from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Brockport and earned her Master of Library Science from North Carolina Central University. Jamia is a Health Sciences Librarian at SUNY Brockport’s Drake Memorial Library. She serves as the liaison to the following academic programs, African & African American Studies, Biology, Health Science/Healthcare Studies, McNair Program, and Nursing. Williams is the co-creator and co-host of the podcast LibVoices which amplifies the voices of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who work in archives and libraries. Jamia founded the Diversity Fellow’s blog which is a platform used to document her journey as a Black librarian.