Adult Public Library User Survey (PLUS)

From Monday 25 September to Saturday 30 September 2006, we asked adults about their satisfaction with the library service. The survey included questions about finding what you are looking for, and ordering items that are out on loan.

Results

Public Library User Surveys are carried out by all library authorities in the country. The results are used nationally to assess how well we meet the Public Library Standards, and by us to measure our performance and ensure we give best value for our services.

Our survey involved 6,695 people. The results show:

• 97% judged staff assistance and helpfulness as very good or good
• 89% of respondents were satisfied with libraries overall
• 47% felt the outside of libraries was adequate or worse
• 27% thought the inside condition of libraries was adequate or worse
• 25% said the choice of books was adequate or worse.

Your impact

We are making changes to our services in response to your comments:

• the Council is spending an extra £100,000 a year on the continuous programme to improve library interiors
• investigating ways of working with partners to build new libraries
• improving how we display our stock and activities for readers.

For more information about how we are improving the library service, see our library plans.