If you have any additional comments or suggestions that might help Orange County Public Library to better serve you and your family, please let us know by writing them below.
_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
Thank you for taking part in this survey. Results of the survey will be tabulated and released in the summer of 1999. Copies of the survey results will be available at that time to the public at the library’s Carrboro and Hillsborough locations.
APPENDIX B
The following is the text of the letter that accompanied the first mailing of the questionnaire.
January 25, 1999
Dear Orange County citizen,
You are invited to participate in a survey of Orange County residents being conducted by the Orange County Public Library. The purpose of this study is to find out how residents currently use the library and which library services are most important to them. We will use the results of this survey to help the Orange County Public Library plan for the future and better serve the needs of county residents. Your participation is greatly appreciated. Please complete the attached questionnaire and return it to me in the enclosed envelope. The questionnaire should not take more than fifteen minutes of your time to complete. Your responses on this questionnaire are completely confidential. We will not use your name, address, or any other personal information in reporting the results, but will compile and summarize results by township. All personal information will be destroyed when the study is finished.
If you have any questions about this survey, please contact me. I am assisted in the design and analysis of the survey by a University of North Carolina faculty member, Dr. Evelyn Daniel (919-962-8062) and Lindsey Tear, a graduate researcher.
Your opinions and ideas are important to us. Thank you for taking the time to share them by participating in this survey.
Sincerely,
Brenda W. Stephens
Director, Hyconeechee Regional Library System Orange County Public Library
APPENDIX C
The following is the text of the letter that accompanied the second mailing of the questionnaire.
April 8, 1999
Dear Orange County citizen,
We have not yet received your 1999 Orange County Public Library survey. Another copy of the questionnaire and a postage-paid return envelope are enclosed in case yours have been misplaced.
The time you take to complete this questionnaire is important to help the library plan for the future and better serve the needs of Orange County residents. Even if you rarely or never use the Orange County Public Library, your input is vital to our understanding of the needs and wishes of the people in our communities. And if you do visit the library on a regular basis, we are interested in hearing about your experiences with us, both positive and negative.
If you have already returned your questionnaire to us, please disregard this letter and accept our thanks. If you have any questions about this survey, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am assisted in the design and analysis of this survey by a University of North Carolina faculty member, Dr. Evelyn Daniel (919-962-8062) and Lindsey Tear, a graduate researcher.
Your opinions and ideas are important to us. Won't you please take a few minutes of your time now to help the library better serve its community?
Sincerely,
Brenda W. Stephens
Director, Orange County Public Library Hyconeechee Regional Library System
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abernathy, Sue. "Friends Conduct Survey for Henry County Library." Show-Me Libraries 41 (Summer 1990): 23.
Cassell, Kay Ann. Knowing Your Community and Its Needs. Chicago: Library Administration and Management Association/ALA, 1988.
Converse, Jean M. and Stanley Presser. Survey Questions: Handcrafting the Standardized Questionnaire. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage, 1986.
Donaldson, Jennifer Ann. “A User Survey of the Carrboro Public Library.” Master's paper, School of Information and Library Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1996.
Lange, Janet M. "Public Library Users, Nonusers, and Type of Library Use." Public Library Quarterly 8 (1987-1988): 49-67.
McClure, Charles R., et al. Planning and Role Setting for Public Libraries: A Manual of Options and Procedures. Chicago: American Library Association, 1987.
Miller, Thomas I., and Michelle A. Miller. Citizen Surveys: How to Do Them, How to Use Them, What They Mean. Washington, D.C.: International City Management Association, 1991.
Myers, Carol. "A Tool for Measuring Success." North Carolina Libraries 46 (Fall 1988): 161-2.
Palmour, Vernon E., Marcia C. Bellassai, and Nancy V. DeWath. A Planning Process for Public Libraries. Chicago: American Library Association, 1980.
Rosen, Elizabeth McClure. "Assessing Library Needs in Rural America." Journal of Youth Services in Libraries 4 (Fall 1990): 87-90.
Saxton, Matthew L. and Ruth D. Greiner. "Public Participation in Strategic Planning of Library Services: Soliciting, Assessing, and Balancing Community and Staff Input." Public Libraries 37 (March/April 1998): 126-32.
Shubert, Joseph F. "Public Library Outreach Services." Bookmark 49 (Summer 1991): 271-8.
Soltys, Amy. "Planning and Implementing a Community Survey." Canadian Library Journal 42 (October 1985): 245-9.
Stephens, Brenda Wilson. A Study to Examine and Evaluate the Collection at the Orange County Public Library. Research report, School of Library Science of North Carolina Central University, 1981.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Census of Population and Housing, 1990: Labor Force and Commuting Data for Orange County, North Carolina. ONLINE. Census Bureau. Available: http://www.census.gov/ [11 July 1999].
---. Census of Population and Housing, 1990: Summary Tape File 3A. ONLINE. Census Bureau. Available: http://www.census.gov/ [5 July 1999].
---. County Population Estimates for July 1, 1998 and Population Change for July 1, 1997 to July 1, 1998. ONLINE. 1999. Census Bureau. Available:
http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/county/ co-98-1/98C1_37.txt [13 July 1999].
---. USA Counties 1996: General Profile. ONLINE. Census Bureau. Available: http://tier2.census.gov/usac/usac.htm [13 July 1999].
Vavrek, Bernard. "Rural Information Needs and the Role of the Public Library." Library Trends 44 (Summer 1995): 21-48.
Zweizig, Douglas, Debra Wilcox Johnson, and Jane Robbins. The TELL IT! Manual: The Complete Program for Evaluating Library Performance. Chicago: American Library Association, 1996.