User Surveys in College Libraries

The first edition of the CLIP Note ""User Surveys in College Libraries"" in 1995 proved to be a popular publication, as libraries strive to improve their services to their user communities by attempting to discover their needs and expectations. In the past ten years, the use of surveys in libraries has evolved with the development of online tools and services, so it was deemed appropriate to provide a second edition of this publication.Using the CLIP Notes guidelines, the compilers developed a survey based on that found in the 1995 User Surveys in College Libraries to allow for an historical comparison. A first draft of the survey was tested on a sample group, and the survey was edited based on feedback. The compilers used the online tool SurveyMonkey.com to manage the survey and, in May 2006, invited librarians representing 251 libraries to respond, garnering a response rate of 53 per cent.