Weiser library survey: users want Saturday hours, full-time librarian

By: 
Steve Lyon
A majority of local residents surveyed about the Weiser Public Library said they would like to see the library open on Saturday and also want the  librarian to be a full-time position.
 The recently completed survey was requested by the Friends of the Weiser Library to get a better idea of how the community uses the library and what the library can do to better meet the needs of patrons. 
 The survey was conducted from Oct. 10 to Nov. 20 and received 288 responses. The survey was posted online and paper copies were distributed at key community locations. The city also linked to the survey on the utility bills that went out to city residents.
 Graduate students working with BSU’s Idaho Policy Institute did the survey and analzed the results. Dr. Greg Hill, director of the Idaho Policy Institute, supervised the project with his graduate students.
 The findings suggested that, overall, respondents were pleased with the library and its role in the community. 
 A breakdown of responses indicated 67.9 percent came from city residents and 32.1 percent were rural users.
 The survey asked community members to share their feelings on hours of operation, programs offered by the library and a desire for electronic resources.
 Among the findings, nearly 70 percent of those surveyed said they would like the library open on Saturdays.
 A total of 75 percent of respondents said the librarian position should be a full-time position. It is currently part time.
 Weiser Mayor Diana Thomas said in her State of the City address on Feb. 11 that the city would budget for a full-time librarian in the future, possibly as soon as the next fiscal budget year.
 The library continues to grow the number of users with 174 new city and rural accounts added in 2018. The library checked out 31,747 materials, including books, audio, video and other media. 
 On a fiscal note, the library, which is supported by property tax dollars, ended the 2018 fiscal year with a carryover of $47,860, according to the city budget.
 The availability of inter-library loan and an e-book check out systems were top priorities.
 A majority of the respondents would like to see more adult and children learning programs at the library.
 Timbra Long, with the nonprofit Friends of the Library, said the results of the survey were given to the library board and the librarian.
 On the issue of opening on Saturday, she said the board decides on the library hours and what days of the week it is open, not the city.
 She said she hopes the survey results will start discussions about community needs and desires at the library. 
 Dr. Greg Hill, director of the Idaho Policy Institute, who supervised the project with his graduate students, said the data gathered can help with policy decision on the library going forward.
 “It is great to work in a community where you can really feel the passion for community improvement. The more a community knows about the needs and preferences of its constituents, the better informed decisions they can make. There is a lot of data in this survey that can really help take the library to the next level and become a powerful community center for Weiser,” Hill said. 
 The Idaho Policy Institute is a non-partisan, objective research center in Boise State University’s School of Public Service.  
 Its mission is to be a resource for decision makers for city, county, and state governments, and non-profit organizations.
 

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