Henry Madden Library Survey

Project Report
By: Alexa Ude, Sarah Kellogg, Tyke Andrew,Brian Gil, Joyce Teoh

I.

Introduction
The library at California State University Fresno was established in 1911 and later
received its name, Henry Madden Library, in 1981. The library has been serving its
students for many years and in 2009, the Henry Madden Library went through a major
105 million dollar renovation. Today it is a massive library that provides many services
for Fresno State students, making it a central studying location for students from all
colleges on campus.
As marketing research students, we decided to conduct a study regarding the library and
students satisfaction with the various aspects of the Henry Madden Library.

II.

Research Questions

The research was conducted to develop answers to these questions:

What is the main purpose of students visits to the library and how long do they
visit for?
Is there a relationship between the length of time students spend in the library and
the students purpose for visiting?
How important do students feel their visits to the library are and is there a
significant difference between the different class groups?
What aspects of the library and its services affect the satisfaction rating of the
overall quality of library services?
What is the general awareness of students knowledge of library events?
What is the overall student perception of the study rooms?

III.

Research Approach
This research study was conducted in the form of descriptive research. The study was
conducted via surveys completed by students on campus, therefore it was a nonprobability sample. Surveys are well-suited to address students satisfaction regarding the
library services because the survey can easily reach a large number of respondents.

Project Report-Ude,Kellogg,Andrew,Gil,Teoh

The survey consisted of 34 questions; 22 questions that were likert scale and 12
classification questions that pertained to their demographics and library use. The likert
type questions allowed us to study the students satisfaction and their level of agreement
on certain statements about the library and its aspects.
IV.

Sampling Methodology
Since we wanted to obtain results that had a solid representation of the students opinions
at Fresno State, we collected over 100 surveys. In total, we collected 133 responses by
approaching random students in the library and asking them to take the survey on a tablet.
We also sent out emails to our classmates via Blackboard, with a link to our survey. After
eliminating survey responses that had missing data or outliers, we had a total of 116
responses, therefore we had an 87% response rate.

V.

Research Findings

What is the main purpose of students visits to the library and how long do they visit for?
Finding 1:
Based on our experience at the library and our opinion of why students go to the library,
we thought that 50% of students would say that studying is what they mostly use the
library for. After reviewing our survey data and looking at question twenty-six, we
discovered that we were wrong, and the results were significantly higher at 60.9%;
therefore a large majority of students said they mostly use the library for studying.
Recommendation: We recommend that the library extend its hours for the 3 weeks
leading up to the end of the semester, enabling students to have more hours
available to study. They should advertise their extended hours on the Henry
Madden Library social media accounts, on the entrance doors, and on flyers
located at tables throughout the library. Also they should extend hours for midterms as well. Although there is not a specific week for mid-terms in the semester,
they should find a two week period in the middle of the semester, when a majority
of teachers have mid-terms and extend their hours until midnight.
Finding 2:
After analyzing our data for question twenty-five, we discovered that we were correct in
assuming 35% of students spend around 2 hours at the library. Our sample shows that
36.5% of students say their average visit to the library is around two hours, which is very
similar to our estimate of 35%.

Project Report-Ude,Kellogg,Andrew,Gil,Teoh

Recommendation: Because the majority of students stay for two hours or more, the
library is doing a good job at making the students feel comfortable and welcome.
We recommend to maintain the library environment so students continue to want
to study at the library for a long period of time each visit.
Is there a relationship between the length of time students spend in the library and the
students purpose for visiting?
Finding 1:
After running an analysis on questions twenty-five and twenty-six, we found there is a
significant association between the two variables: length of visit and the reason for visit.
The people whose average visit to the library is 30 minutes or less, either go to Starbucks
in the library, use the computers, or use it for other purposes. Over half, specifically
57%, of the people who spend 30 minutes or less at the library, go to the library to get
Starbucks. Out of the people whose average visit is around one hour: 55% go to the
library to study and 24% work with others. The results for people who spend around 2
hours was very similar to the one hour respondents, with 55% of the people using the
library to study. As expected, an overwhelming majority (84%) of people whose average
visit is 3 or more hours, use the library to study.
Recommendation: Since the majority of people who visit for 30 minutes or less
go to Starbucks at the library (67%), we suggest focusing on getting them quickly
in and out of Starbucks. Since the Taco Bell on campus started using the mobile
and online ordering application, Tapingo, we suggest the Starbucks on campus
adapt a similar system where the students can order their drink ahead of time and
then quickly and easily pick their order up. This will also benefit the students that
stay at the library for longer periods of time because they can get their Starbucks
quickly and enjoy it while they study. It will most likely encourage the students
who are studying to stay longer and enjoy their drink. Since the majority of
students use the library to study and are there for two hours or more, we suggest
that the library continue to provide a welcoming, comfortable, and quiet
environment so the students continue to visit the library to study.

How important do students feel their visits to the library are and is there a significant
difference between the different class groups?
Finding 1:
After looking at the results to question twenty-two, it was determined that all groups of
students (freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate students) are equal in regards
to the question My visits to the library are important. On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being
strongly agree, all student groups averaged a 4 or higher, so they all feel that their library
visits are important to them. However, we cannot fully trust these results because we do
Project Report-Ude,Kellogg,Andrew,Gil,Teoh

not have a large amount of survey results from each class group. Almost half of
respondents, 56, were Seniors and we only had 6 graduate students responses.
Recommendations: We do not want to put too much weight on this research
question because our unequal class groups show that they are all equal. If we had
more responses from different groups we believe that the difference from seniors
who had an average of 4.0 would be significantly different from the graduate
students average of 4.5. Since graduate students feel their visits to the library are
very important, we suggest the library send out email reminders to graduate
students informing them of the immense resources the library offers.
What aspects of the library and its services affect the satisfaction rating of the overall
quality of library services?
Finding 1:
We examined a variety of attitudes towards the library to see if they had relationships
with the perceptions of overall quality of library services. We found that knowledge of
library services and convenience of library hours has a significant relationship in regards
to the perception of overall quality of library services. These two variables explain 28%
of the change in opinions regarding overall quality of library services. We also found that
feeling informed about library events does not significantly affect overall satisfaction of
services.
Recommendations: To increase positive perception of the overall quality of
library services the library could increase the use of flyers, utilize social media
platforms, and send out information via email or direct mail regarding the library
services. At freshmen orientation or Dog Days, the library could provide a list
with descriptions of services in the form of a pamphlet or flyer. To increase
positive perceptions of convenient library hours the library could remain open for
additional hours on high-traffic days (i.e. finals week).
Finding 2:
Library safety, the amount of places to sit, and availability of quiet study areas do not
have significant relationships to perceptions of overall quality of library services. Factors
that do positively affect these perceptions are library cleanliness, library staffs ability to
be knowledgeable, and library staffs friendliness. These three factors account for 46% of
change in opinion regarding overall quality of library services.
Recommendations: Management practices have the ability to shape patrons
perceptions of the librarys image and value. The Henry Madden Library should
maintain and/or increase the cleanliness of the library by hiring additional
janitorial staff or increasing the frequency of cleaning the library facilities. To
ensure the availability of knowledgeable and friendly employees the library
should find ways to build morale among their staff and utilize quality training and
retraining of their staff. This form of internal marketing could help boost the
Project Report-Ude,Kellogg,Andrew,Gil,Teoh

knowledge and friendliness of the staff, resulting in a positive and satisfying

experience for patrons.
Finding 3:
Availability of computers, computer programs, and study rooms do not have a significant
effect on perceptions of overall quality of library services. Conditions of study rooms,
satisfaction with technology services, and satisfaction with the selection of books and
articles also do not have significant relationships to these perceptions. Two variables,
satisfaction with the amount of services and library staff helpfulness, have a significant,
positive relationship and explain 64% of the change in opinions regarding the overall
quality of library services.
Recommendations: To ensure the students are satisfied with the quantity of
library services the library should emphasize services through events and social
media platforms. At the beginning of the semester the library could use social
media to highlight different services every day of the week for the first two
weeks. The library could hire someone to maintain their social media sites as well
as host information booths at events on campus. The library could boost staff
helpfulness by increasing morale through incentives and providing staff with
adequate and accessible resources needed for them to help patrons.
What is the general awareness of students knowledge of library events?
Finding 1:
We tested the general awareness of library events among students by looking at question
20. We believed that the average awareness of librarys events among the students was a
3.6 on a scale of 1-5, 5 being strongly agree. The results showed that we were incorrect
and in fact the general awareness was significantly lower at a 2.9.
Recommendations: To increase the low average of general awareness among the
students we recommend that the library starts using their social media outlets to
reach the students. We specifically recommend Instagram because it is very
popular among our age group, and would be easy to promote their events on this
platform. Also, it is important to have an employee constantly and actively
engaging students via these social media accounts. The library can also use the
email list server to email all the students about upcoming events at the library.
What is the overall student perception of the study rooms?
Finding 1:
We tested the students overall perception of the study rooms by looking at question 17.
We assumed that on average, students belief that booking a study is a difficult process
would be 2.5 on a scale of 1-5, 5 being strongly agree. Our assumption was supported by
the results of our findings. The results showed the actual average was a 2.7, which was
not significantly higher than what we believed.
Project Report-Ude,Kellogg,Andrew,Gil,Teoh

Recommendations: Because students perceive booking a study room as a difficult

process, we suggest to make it easier by creating a location in the library just for
booking study rooms. Have this counter constantly staffed and clearly labeled to
eliminate all the confusion there may be in the booking process. Making a short
YouTube video will also make this process easier, it can demonstrate that booking
a study room is easy and hassle free.
Finding 2:
To further test the students overall perception of study rooms we analysed question 9. We
reasoned that on average, students perception of the availability study rooms would
probably be 3.0 on a scale of 1-5, 5 being completely satisfied. Our assumption was
supported by the results; the results were slightly higher at 3.2, but not enough to make a
significant difference.
Recommendations: Overall students are fairly neutral on the availability of study
rooms at the library. But it is still clear that there is an issue with a shortage of
study rooms, because many of the other library services were scored higher than a
3.2. We recommend that the library limits the maximum amount of booking time
to one hour at a time. Group study rooms are an important tool for many students
that are involved in group projects or activities. It would be beneficial to create
more study rooms to accommodate the students that need this space to get their
work completed.
VI.

Conclusion

Overall, after reviewing the findings from our survey we found that The Henry Madden
Library is doing a favorable job for the students at Fresno State. Focusing on the four Ps
of marketing, promotion needs to play the largest role moving forward. While the library
is doing an excellent job at hiring friendly and helpful staff, there needs to be a larger
emphasis on promoting the librarys events and services as a whole. Connecting with the
students and being more engaged in promoting daily events, activities, and library
services will help the Henry Madden Library to continue to grow and be an asset to
students.

Project Report-Ude,Kellogg,Andrew,Gil,Teoh