NCLA Preliminary Survey Results

NCLA MEMBER SURVEY REPORT

Compiled by PR Foundations class

UNC-Chapel HillSchool of Media & Journalism

OUR THANKS TO

Stephanie Willen Brown and Kim Parrott for their information, insights, assistance… and patience!

FOCAL AREAS

Website: Brady Blackburn & Christi Fenison

Conference: Maggie Blunk & Xiaohan Xi Research: Andrea Orengo & Christine Scalora

Social media: Katria Farmer & Jane Kim Sections/Roundtables: Taylor Hamlet & Holly Roberts

SURVEY PURPOSE

Measure satisfaction of membership and get opinions for areas of improvement.

NCLA SURVEY Distributed Oct. 7 to NCLA listserv (n=approx. 1000)

Reminder sent Oct. 14 with extension to Oct. 17

Marketing team also tweeted and posted link on official / unofficial Facebook pages

240 respondents = 24%

RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS

84% female; 16% male

90% white; 5% African-American; 2% Hispanic origin; 1.7% Asian, 1% Native American

87% hold MA and 92% of those report degree is in library science

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A MEMBER OF NCLA?

51.52%

25.25%

14.14%

9.09%

TYPES OF MEMBERS93% library staff3.5% students1.5% retired2.5% other

47.6% public library32.8% college/ university

13.2% community college

~6% other

HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT NCLA MEMBERSHIP?

VALUE PROVIDED BY NCLA

Networking and continuing education are ranked as the most-important reasons to be a member of NCLA.

WHAT ENCOURAGES / WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN / REJOIN

WHY DIDN’T JOIN OR RENEW

REPRESENTATIVE ‘OTHER’ REMARKS Just moved to NC; haven't decided whether to join Inertia Sometimes late renewing Was never advertised to students as something they

could join Website is confusing - I can't remember if I've renewed

or not. And I forget my user ID There were no reminders, or the reminders came at

inexplicable times and had incorrect info. I have trouble keeping up with when my renewal is due I have to wait until our budget resets

SIGNIFICANCE OF WEBSITE

41.88% of respondents rated website as #1 preferred source to access NCLA info

9.2% of current members found out about membership through the website

33.33% of respondents who aren’t sure if they’re members want a simpler renewal process

WEBSITE TESTING

Before making significant changes to the website, it might be helpful to conduct some website testing

e.g., Nibbler: http://nibbler.silktide.com/ (free!)

MEMBER OF SECTION OR ROUNDTABLE

78%

22%

TOP 5 SECTIONS / ROUNDTABLESPublic Library = 27.7% Library Admin & Management = 24.1%College & University = 20.6%Technology & Trends = 15.6%Resources & Technical Services = 12.77%

SECTIONS/ROUNDTABLE CONTENT CONSISTENCYMay be useful to provide each section and roundtable with a template to ensure consistent information is provided

Base the template on what members want to know

SOCIAL MEDIA USE (88%)

NCLA SOCIAL MEDIA VISITS IN LAST MONTH

WHAT FEATURES MOST INTERESTED IN SEEING ON NCLA SOCIAL MEDIA

NCLA BIENNIAL CONFERENCE More than 10% of respondents learned about NCLA membership through the conference

53% of members said a conference discount would encourage them to join or renew

Perceived lack of variety in conference programming

Opportunity to leverage various existing communication tools with conference messaging

Although a few recommended live-streaming, most expressed concern that live-streaming would deter member involvement

THE BALANCING ACT: CONDUCTING RESEARCH Gaining regular feedback and input from members without taxing NCLA’s resources or members’ time constraints

Being responsive to respondents’ views Share results Call for assistance to enact recommendations

Value of website and social media analytics NCLA’s responsiveness is evident –

2007 survey indicated the website was respondents’ least “Preferred Means of Communication”

Website changes were implemented, including the addition of a blog, online member renewal and registration

COMING UP NEXT!

Teams will use the survey research and other input to make some recommendations to enhance the NCLA’s marketing communication efforts.

Mid-November presentations