Reader activity in a multidisciplinary health sciences library: a case study at St George's Library.

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences Librarianship
• Information Science
• Academic Library Management

Background:

• Multidisciplinary health sciences libraries are crucial in teaching hospitals.
• Understanding user activity is essential for resource allocation and service improvement.
• Previous data on user behavior in such specialized libraries may be limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify user activity patterns within a London teaching hospital's health sciences library.
• To gather data for developing a robust library funding formula.
• To evaluate the practical effectiveness and outcomes of the user survey methodology.

Main Methods:

• A one-week user survey was conducted in a multidisciplinary health sciences library.
• Library users completed simple survey forms during each visit.
• Data collected included reasons for visits, frequency, and duration of stays.

Main Results:

• The survey provided insights into user engagement and library utilization metrics.
• Specific data points were gathered to support the development of a funding model.
• User comments and suggestions offered qualitative feedback on library services.

Conclusions:

• The user survey effectively captured essential data on library activity.
• The methodology provided a practical framework for assessing library usage.
• The collected information is valuable for informing library funding and strategic planning.