Discovering what patrons value in a consumer health library service using laddering interviews

Librarians at Preston Medical Library sought to understand whether marketing research techniques could be adapted to libraries to better understand what patrons value. Specifically, this study sought to learn why patrons continue using a consumer health information service, develop insights to improve the service, and a methodology to use with other patron groups.

Librarian researchers conducted customer value research using laddering interviews, an interview technique utilized in marketing research to learn users' goals in using a product or service. The PML research team interviewed six frequent users of a medical library's consumer health information service. Researchers conducted laddering interviews, covering patron views of basic attributes of the service, leading on to consequences of their interaction with it, and finally discussing what they hoped to achieve in using the service. The results were visualized in customer value hierarchy diagrams, graphically showing relationships between valued attributes of a product or service, how the patron used it, and how that helped patrons achieve goals. This allowed the research team to identify which features of service contribute the most to patron satisfaction.

Customer value learning utilizing laddering interviews enables librarians to see their service through the patrons' eyes, focusing on those aspects of the service that they view as most important. This study allowed librarians to learn that users desired to feel more in control of their health and gain peace of mind by obtaining trusted information. The library's work in providing information leads to self-empowerment for these patrons.