Assessing User Preferences For Government Information

Government information librarians have an abundance of ideas for potential programs, services, and initiatives. Gathering data on user research habits and preferences helps us determine which services will have the greatest impact on and benefit for our patrons. Local and trend data are also useful for creating powerful arguments for administrative support. This session will offer guidance on conducting local user surveys on a shoe-string budget. A summary of such a survey conducted in 2006 will describe some recent trends in government information use and demonstrate how such data may be used in library decision making.