Customer satisfaction hits a high for library services across Ipswich
14 November 2022
New library offerings in Ipswich CBD have helped customer satisfaction soar to almost 100 per cent.
The Ipswich Libraries Survey Report 2021-2022 shows overwhelming support for Ipswich City Council’s new Ipswich Central Library and stand-alone Children’s Library, both located in the redeveloped Nicholas Street Precinct.
Community, Culture, Arts and Sport Committee Chairperson Councillor Andrew Fechner said residents were clearly enjoying and extensively visiting council library branches across the city.
“Feedback from the 2021-2022 survey indicates customer satisfaction for the library services we provide has increased 9 per cent from last year to 98.4 per cent with a pleasing 15 per cent increase in the perceived importance of the services we offer,” Cr Fechner said.
“Comments from survey respondents also confirmed our belief that the new Ipswich Children’s Library, which opened in 2021, is one of the best council-provided public facilities for young, and not-so-young, library lovers in Australia.
“A key reason for these very positive survey responses is our amazing library staff who help make the experience of visiting our facilities such a pleasure.
“I was delighted to read the feedback from one library user who said,‘The strength and success of the library is derived from the lovely people and staff who work there’.”
A total of 1,512 people completed the survey, of whom 8.7 per cent (122 people) had either never visited a library or had not visited a library in over two years.
“The survey results show that libraries remain enormously relevant today and that Ipswich continues to lead the way in providing modern, innovative and interactive facilities,” Cr Fechner said.
“We are delighted that Ipswich City Council has delivered four new libraries in recent years – plus a market-leading library pod.”
The survey indicated a 27 per cent increase in people using the library pod at the Karalee Shopping Village.
“Residents tell us the Karalee library pod is a fantastic community resource that offers easy access to library services, particularly for those who are time-constrained,” Cr Fechner said.
“Additional pods at other locations are on the agenda given the rising popularity of this facility.”
SmartLockers, first introduced at the new Springfield Central Library, had also proved popular with a 27 per cent increase in customer satisfaction to a 99.2 per cent rating.
Asked, 'Why do you visit the library?', respondents said borrowing and returning from the libraries’ collection was the most common reason for visiting the library.
The next most popular reason was attending library programs and events, followed by browsing the collection and borrowing or returning multimedia.
“We will continue to listen to the community, learn from library experts around the world and aim to deliver first-class facilities for the people of Ipswich,” Cr Fechner said.