Archives & Local Studies Service Performance
Customer survey
During 2009, the Archives and Local Studies Service took part in a Survey of Visitors to UK Archives. The survey was managed by the Public Services Qulaity Group of the Archives and Records Association.
Survey of Visitors to Archives
The Archives & Local Studies Service took part in a Survey of Visitors to UK Archives in 2009 and satisfaction rates with the overall service have risen.
The satisfaction level (very good and good) for the overall service has risen since 2007 to 93.2% and is above the UK average (89%). Helpfulness and friendliness of staff also rose to 97.7% along with quality and appropriateness of staff advice to 100%.
In order to address the areas for improvement, Rotherham Archives and Local Studies will over the next five years:
- progress its action plan to develop the content of its webpages
- continue to add and upload information to its on-line catalogue
- review its copying services
- develop an audience development plan including an offer to schools
- consult with its users and non users on opening hours and affect changes where possible
This survey is the most comprehensive survey of archive user satisfaction and demographics in the world according to the National Council on Archives. It has taken place since 1999 every 18 months and asks a number of questions about users' experiences. It is designed to provide a measure of overall service quality and focuses upon four areas; visitor experience, details about a visit, value of the archive service and demographics. A total of 44 questionnaires were completed out of 56 for Rotherham with an error rate of 6.9% and the results shown are weighed in line with the relative size (visitor count) of the service.
The survey also identified 13 possible areas for improvement (including no change necessary) and the most significant area highlighted for Rotherham Archives and Local Studies are its opening hours (30.8%). There was also a decrease in satisfaction levels of 8.7% since 2007 with the Service's website and it will be vital to draw a comparison against the data from the 2010/11 survey following the launch of the new Council's website.
There were, however, three areas where achievement is high, which included document delivery, helpfulness and friendliness of staff and quality and appropriateness of staff advice.
Below is a further break down of the above statistics for Rotherham Archives and Local Studies with a comparison drawn against 2007 shown in brackets. Average scores have also been shown for the region and for the UK.
The figures quoted are percentages and indicate the responses of "very good" and "good".
| Area for Improvement | Rotherham | Region | UK | Notes relating to Rotherham |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre Visit Information | 92.5 (89.5) | 93 (91.6) | 89 (91.1) | |
| Website | 73.4 (81.6) | 84 (81.6) | 83.1 (81.8) | 16.7 - adequate 10 - poor |
| Opening Hours | 76.7 (79) | 85.6 (82.1) | 86.3 (85) | 18.6 - adequate 4.6 - poor |
| Physical Access to Building | 77.3 (77.7) | 91.2 (88.6) | 92.7 (90.4) | |
| Visitor Facilities | 82.5 (76.2) | 85.2 (81.6) | 86.9 (81.7) | |
|
Catalogues
and Guides (incl. on-line guides) |
84.7 (87.5) | 91.7 (87.5) | 84.9 (87.7) | 10.3 - adequate 5.1 - poor |
| Document Delivery | 86.5 (96) | 93 (93.7) | 87.3 (92.3) | |
| Film/Fiche Facilities | 82 (79.6) | 86.8 (82.3) | 83.5 (86.1) | |
| Copy Services | 82.8 (84.6) | 89.5 (82) | 84.5 (81.1) | 8.6 - adequate 8.6 - poor |
| Onsite IT | 80 (85.7) | 86.5 (83.8) | 88.5 (81.4) | 17.5 - adequate 2.5 - poor |
Analysis of the above show that Rotherham Archives and Local Studies need to review the delivery of particular parts of its service with regard to the use of ICT following the increased expectation by users that information will be made available on-line. This relates to the service's webpages, access to catalogues and guides, copying services and onsite IT facilities.
The survey also confirmed the economic impact of users coming to Rotherham Archives and Local Studies and approximately 70% stated they use local shops and services, whilst 21.7% ate out locally during their visit. The latter figure has, however, decreased by 11% since 2007 and further information would be required in order to analyse this in more depth. The current financial situation would bear this out.
The survey also asked users what they felt archives contributed to society and the majority feel very strongly that they create opportunities for learning, preserve their culture and heritage whilst over 50% of users feel archives strengthen family and community identity. There is less awareness that archives also support the right of citizens and administration and business activity and the service will need to undertake more work around this issue.
Finally, the survey asked for details about demographics. The majority of users of archives within the UK fall within the age group 55+ and Rotherham is no exception (65.9%) with the largest proportion, aged 55-64. Rotherham has, however, seen an increase of usage by those aged 20-24 of 4.9% since 2007, above the regional and UK averages.
Archives are also still mainly used by white people and this must be addressed taking into account the demographic trends of Rotherham's diverse community.
See Appendix 1 for an overview of the above data. (Please contact us for the Appendix)
In order to address the areas for improvement, Rotherham Archives and Local Studies will:
- progress its action plan to develop the content of its webpages during 2010/11
- consult with its users and non users on opening hours and affect changes where possible during 2010/11
- develop an audience development plan including an offer to schools by 2012
- review its copying services by 2012 and
- continue to add and upload information to its on-line catalogue.
Last update: 17/02/2011