1 Project Team 9 Lar3002 Information Management

2 Our Project Aim zEvaluate the end user satisfaction of the installed Internet system for the Colac library. zThere are two levels of end users: yLevel 1: the public making use of the Internet system yLevel 2: the librarians running the Internet system zBoth of these levels will be evaluated.

3 Our Project Method zAcquire the first level of end user satisfaction, the public. zThis required the following: yResearch survey techniques & design methodology yDesign a survey using appropriate questionnaire methodology and theory yDesign an Internet information pamphlet to accompany the survey yDistribute the survey to the public yAnalysis of the returned surveys

4 Our Project Method zAcquire the second level of end user satisfaction, the library officers. zThis required the following: yBuild a series of questions to interview the library staff yAnalyse the responses from the interview

5 Our Project Method zBoth levels of end user satisfaction required two trips to: yColac yCobden yCamperdown zTrip One yDistribute the surveys within the libraries zTrip Two yinterview the library staff individually yexamine hardware being used

6 Hardware Evaluation

7

8 Analysing the Data zLevel 1 - the public surveys ythe results were entered into Excel spreadsheets and Access database to determine trends and benefits of the newly installed Internet facility. zLevel 2 - the librarians interviews ythe results were examined for common trends and opinions relating to the public’s use of the Internet system

9 The Results zLevel 1 - the public surveys ymajority of the users appreciated the use of the Internet system, especially that it was a free service ystaff assistance provided was considered effective and useful ythe download restrictions were considered limiting ymost users have been using the Internet for at least a year

10 The Results - the public ythis experience was gained from a range of sources, particularly educational and work institution ythe library hours were generally thought to be good yuse of the Internet was dominated by research and communication (I.e. ) ythe overall satisfaction ranged from satisfactory to good

11 The Results zLevel 2 - the Librarians yall had worked at the library for at least 2 years, where their responsibilities included the daily functions of the library ythe Internet is used by all the staff members for a variety of purposes ( , research, etc…) yassisting users dominates the librarian’s interaction with the Internet ya wider range of people have been attracted to the library since the installation of the Internet system

12 The Results - the librarians yespecially noticeable is the presence of teenagers and younger men who wouldn’t normally attend the library ythe public was informed via posters, local advertising and word of mouth ymuch assistance was required by the public users, in particular the older users ycommon complaints were included the speed of the downloads and lack of assistance at times when the librarians were busy

13 Our Recommendation zLibrary staff lack formal training in the areas of computer use and Internet knowledge. ySolution: formal training provided at the library. yHowever, this takes time & can be costly. It also requires that the staff are willing to participate in such training zCurrently the hardware is used is not being maintained to run at peak performance. yIf budget permits, it would be ideal to replace the existing equipment

14 Our Recommendation zLack of a standard graphical user interface yCurrently, two browsers are being utilised, Internet Explorer & Netscape Communicator. This can cause problems with technical support. ySolution: use only one browser. zThe public lack knowledge concerning the World Wide Web’s full capabilities ymost of the public are only using it for free ySolution: providing workshops for the public (either for free or a minimal cost

15 zLack of online help for staff & public ymost of the staff are self taught ythe public have proven more likely to ask the staff for assistance ySolution: employment of a technical and user support staff member, although this would be costly zLack of terminals yonly two terminals at Colac yonly one at Cobden Our Recommendation

16 zMinimal funding provided by the State Government yto implement the solutions suggested, more funding is required ywithout government funding, the library could be required to charge users for the service ylocal industry could use the service to promote their own services by advertising on the system. ysub-lease unused bandwidth Our Recommendation

17 The End