Monday 5 March 2012

65+: Engaging underserved patrons – a success story!

an article by Jasmina Ninkov and Vesna Vuksan (Belgrade City Library) published in IFLA Journal Volume 37 Number 4 (December 2011)

Abstract

Belgrade City Library (BCL) is the largest public library system in south eastern Europe with 275 employees, covering over 70 locations throughout the City of Belgrade.

The idea to conduct research was initially born as a result of BCL’s desire to identify groups that are not using the library and determine the reasons. On the other hand, the inspiration came from the City of Belgrade public sector’s best practices.

At the end of 2009, BCL conducted market research with the following objectives: identify non-user groups; engage the largest under-served group; develop services to meet their needs.

Conducting applied research in library environment is a lot of work. Starting with clear goals and a good plan vastly increases the probability that the assessment will go smoothly and yield genuinely useful information. As we have had a chance to see, the accurate information obtained through research leads to enormous benefits.

We believe that active communication with our patrons and potential members through different channels including applied research and effective data collection will help build a library network that can, in turn, build a better community.


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