How Often Do People Visit Library and for What Purpose - Statistics Project Example

Summary of Findings The respondents of the study were 803 (only those who responded and who’s questionnaire were retrieved). This is divided into two groups, the respondents from the city with a total of 405, and those from the village with a total of 398. This is also composed of 43% male and 57% female. In terms of the respondents’ age, 27% of them are between 18 and 30 years old, 33% ages from 31 to 60, and the remaining 40% were more than 60 years old. This can be empirically said that older people are visiting the library more as compared to the younger ones. In terms of working status, 37%, of the respondents, being the highest, are already retired. This was followed by students or on full time education, and finally nearly equal at 16% were working and unemployed respondents. And in terms of car ownership, 65% of the respondents own one, while only 35% don’t. The results for the question, “how often do you visit this library?” showed that 42% or 337 out of 803 of the respondents are visiting the library once a month or more. Thirty percent (241 out of 803) visit the library for 4-6 times a year, followed by 17% who go to the library for 2-3 times a week only, and few use the library once a year or less often. This is composed of 50% of the respondents in the village which is greater than the percentage of the respondents from the city which is only 34% of the respondents. On the contrary, greater percentage of the respondents are visiting the library from the city every 4-6 times a year. Finally, more from the city are visiting the library less often than those from the village. This pattern may suggest that people from the village visit the library more often than those from the city. This may be attributed to the fact that people in the city are busier, since commerce is alive all the time. This may also be the result of more learning resource areas are found in the city including other private libraries online or the internet itself. The question on how did the respondents travel to the library, 40% answered that they travel by foot. This means that they did not ride to go to the library. Among those who travel by foot, more were from the village which is reflected by 61% of the village respondents, and only 18% of the respondents from the city. On the contrary, 48% of the city respondents travel by car and only 24% of the village respondents do the same. This totals 36% of the respondents travel by car. In the same manner, more from the city use bus, train or bicycle as they travel to the library than those from the village. This result may be attributed to the fact that more well to do family are living in the city than in the village. As a result, they may either own a car or afford to have a ride going to the library than in the village. This may also be because of the location of the library, in the city, it is but right to ride than to walk along a vehicle-dominated highway. On the question: “Which services or facilities from this list have you used at this library today?” the most number of responses of the respondents is returning items with a total of 36% of the respondents, composed of 40% of the city respondents and 33% responses from the village respondents. This is followed by borrowing books with 34% of the responses, where 35% of the city respondents answered and 33% of the village subjects. This is succeeded by reading newspapers (26%), where 19% came from the city and a large as 34% of the village responses. The library as a means of relaxation or cafe’, 16% responses were recorded with all came from the city respondents. This is so because city respondents might be looking for places to relax for stress are maybe more serious in the cities, and thus library is one of the places where they can relax. Other reasons for visiting the library are borrowing CDs (15%), use computer / internet (14%), other reasons (9%), look at reference books (8%), borrowing other items(8%) and use family history materials (6%). The city respondents were recorded to have the above-mentioned reasons higher than those from the village. The reason behind this may be from the fact that in cities, the new innovations like use of CDs, computer and internet were more accessible than in the village. For the question: “What improvements would you like to see at this library?” most of the respondents did not answer, which is equivalent to 30% of the responses which include 34% from the city and 26% of the village respondents. The result also showed that 26% of the responses where looking for more CDs and records with 21% city responses and 30% village responses. This is followed by better car parking (24%) where majority of the responses are of course from the city respondents, which is so because most of them use car. Longer opening hours and need for refreshment stalls followed with 23% and 22% responses respectively. More and better seats, more reference books, other responses and more recently published books followed the line that the respondents want to improve in the library. The last suggestion means that books that are recently published are in the libraries that is why the demand for it has the least response. In terms of the rating given by the respondents on different aspects, the results show that the respondents rated the library for having helpful staffs the highest rating of 3.9. This was followed by the libraries’ convenient locations with a rating of 3.8 with the village respondents giving as high as 4.2 rating. The range of books and the satisfaction on the length of opening hour were rated similar (3.3), and the comfort in the library being the lowest in the rating where the village respondents gave as low as 2.2. Good points on the part of the staffs because they were appreciated by the library users in both the village and in the city. The convenience also is a big factor, because accessibility of the library is very important Comments In terms of the method of data collection, the selection of the respondent city and village should be explained carefully and comprehensively, including the reason for why were two different locations were selected. The selection should be pointed out that it is random, because the best way to get the real representation of respondents is its randomness. Another is about the turn out of the responses. Mathematically, only 66.6% of the floated questionnaires were retrieved, which is very small turn out. This small turn out will deter the reliability of the results, since not all those who visited the library gave their responses. The suggestion is, instead of letting the respondents answer the questionnaire at home, how if they are going to complete it as they go out the library, so that the retrieval will be sure and the confidentiality will be secured. The analysis of data should also include higher statistical treatments, not only percent equivalents but also some statistical tests. The usage of the tests will give a firm basis of any decision or conclusion that can be drawn from the data collected. The trend or pattern also of the result can be comprehensively described if statistical treatments of higher for will be used. Conclusions Based from the findings, the researcher concluded that a large percent of the respondents are frequently visiting the library for once a month or more. It is also concluded that most of those from the village go to the library by foot, whereas those from the city travel by car. In terms of the purpose of going to the library, most reasons are returning borrowed items and borrowing books. It is also inferred that city respondents use library as a place for their relaxation as different from those in the village. Most of the library users did not answer the question on what do they suggest to improve in the library. Some of the library users also want longer opening hours of the library and more CDs and records. Also, it was concluded that the most appreciated aspect of the library services is their helpful staffs and it convenient locations especially in the village. Suggested improvements of library services Based on the findings on the rating of the respondents on the library services, the researcher\suggests that “comfort” should be improved. This means that the ventilation, light and other facilities should be enhanced. Comfort rooms should also be one of the focuses. The range of books or availability of books should also be one of the things to improve. The newly published books should be purchased so that the users will not be left away from the new trends of any field. The library administrators should also make surveys on what reference materials are needed. Since longer opening hours were also suggested to be improved, the administrators should find ways and more time for opening the library. Week ends may be one of the options, where longer time will be made available because of the fact that most users find time during the week ends. In terms of the physical structure of the library, more and wider parking lots should also be provided especially for those in the city. This is so because as found from the study, most of the respondents or library users own a car. Another thing is, strategic locations should be studied when improving or creating library. The location should be at places where traffic is not a problem. Also, it should be in places where people can easily access and visit the library. The place should also a nature-visible place, where trees and scenic views can be seen. Lastly, although library staffs were rated the highest, trainings should still be conducted for the improvement of the services in the library. Suggestions for further research and methodology The research or study about library is a good topic, because as many say, library is the reservoir of knowledge. Libraries are the places where any human can dig or excavate information from the past and from the present situations. School teachers and also students need much library. The researcher suggests that researchers should also focus on the science of library. The ways on improving services and administrations, the strategies on building or creating libraries and the needed materials for a more convenience of use should also be the focus. Trainings on library administrations should also be conducted. Studies on the assessment of the personnel, their capabilities and satisfactions should also be studied so that better staffs can provided better services to the users. Though there are many internet shops, cafe’s or places to access the internet, library is one of the best places to search in the web. This should also be one of the focuses of any research, which is studying the effect of a library to the users when internet access is available. The improvement of the audio-visual facilities should also be studied. Comparative study also on the use of library and search engines is one of the best topics. This will allow the researchers on further improvement of the source and stockroom of knowledge. Experimental studies on library use should also be conducted. The time used by the users should be analyzed. This will allow the administrators to plan for the longer opening time. Further, studies on the physical structure of the library should also be conducted, because, the better the physical structure, the more convenient the users are, and the more conducive for learning (Duka, 2003). In terms of the methodology of the researches mentioned, the researcher suggests that a wider scope of respondents should be used. More representatives will allow the best possible and the most credible results. Reference: Duka, C (2003). The Learning Environment Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. Manila Read More