NEW FOCUS nf nf 1 Research Strategy and Implementation Telephone: Facsimile: ACN: ABN:

NEW FOCUS nf nf 2 Online Survey Report Prepared for: March 2004

NEW FOCUS nf nf 3 Objectives of the Online Survey  demographic profiles  preliminary KPI’s – gap analysis  benchmark some broad indicators of social capital and connection to the community (as time permitted)

NEW FOCUS nf nf 4 Methodology & Sample  the methodology used was an online survey. Due to language difficulties, LOTE populations were surveyed using paper-based copies of the online survey. These were available in Italian, Greek, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic and Spanish  paper-based questionnaires were completed at library branches and LOTE questionnaires were sent to New Focus for data entry. Any libraries choosing to use a paper-based English version of the survey entered these online themselves  the survey was online from 24 th November 2003 to the 19 th December. However, the link remained active after this time to allow libraries to enter hard-copy English surveys

NEW FOCUS nf nf 5 Methodology & Sample  the table below shows the sample obtained

NEW FOCUS nf nf 6  handout 1 - demographics

NEW FOCUS nf nf 7 Statistically significant differences – library users Gender differences The gender differences listed below were all statistically significantly different:  53% of males used computer services (PC/internet), while only 44% of females reported doing so  42% of males used newspapers/talking newspapers, while only 29% of females reported doing so

NEW FOCUS nf nf 8 Statistically significant differences – library users Gender differences continued  as expected, a higher proportion of females reported using story-time (14%, compared to 7% of males), children’s and young adults services (22% of females and 14% of males) and school holiday programs (15% of females and 10% of males)  12% of females reported attending regular programs of talks/lectures/book mornings/cultural events, while 8% of males reported doing so

NEW FOCUS nf nf 9 Statistically significant differences – library users Language differences  overall, the LOTE users show higher usage rates of library services than do English speaking patrons. All of the listed attributes showed higher usage by LOTE patrons

NEW FOCUS nf nf 10 Statistically significant differences – library users Language differences continued  newspaper/talking newspapers (79% for LOTE and 32% for English)  magazine loans (93% for LOTE and 51% for English)  computer services (PC/internet) (77% for LOTE and 46% for English)

NEW FOCUS nf nf 11 Statistically significant differences – library users Language differences continued  audio-visual lending (CDs/cassettes/video/DVD) (90% for LOTE and 62% for English)  transport to the library (26% for LOTE and 6% for English)  as expected, language related services were used more by LOTE groups, with 87% using LOTE holdings, compared to 12% of English speaking patrons and English conversation classes being used by 29% of LOTE patrons and 2% of English speaking patrons

NEW FOCUS nf nf 12 Visitation frequency How frequently do you visit this particular library?  LOTE patrons are significantly more likely to visit the library weekly (60%) than English patrons are (45%)

NEW FOCUS nf nf 13 Visitation  as the above graph shows, the majority of patrons tend to visit the library alone

NEW FOCUS nf nf 14 Statistically significant differences – library users Language differences continued  of those that visit the library alone:  64% are female (compared to 66% female in the total sample)  40% are married (compared to 47% of the total sample)  32% are a couple-family with dependent children (compared to 39% of the total sample)

NEW FOCUS nf nf 15 Library use When at the library do you?

NEW FOCUS nf nf 16 To what extent do you agree with the following statements about the library? Connection to the community–library use

NEW FOCUS nf nf 17 What sort of information are they looking for? Connection to the community–library use

NEW FOCUS nf nf 18 Connection to the community Have you attended any of the following activities in the last 12 months?

NEW FOCUS nf nf 19 Please rate the importance of each of the following services Social capital resources

NEW FOCUS nf nf 20 Please rate the importance of each of the following services continued Social capital resources

NEW FOCUS nf nf 21 Please rate the importance of each of the following services continued Social capital resources

NEW FOCUS nf nf 22 Please rate the importance of each of the following services continued Social capital resources

NEW FOCUS nf nf 23 Please rate the importance of each of the following services continued Social capital resources

NEW FOCUS nf nf 24 Please rate the importance of each of the following services continued Social capital resources

NEW FOCUS nf nf 25 Please rate the importance of each of the following services continued Social capital resources

NEW FOCUS nf nf 26 Have you don’t any of the following activities monthly or more in the past 12 months? Visited friends or had friends visit? Visited neighbours or had neighbours visit? Indicators/pre-conditions for social capital  as expected, a large proportion of respondents had visited both friends and neighbours and had been visited by these people

NEW FOCUS nf nf 27 Thinking personally about your neighbours in the area where you live, how many would you say you know personally?  this result indicates high interaction between neighbours in these communities, which is a precursor to the building of social capital. Over half of the sample (53%) reported knowing 5 or more neighbours personally Indicators/pre-conditions for social capital

NEW FOCUS nf nf 28 Have you done any of the following activities monthly or more in the last 12-months?  moderate to high levels of engagement in the activities listed was reported. The lowest percentage was for being involved in a self- help or support group. However, the 18% obtained is still a high level of participation for this type of activity Indicators/pre-conditions for social capital

NEW FOCUS nf nf 29 Do you help out a local group as a volunteer?  the result that 14% of library patrons volunteer at least once a week is a very high level of participation for this type of activity Indicators/pre-conditions for social capital

NEW FOCUS nf nf 30 In the last 12-months have you done any of the following activities at all? Indicators/pre-conditions for social capital

NEW FOCUS nf nf 31 Do you feel safe walking down your street after dark? Indicators/pre-conditions for social capital

NEW FOCUS nf nf 32 Do you agree that people can be trusted?  these levels of trust amongst library users are very high in today’s ‘sceptical’ society, and again reflect the positive social capital apparent in libraries Indicators/pre-conditions for social capital

NEW FOCUS nf nf 33 Can you get help from friends when you need it? Indicators/pre-conditions for social capital

NEW FOCUS nf nf 34 If you were caring for a sick child and needed to go out for a while, would you ask a neighbour for help? Indicators/pre-conditions for social capital

NEW FOCUS nf nf 35 Thinking now about local government, do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Perceptions of local Government