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The study is intended for public libraries that want to gain insights into their own members and visitors, but also (if desired) into former users and non-visitors.
A balanced questionnaire provides feedback on all relevant policy areas:
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Experience in your library
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Impact of the library on visitors (Impact Compass Model)
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Evaluation of offerings and infrastructure
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Detailed visitor profile
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Visitor preferences and motivations
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Evaluation of communication
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Net Promoter Score (NPS)
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Concrete feedback and suggestions through open-ended questions
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Why do former users no longer come?
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Why do non-visitors stay away? How can they be encouraged?
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...
The questionnaire is personalized for your library. You also have the option to add your own questions or remove specific themes or questions you do not wish to include.
The study results in practical insights that can be directly applied in your library. There is also plenty of room for qualitative feedback through open comment fields.
Regardless of the number of respondents your library reaches, your final report will also allow you to learn from national results and from the results of a cluster of comparable libraries.
The study is designed to survey the members and visitors of your library. Visitors are defined as individuals who are not members but have visited the library in the past 12 months.
A simplified version for different target groups is integrated into the questionnaire.
If desired, you can also survey former members (people who are no longer members) or non-visitors (people who have not yet been to your library). The smart survey includes specific questions for these groups. The system recognizes these profiles and only presents the questions relevant to them. Separate communication materials are provided for these target groups.
The study is available in six languages. You can choose which languages to offer the survey in for your library. The available languages are:
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English
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German
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Spanish
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French
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Italian
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Dutch
The study is designed to be used in any type of public library, regardless of offerings, collection, structure, location, etc.
The study is also set up to be scalable, making it accessible to both small and large libraries.
It offers a tool for libraries to collect audience data in an easy-to-use, standardized, and evidence-based way, and to compare results anonymously.
The study is supported by 11 academics from 7 universities.
They collaborated on developing a balanced questionnaire to be used across all participating countries.
In addition, the national universities adapted the standard questionnaire to fit the local realities, recognizing that each country is unique. National library associations and several field representatives are also involved in shaping the questionnaire.
At the end of the study, the universities in each country prepare an overarching analysis across the participating libraries, based on anonymized results. In Canada, a suitable national partner for this analysis will be added.
In this way, the entire sector benefits from the research. Alongside the detailed personal report with their own results, each participating library also receives the Canadian and international report.
The study is designed to be carried out easily within the library. Since most libraries do not have the capacity to invest significant staff time in research, the workload for your team is kept to an absolute minimum thanks to the support provided by the Sentolib team.
What time commitment is expected from you or a library staff member?
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Registering your library
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Providing certain details about your library. Based on this information, the Sentolib team will personalize and program your survey.
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Optionally adding custom questions
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Promoting the survey (see communication) through one or more channels, depending on your preferences and capacities
At the end of the study, you will receive a clear, easy-to-read, and practically applicable research report.
The study results in a comprehensive research report with practical, actionable insights for your library. This report not only provides a detailed overview of your own results but also allows you to (anonymously) compare your library with a cluster of similar libraries in Canada and even internationally.
Clusters are groupings of libraries based on various characteristics such as size, collection, location type, and more. By combining the results of multiple libraries into clusters, your library’s outcomes can be benchmarked against similar libraries, with the guarantee that your individual results remain anonymous at all times.
Your report is always confidential: only your library receives its own results, and they are never shared with others. If desired, you are free to publicly share your own results.
Sentolib is available year-round. You can survey your members and visitors whenever it best suits your library. You can choose between two reporting periods: May or November.
You will have access to a personal, dynamic dashboard with filtering options, cross-tabulations, and charts, which you can consult and use interactively at any time.
The study offers a well-balanced questionnaire developed specifically for libraries in collaboration with academic partners, sector organizations, and professionals from the library field.
The questionnaire is based on an international standard and is adapted in each country to reflect local realities.
The survey is then fully customized to your library’s context. You will receive the questionnaire in advance and have the option to:
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remove questions or answer options that you feel are not relevant for your library
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add your own custom questions if desired
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personalize certain questions (e.g., related to your library’s specific activities)
Through the Sentolib research platform, you can easily and in a structured way provide key characteristics about your library to the research team. They will use this information to program your customized survey.
Submitting your own additional questions or requesting the removal of standard questions can also be done simply via the Sentolib research platform.
This approach ensures that the research team programs a fully personalized survey for your library, while still allowing for anonymous comparison with other libraries.
The survey system is dynamic and smartly designed: depending on the respondent’s profile and answers, only the relevant questions are shown. This means that, if you wish, former users and non-visitors can also be surveyed using the same questionnaire, with questions tailored to them. Dedicated communication materials are available if you choose to reach out to these groups.
The study is offered independently to public libraries. It is designed to provide your library with an accessible tool to survey your visitors and members in a structured and evidence-based way.
Within this independent framework, the costs of the study are covered by the participating libraries. The fee reflects the actual cost of the study and includes the full process from start to finish. Market prices for comparable research are typically several times higher.
To distribute the study costs fairly, the participation fee is based on the population size of the municipality where the participating library (branch) is located.
The fee per location is determined as follows:*
​Are you working with multiple library branches or part of a library consortium? Contact us here for a customized offer for groups.
You can choose to split the invoice amount over two fiscal years.
You can register your library for the study here.
Sentolib is available year-round. You can survey your members and visitors whenever it works best for your library. You can choose between two reporting periods: May or November.
Most libraries invite their members and visitors to share their opinions over a period of 1 to 2 months. As a library, you can plan when it’s most convenient for you to communicate about the study.
You can register your library for participation here.
You will always have access to an online dashboard via a personal login, allowing you to monitor and easily analyze your library’s results at any time.
The study is conducted in line with international privacy and data protection standards. At no point are any personal details collected from respondents — the survey is fully anonymous. It is not possible to trace survey responses back to any individual.
How are incentives (prizes) awarded to winners? The survey system randomly selects winners as respondents complete the survey. Those selected as winners are shown a unique code at the end of the survey, along with instructions to contact the research team. In this way, only the contact details of winners are collected to deliver their prizes. These details are immediately deleted afterward.
For each participating library, we request the contact information of one main contact person: name and email address. This information is used solely for communication related to the study and to provide access to your online dashboard. These details can be requested, updated, or deleted at any time upon simple request via email. If desired, additional contact persons can also be added to access the research platform.
All data and results are stored on secure servers located in accordance with international data protection standards.
The results of your library’s survey are private at all times. They are shared only with the designated contact person at your library. You are free to decide if you wish to share your results publicly.
The combined results of all participating libraries are anonymized and aggregated, making it possible to analyze grouped data. This also allows your report to include anonymous benchmarking, comparing your library with similar libraries as well as national and international results.
A professional helpdesk is available to support your library throughout the study.
For every inquiry, a ticket is created to ensure proper follow-up and resolution.
If library visitors have any questions or comments about the survey, they will also be assisted by the helpdesk. Through the help button in the survey, they are connected directly to the helpdesk team.
We handle your data and results with great care.
All systems are secured according to current international standards:
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Secure servers
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HTTPS – SSL encryption
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Continuous server backups
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Anti-bot measures
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...
Various checks are in place to ensure data quality:
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Consistency checks through control questions
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Monitoring for “speeders” (respondents rushing too quickly through the survey) at multiple points
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(Anonymized) IP checks
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...
Incentives (rewards) are provided to give people an extra boost to participate in the survey:
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For every fully completed survey, we save 1 m² of endangered rainforest from destruction through the organization World Land Trust. Along with the final report, an official certificate confirming the protected rainforest area is provided.
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A selection of prizes is also raffled among participants.
The combination of these different types of incentives helps encourage participation from a wide range of respondent profiles. These incentives strengthen the call to participate in the survey.
How are incentives awarded to winners?
The survey system randomly selects winners as respondents complete the survey. Those selected as winners are shown a unique code at the end of the survey with instructions to contact the research team. In this way, only the contact details of the winners are collected to deliver their prize. These details are then immediately deleted.
For groups and library consortia, a customized offer is available.
Click here for more information.
The study is designed to collect feedback from your members and visitors as smoothly as possible. The survey is set up online. If desired, and if you have the capacity, it is also possible to conduct “live” surveys with visitors through library staff. A specific briefing is available for this approach.
You will receive a unique link to your personal online survey, which you can distribute to your members and visitors. The same link can also be used, if desired, to reach former users and non-visitors (see below).
At the start of the study, you will receive a detailed briefing explaining the options for selecting your sample and planning your communication. We recommend selecting a random sample of members from your database and contacting them via email. Alternative methods are available for libraries that do not have this capability.
Communication to non-members (visitors and non-visitors) is done through a general call and various communication channels. Different materials are provided to support this process.
Vraag ChatGPT
The survey system is responsive, meaning it can be accessed via computer, tablet, smartphone, and more.
The pilot study and the 2024 Sentolib edition (with over 1,100 libraries) showed that these methods generate strong response rates. We observed that around 80% of respondents completed the full questionnaire — an excellent result for quantitative studies. This reflects the appreciation and high engagement of library visitors.
Would you like to include former users and/or non-visitors in the survey?
You will receive dedicated materials to help invite non-visitors or former users to share their opinions. These materials can be distributed through your city or municipality, partner organizations, associations, and more.
Would you prefer to conduct live surveys in the library with certain target groups?
This is possible using a computer, tablet, or smartphone directly connected to the survey system.
The open invitation to participate in the survey allows you to collect feedback in a low-effort way and offers the option to reach former users and non-visitors if desired.
You also have the option to conduct a fully random sample within this study. If you choose this, you can hand out flyers to a random selection of visitors at the reception desk (you will receive a personalized flyer ready for print) or carry out random surveys in the library using a tablet or smartphone connected to the system. In this case, you can request a tailored briefing from the research team.