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National Library of Australia


What's News

November 15 2001

Picture Catalogue

Results of the Australian Libraries Gateway End User Survey 2001

In February 2001 the National Library of Australia commissioned several surveys to measure satisfaction of stakeholders, customers and end users with Kinetica and the Australian Libraries Gateway. This was the first time that end users had been directly questioned about their experiences with the service, so the Australian Libraries Gateway End User Survey aimed to reach as many end users as possible through having a direct link from the Gateway web site to the online survey form.

The survey results were compiled in July and were subsequently presented to senior management and the National Library Council. A summary of the results can now be made available to the broader Australian library community.

This particular survey was designed to give a detailed picture of the ways ALG was being used by end users. This is different from the previous survey which was directed towards library workers, organisations and end users who accessed ALG in a library setting. The results of the two surveys are therefore not comparable.

The survey sought answers about overall satisfaction with the Gateway and its contents, as well as suggestions for further improvements. The survey was managed by Dr Patricia Gillard and Dr Deborah Black provided statistical analysis.

Sixty four individuals responded to the survey, with 84% female and 16% male. The largest proportion of respondents (42%) were aged 45-54 years, with 28% aged 35-44. There were far fewer older and younger users (15% in each category). Most respondents (85%) used the Gateway from work, while 24% made access from home.

Overall, 49% were satisfied, and 43% mostly satisfied with the service, giving a substantial satisfaction rating of 92%. Five percent were rather unsatisfied and only two percent were not satisfied.

The Gateway is currently being used most to locate libraries and to search library information and databases. The largest proportion of users have known about the service for eighteen months or more and use it occasionally.

The picture of end users gained from this first survey is of a group for whom the Gateway is a valued adjunct to their work within libraries, or when using library services.


PICTURES CATALOGUE - formerly IMAGES 1

Pictures Catalogue is a resource discovery service providing access to items in the National Library of Australia's pictorial collection.

This catalogue contains descriptions of paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and three-dimensional objects held in the Pictorial Collection of the National Library of Australia.

The emphasis is on Australian material, with some material relating to New Zealand, Antarctica, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. The main time period covered is late eighteenth century to the present day. The Collection includes thousands of portraits of significant Australians.


Australian Digitisation Projects

ALG hosts the Australian digitisation projects site which aims to record and make accessible information about digitisation projects undertaken by Australian cultural organisations.

Use it to keep up to date with developments in digitisation and to locate other institutions within the country - to share expertise and experience.


Online Exhibitions

ALG provides links to Online exhibitions which are created and maintained by libraries throughout Australia (alphabetically listed by exhibition title). They provide direct access to a sample of the wealth of material held in Australian library collections.

Visit the National Library of Australia Online Exhibition page and have a special preview of Treasures from the World's Great Libraries. You may need to accept FLASH 5.0 in order to view this exhibition

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Last modified: July 27 2004.


Last updated: 15 November 2001