Maidenhead & Windsor

It's time to "ask the audience" once again as Windsor and Maidenhead Royal Borough libraries set about finding out just what their younger readers think of them in a wide-ranging week-long survey starting on Monday (September 24) and running until Saturday 29.

Children and teenagers using the Windsor and Maidenhead borough's libraries are to be asked their views in a questionnaire designed to help establish not only customer satisfaction with the service but changing trends in library use and areas which need to be addressed.

Even the very youngest visitors to libraries are being encouraged to share their views – with a little bit of help from mum and dad or carers or a bit of practical support from library staff. The survey is completely confidential, so parents can be assured that children will not be asked for their name, address or postcode.

The Windsor and Maidenhead Children's Public Library User Survey – undertaken every three years – provides an important tool in helping staff to plan children's services for the future. This survey follows last year's survey of adult library users – and similarly helps to produce a national picture of how libraries across the country are meeting the needs of their users.

The survey will provide information including:
· why young people come to the library and how using the library has helped them
· why they want to borrow books, and where they use computers
· how they rate the library's resources – and what they think of the library service overall.

Cllr Jesse Grey, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead leisure and culture, said: "We are hoping that we will get the views of as many as 2,000 children and young people throughout the week of the survey – and get some first-hand feedback on what our young readers and library users really want from their libraries.

"The questions in the survey are designed to help us get a good idea of the quality of our library service – what we do well and what we need to improve.

"Hopefully the results will show how users' habits and expectations are changing – and will help us to ensure we are providing ever-improving services to meet the needs of all our visitors.

"Since the last children's survey in 2004 we have seen many additions and improvements to the service, including the new library at Ascot, the dual-use library at Cox Green, more Bookstart and family learning activities and the increasingly popular Summer Reading Challenge.

"It will be very good to hear from the children and young people who use our libraries each week just what they themselves think of how well we're doing and where they think we should make some changes or improvements."

For more information about the survey, contact Pauline Dobby, research and performance monitoring officer, on 01628 796294.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead