(DOWNLOAD) "Using Focus Group Interviews to Improve Library Services for Youth." by Teacher Librarian * Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Using Focus Group Interviews to Improve Library Services for Youth.
- Author : Teacher Librarian
- Release Date : January 01, 2004
- Genre: Education,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 180 KB
Description
IMAGINE A SMALL GROUP OF TEENAGERS SITTING AROUND A TABLE IN YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY DISCUSSING THE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES YOU OFFER. IF THEY KNEW YOU VALUED THEIR IDEAS AND OPINIONS, WHAT WOULD THEY SAY? What ideas would they have and how could you use their ideas to better meet their needs? Experienced librarians understand the importance of involving their patrons in the development and evaluation of the programs and services they offer. Finding out about the needs and expectations of patrons, especially children and young adults, however, is often viewed as too time-consuming, expensive and staff intensive to perform on a regular basis, thus causing many librarians to continue to develop programs for children and young adults "largely embedded in librarian wisdom, based on the notion that what has worked, will work, and on the belief that as long as children come and their parents seem satisfied, the program is working" (Holt, Dresang, & Gross, 2000, p. 6). Developing library services based on past experiences, good intentions and little information is not, as Veldof points out, "the ticket to delighting, or even satisfying, one's customers" (1999, p. 33). Instead, librarians need to find practical and cost effective ways to determine what their patrons want. In this article we will discuss the focus group interview, a data collection tool that teacher librarians can use to discover the perceptions, feelings and beliefs of their patrons (Glitz, 1998; Simon, 1999; Veldof, 1999; Everhart, 2002). In our discussion we will define the focus group interview, outline the benefits and challenges associated with this data collection technique and suggest steps for conducting an interview. We will end the article with examples of how focus groups have been used in schools to improve programming and services for youth.