The Colorado Talking Book Library (CTBL) provides free library services to Coloradans of all ages who are unable to read standard print materials due to physical, visual, or learning disabilities. CTBL provides recorded books and magazines, Braille materials, large print books, and a small collection of descriptive videos. CTBL serves around 7,000 active individual patrons and 339 organizations.
As part of an ongoing effort by CTBL to evaluate its services, the Library Research Service developed a patron survey in summer 2010 which was administered in October of the same year. The survey was designed to help CTBL identify possible strengths and weaknesses and to plan for future services. Since 2004, LRS has commissioned a survey for CTBL four times (approximately every 18 months). The survey was a combination of an outcome-based evaluation and a customer satisfaction questionnaire (see Appendix A).
As in 2008, the 2010 survey was distributed to CTBL patrons in Braille and audio formats in addition to the traditional paper-based format. In a further effort to ensure the sample was representative of CTBL’s patrons, administrators again used a sample stratified by age group. This proved to be effective as the responses received by each age group fairly closely reflected the CTBL patron population (see Chart 1).
Of the 2,460 patrons in the sample, 2,005 received the survey on paper. In addition, 381 received audio notification of the survey, either on audio cassette or through the digital playback format, and 74 received survey notification in Braille, asking them to complete the survey online or by phone. Assistance filling out the survey was available at CTBL or by telephone for any patron who requested it.
Surveys were completed by 805 patrons, representing a response rate of 33 percent, 5 percent more than the 2008 survey, which had a response rate of 28 percent.