What Will I Learn From This Study?
The study is aimed at public libraries that wish to gain insight into their own users and visitors — and, if desired, also into former users and non-users.
A well-balanced questionnaire enables feedback on all relevant areas, including:
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Experience and impressions of your library
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Impact of the library on its visitors (Impact Compass Model)
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Evaluation of services, collections, and infrastructure
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Comprehensive visitor profile
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Visitor preferences and motivations
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Assessment of communication
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Open-ended questions for concrete feedback and suggestions
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Why did former users stop visiting the library?
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Why do non-users not visit — and how can they be convinced?
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…
The questionnaire is adapted to your library’s local context. You also have the option to add your own questions or remove topics you prefer not to include.
The study provides practical insights that can be applied directly within your library. There is also ample space 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 trends and from the results of a cluster of comparable libraries.
​Which target audience?
The study is designed to survey both members and visitors of your library.
Visitors are defined as individuals who are not members but have visited the library within the past 12 months.
A simplified version is integrated into the survey for these specific target groups.
If desired, you can also include former members (people who no longer hold a membership) and non-visitors (individuals who have never been to your library). The intelligent survey includes specific questions tailored to these groups. The system automatically identifies these profiles and only presents the questions relevant to them. Separate communication materials are provided for each of these target groups.
The study is available in six languages. You can choose which languages to offer for your library’s survey. The available languages are:
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German
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Dutch
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Spanish
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French
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Italian
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English
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Is it labour-intensive for my organisation to participate?
The study is designed to be easy to implement within your library. Since most libraries are unable to allocate significant staff time to research activities, the Sentolib team ensures that your workload is reduced to an absolute minimum.
What is expected from you or a staff member at your library?
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Register your library for participation
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Provide some basic information about your library, based on this, the Sentolib team will personalise and program your survey
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Optional: Add your own custom questions if desired
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Promote the survey using one or more communication channels, depending on your preferences and available resources
At the end of the study, you will receive a clear, easily readable, and practically applicable research report with valuable insights for your library. You also always have access to a live dynamic dashboard with your results.
Personalized Questionnaire
The study provides a well-balanced questionnaire developed specifically for libraries, in collaboration with academic partners, relevant sector organisations, and professionals from the library field.
The questionnaire is based on a standard but has been adapted to the national context in each participating country.
The survey is then fully customised to your library. You will receive a preview version in advance and have the option to:
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Remove questions or answer options that are not relevant for your library
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Add your own questions, if desired
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Tailor questions to your specific context (e.g. activities or services in your library)
Via the Sentolib research platform, you can easily and clearly submit key characteristics of your library to the research team. These details are used to program your fully personalised survey.
Adding custom questions or removing items from the general questionnaire is also very simple via this platform.
This process results in a fully customised survey for your library, while still allowing for anonymous benchmarking with other libraries.
The survey system is dynamic and intelligent: depending on the profile and responses of each participant, only relevant questions are shown. This means that - if desired - former visitors and non-visitors can be surveyed within the same questionnaire. They will receive tailored questions, and specific communication materials are available to reach these groups as well.
Scientifically grounded
The study is supported by 10 researchers from 6 universities.
Together, they developed a balanced questionnaire that is used across all participating countries.
National universities have also adapted the standard questionnaire to reflect national contexts, as each country is unique. National library associations and several professionals from the field were also involved in shaping the questionnaire.
After the study is completed, universities in each country produce a comprehensive analysis based on anonymised data from participating libraries. In this way, the study also supports the broader library sector.
In addition to the detailed personal report with your own results, each participating library also receives the national and international reports.
What are the costs for the library?
The study is offered independently to public libraries. It was developed to provide your library with an accessible, evidence-based tool to survey members and visitors in a structured and meaningful way.
As part of this independent model, the participating libraries cover the actual research costs themselves. The participation fee reflects the real cost of the study and covers the entire process from start to finish. Market rates for comparable research are significantly higher.
To ensure a fair and solidarity-based cost structure, the participation fee is determined based on the population size of the municipality in which the library is located.
Fee per library location
(excluding VAT if applicable)
If you are part of a library network or consortium, feel free to contact us for a tailored group offer.
A customised offer is also available for libraries run by volunteers, you can request more information with no obligation.
Your library can register for the study [here].
You may also choose to spread the invoice across two fiscal years.
Reporting & Benchmarking
The study provides a comprehensive research report with actionable insights tailored to your library.
In this report, you will not only find all the details of your own results, but also have the opportunity to anonymously compare your library’s outcomes with those of a cluster of similar libraries.
Clusters are groups of libraries with comparable characteristics such as size, collection, location, or type. By combining the results of several libraries within these clusters, your results can be meaningfully compared — while always ensuring full anonymity for your institution.
Your report is strictly confidential: only your library has access to its own results. These results are not shared with others unless you choose to publish them yourself.
Sentolib is available year-round. You can survey your members and visitors whenever it suits your library best. You may choose between two reporting periods: May or November.
Through a personal login, you also gain access to an interactive online dashboard, where you can consult your results at any time. The dashboard allows you to filter data, create cross-tabulations, and explore various visualisations of your findings.
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For which libraries?
The study is designed to be applicable to all types of public libraries, regardless of their services, collections, structure, or location.
It is also scalable by design: suitable for both small and large libraries, and fully accessible to volunteer-run libraries as well.
The research provides libraries with a tool to collect data on their users and visitors in an accessible, standardised, and evidence-based way, with the ability to compare results anonymously.
When?
Sentolib is available throughout the year. You can survey your members and visitors whenever it suits your library best. You may choose between two reporting periods: May or November.
Most libraries invite their members and visitors to share their feedback over a period of 1 to 2 months. You are free to decide when the best moment is to inform your audience about the study.
You can register your library for participation [here].
Via a personal login, you will have ongoing access to your interactive online dashboard, where you can view your results, apply filters, generate cross-tabulations, and explore various visualisations.
Security
We handle data and results with care.
All systems are secured according to current 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 quality control measures are applied to ensure data integrity:
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Consistency checks through control questions
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Checks for 'speeders' (respondents who complete the survey too quickly) at various points in the survey
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(Anonymized) IP address checks
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...
Data Privacy
The study is conducted in accordance with GDPR regulations.
No personal data of respondents is collected at any point, and the survey is by consequence completely anonymous. It is in no way possible to trace survey responses back to an individual.
How are incentives (prizes) assigned to winners?
The survey system randomly selects winners among the respondents who complete the survey. Those identified as winners will see a unique code at the end of the survey with instructions to contact the research team. This ensures that only the contact details of winners are collected to deliver their prizes. These contact details are deleted immediately after the handover of the prizes.
For each participating library, we ask for the contact details of one representative: name and email address. These details are used exclusively for communication regarding the study and to grant access to the survey platform.
📌 Your data remains in your control:
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You can request, update, or delete these details at any time via a simple email request.
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If desired, you can also add additional representatives to access the research platform and your dashboard.
All data and results are securely stored on protected servers within the European Union or the United Kingdom, in full compliance with EU privacy legislation.
📌 Your study results remain confidential to your lybrary at all times:
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They are only shared with the designated contact person(s) within your organization.
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You are free to share your results publicly if you would choose to do so.
📌 Benchmarking & Sector Insights
To support sector-wide learning, the results from all participating libraries will be anonymized and aggregated into grouped analyses.
This allows your library's results to be compared anonymously with those of:
✔ A cluster of similar libraries
✔ National results
✔ International data
Additionally, these insights provide valuable contributions to strengthening the entire library sector.
Helpdesk
Dedicated Helpdesk Support
A professional helpdesk supports your venue throughout the study.
For every inquiry, a ticket is created to ensure efficient follow-up and personalized assistance.
If visitors or users of your library have questions or comments about the survey, they will also be assisted by the helpdesk. They can easily connect with the helpdesk through the help button in the survey.
Groups
For groups and collaborations of libraries, a tailored offer is available.
Click here for more information.
Reaching respondents
The study is designed to collect feedback from your members and visitors in the smoothest way possible. It is conducted online. If you wish and have the necessary capacity, it is also possible to conduct the survey on-site, with the help of your library staff. A specific step-by-step guide is available for this approach.
You will receive a dedicated link to your personalised online survey, which you can share with your members and visitors. This same link can also be used - if desired - to reach former members or non-visitors (see below).
You will receive ready-to-use, personalised communication materials to promote the survey. These can be used across your existing communication channels (e.g. newsletter, email, website, social media) or in your physical space (e.g. flyers at the front desk). You are free to choose one or several of these channels, depending on your resources and preferences.
The survey system is fully responsive, allowing access via desktop computer, tablet, smartphone, and more.
The pilot study and the Sentolib 2024 edition (with over 1,000 libraries) demonstrated that these methods achieve excellent response rates. We found that approximately 80 % of participants completed the entire questionnaire, a remarkably strong result in quantitative research. This underscores the appreciation and high level of engagement among library users.
Would you also like to survey non-visitors and/or former members?
You will receive tailored materials to invite non-visitors or former members to share their feedback. These materials can be distributed through your municipality, partner organizations, associations, and similar channels.
Would you still like to conduct on-site surveys with specific target groups in your library?
This can be done directly within the survey system on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
A public invitation to participate allows you to collect feedback with minimal effort and, if desired, to reach non-visitors and former members as well.
You also have the option to draw random samples for this study. If you choose this approach, you can hand out a flyer at the circulation desk to a random selection of visitors (we will provide you with a personalized flyer for printing), or conduct random on-site surveys in the library. In this case, you may request a customized briefing from the research team.
Incentives
Incentives are provided to give people an extra motivation to participate in the survey:
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For every fully completed survey, 1 m² of endangered rainforest is protected from destruction through the World Land Trust organisation. An official certificate of the protected rainforest will be included with the final report.
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Several prizes will be raffled among participants.
The combination of these different types of incentives encourages participation from various respondent profiles. The incentives help reinforce the invitation to take part in the survey.
How are incentives assigned to winners?
The survey system randomly selects winners among respondents who complete the questionnaire.
Those identified as winners will see a unique code at the end of the survey, inviting them to contact the research team.
This way, only the contact details of the winners are collected in order to deliver their prizes. These details are deleted immediately afterwards.