Needs Assessment- North Country Regional Teen Dept.
1. +
A Needs Assessment of the
Teen Department at North
County Regional Library
By Team 12: Hannah Drum, Sara Kay
Mooney, Bethany Reynolds, and Devon
Stokes
2. + Introduction
Located in Huntersville, NC (pop. 50,000) – affluent northern
suburb of Charlotte
Part of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library System
Open 6 days / week, 26 staff members, average monthly door
count: ~14,000
Overall mission: “expand minds, empower individuals, enrich
our community”
Other major priorities: community outreach & engagement; and
educational literacy
Teen Department staff: Chantell (Head Teen Librarian)
3. +
Methods
Three primary groups: Chantell, staff helping in the Teen
Department (three people), and teenage patrons
Preliminary Interview: help understand context and discern
Teen Department’s Point of View
Online and paper surveys of teen patrons
Online survey of staff members
4. +
Analysis of Staff Survey Results
Strengths
staff enthusiasm
“Newness” of Teen Dept. space
Opportunities to grow
Weaknesses
not enough praise and feedback
Inter-departmental support
Suggestions
Better program marketing
School partnerships
More diverse collection
Educating staff in other departments
5. +
Analysis of Teen Survey Results
When asked which school they attend, teenagers listed 19
different schools, though 4 were mentioned repeatedly, and
ought to be focused on when establishing library-school
collaborations.
While Chantell has worked hard developing programs for teen
patrons, many teens aren’t aware of what is available to them.
Further marketing outreach is encouraged.
While many teens agreed the library is a great resource and
said they’d be interested in volunteering there, many –
including Chantell - agreed the YA section is outdated.
Survey results do show that Chantell’s efforts are paying off, as
teens agreed their new teen-specific section is “comfortable
and inviting.”
7. +
Final Reflection
Major Obstacle: geographic distance combatted with
consistent, frequent written communication online
Lessons learned:
Strong collaboration with staff led to higher participations among
those surveyed
Strong marketing plan was also helpful
Importance of sticking with a set timeline
Overall, good opportunity to apply (and gain!) practical
administration/management skills
Good opportunity to help a Department discern the needs of its
patrons