12
Outcome Metrics
1314
Responses
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Contents
Background
City of Bayswater Libraries
The City of Bayswater Libraries take pride in offering a diverse, accessible, and welcoming range of services and resources to cater to the recreational, educational, cultural, and technological needs of the Bayswater, Morley, and Maylands communities. Our three library branches are home to extensive collections of physical and digital resources, programs designed for adults and children, as well as skill-building workshops for all ages.
The Library Service plays a pivotal role in empowering community members to actively participate in society, engage in democratic processes, foster social inclusion, connect with family and friends, and contribute to the economic well-being of their families and the nation. The City’s Library Service achieves this through a range of functions, including:
Supporting literacy by providing access to educational resources and literacy programs for all age groups.
Facilitating community members' successful engagement in society and the economy by offering educational and personal development resources and programs.
Providing safe and welcoming spaces for community members to meet, read, study, and learn.
Addressing digital and information poverty by offering access to both physical and digital information services and products.
Enhancing community well-being through cultural and artistic activities.
Reducing social isolation through home/institution-bound services, outreach literacy programs, and pop-up library services.
Facilitating residents' ability to interact with the City through access to corporate customer services.
Public Libraries Evaluation Network Project
City of Bayswater Libraries has participated in Culture Counts' Public Libraries Evaluation Network (PLEN) since 2021. PLEN is a nationwide initiative designed to better understand and illustrate the vital outcomes generated by libraries. Libraries that partake in the network used Culture Counts to survey public users of the library and event attendees. Feedback was collected on library use, performance, personal and community outcomes from public users of the library.
Evaluation Methodology
The Library Use and Outcomes Survey was the City of Bayswater Library Services' third annual survey. Library members were emailed to advise the survey was available through the City's 'Engage Bayswater' platform. Displays were mounted in the libraries, with hard copies available. The survey was also promoted at the City's two Community Centres, and the Council Administration building. The City also promoted the survey via its social media channels. The survey asks members questions regarding; library awareness, learning, and application; outcomes; open text questions; and user demographics. This is a PLEN methodology and the resulting data aligns with the project's big dataset. In total, 1314 responses were collected from public attendees via online surveys (1295 responses) and paper surveys (19 responses). Respondents were not required to answer every question.
Each survey contained a range of ‘dimension’ questions, asking members of the public about their experience at the City of Bayswater Libraries. These dimensions have been developed and tested in collaboration with industry, practitioners, and academics to measure the impact and value of arts and cultural events and activities.
Dimensions used in the Library Use and Outcomes survey were chosen based on their alignment with the strategic objectives of City of Bayswater Libraries.
| Domain | Dimension | Dimension Statement |
|---|---|---|
| Stronger and Creative Communities | Creativity | The library has helped me be more creative in my own life and work |
| Safe and Trusted | I feel safe and welcome when using the library service | |
| Personal Development and Wellbeing | Learning | The library has helped me to enjoy learning |
| Literacy and Lifelong Learning | Literacy | My library experience has encouraged me to read more |
| Time With Children | The library encourages me to spend more quality time with my children | |
| Skills | The library service has enabled me to learn and gain new skills | |
| Community Engagement | Relevance | The library is changing in ways that increase its relevance for me |
| Role | The library is an important part of the place where I live | |
| Economic and Workforce Development | Enterprise | The library has helped me to improve the success of my business |
| Digital Inclusion | Digital Confidence | The library has helped me to feel more confident about using digital resources |
| Technology | The library plays an active role in providing opportunities to learn about and use emerging technology and equipment | |
| Digital Connection | The library helps me to be more digitally connected to others |
Dimensions are assessed on a Likert scale, in which respondents move a slider to a point that indicates whether they agree or disagree with the dimension statement. An example of a dimension question in the Culture Counts survey tool is presented below.
Community Profile
Demographics
Survey respondents were asked a selection of demographic questions, to help the library learn their member and visitor characteristics. This enables results to be filtered by demographic to see how different groups use the libraries and their programs. Respondents were asked to provide their age, gender, and identity.
The following charts show the proportion of Library Use and Outcomes survey responses captured for each of the age, gender, and identity demographic questions.
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Insights
The largest age group of respondents was the over 60 bracket (53%), followed by those aged 50-59 (16%). 14% of respondents were aged 40-49, 13% were aged 30-39 and only 4% were 29 or under. The majority of respondents identified as female, accounting for 71% of the total. 27% of respondents identified as male, while a small percentage (2%) identified in another way.
70% of respondents did not identify with any of the options provided. The next highest category is those who speak a language other than English at home, comprising 15% of respondents. The remaining categories of caring for someone with a disability, identifying as LGBTQIA+ and living with a disability all had relatively similar percentages, ranging from 7% to 8%. The category with the lowest percentage is those with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ancestry, which is less than 1%.
Location and Postcode
Library Use and Outcomes survey respondents were asked to provide their current postcode. This data identifies the demographic sample of people who responded to the survey and took part in the event. It enables data to be matched to the wider population and responses to be filtered to understand differences in demographics.
The following charts show the proportion of survey responses captured for respondents' top postcode results.
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Insights
Bayswater was the most commonly cited postcode (27.5%), followed by Morley / Noranda / Embleton (26.4%), Maylands (19.1%), and Bedford/Inglewood (5.2%). This indicates that users of the City of Bayswater Libraries predominantly travel to the three branch libraries, but will come from nearby suburbs to use the library services and facilities.
Membership
In order to understand overall membership loyalty, respondents were asked if they were a member of a City of Bayswater Library. This question indicates how membership influences library use but also identifies the potential for membership base growth.
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Insights
99% of respondents are current members of a City of Bayswater Library, while only 1% are not. This suggests an excellent level of member loyalty and engagement.
Library Use
Respondents to the Library Use and Outcomes survey were asked to indicate which library branches they used. They were also asked to indicate the last time that they accessed a City of Bayswater Library service and how many times they accessed the services in the last 12 months. This provides information about the most used branches, frequency of use and customer loyalty.
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Insights
The top library branches used by respondents are Morley Library (47%) and Bayswater Library (46%). This was followed by Maylands Library (42%), suggesting a relatively equal level of engagement across the three branches. 23% of respondents indicated they had used the online branch of the library and 1% did not use any library branches.
The majority of respondents (42%) accessed the library service within the last week, followed by 30% who accessed it within the last month. On the other hand, only 3% of respondents accessed the library service longer than a year ago.
In the last 12 months 76% of respondents have used the facilities or services at the library, followed by 49% of respondents who have accessed library services online. 28% of respondents had accessed City services at the library, followed by 24% of respondents who have attended an event or program at the library.
Library Outcomes
Outcome Averages
Survey respondents moved a slider to indicate whether they agreed or disagreed with the included dimension statements in relation to their library use. The following charts contain the response data for 'public' responses, showing the average result for each dimension.
The Culture Counts platform provides various methods to capture survey responses at a minimal marginal cost. Achieving larger samples enables organisations to be more confident about the average results and that opinions of the survey respondents are representative of all attendees. The accompanying margin of error chart shows the expected differences for the associated dimension results calculated at a 95% confidence level.
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Insights
Of all dimensions measured, 'Role' (87/100) and 'Safe and Trusted' (86/100) received the highest scores on average, indicating that respondents were most likely to agree that City of Bayswater Libraries are an important part of the place where they live and that they feel safe and welcome when using the library services. 'Literacy' (79/100) also scored particularly highly, demonstrating that respondents were also likely to agree that their experience at City of Bayswater Libraries has encouraged them to read more. 'Enterprise' (47/100) received the lowest score on average, suggesting that respondents were least likely to agree that the libraries helped to improve the success of their business.
At a 95% confidence interval, the margin of error for dimensions ranged from 1.0% to 1.9%. This means that we can be 95% confident that if we surveyed the entire visitor population the average score for 'Safe and Trusted' would fall within 1% of the average generated by the sample. Margins of error under 5% are considered reasonable representations of the opinion of the population. As the margin of error is below 5%, this sample can be deemed statistically significant and an accurate representation of City of Bayswater Libraries users.
Outcomes Agreement
Culture Counts uses a slider input to measure responses for dimension statements as part of the evaluation methodology. This method also provides the capability to understand response results within a typical 5-point agree-to-disagree format.
The following chart contains the response data for all responses and shows the percentage of people that agreed or disagreed with each of the statements, using a 5-point ordinal Likert scale.
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Insights
'Role' (94%) and 'Safe and Trusted' (93%) received the highest levels of the overall agreement, demonstrating that the vast majority of people agreed the library is an important part of the place where they live and that they felt safe and welcome when using the library service. This was followed by 'Literacy' (86%) and 'Learning' (70%) demonstrating that most of the sample agreed that their library experience encouraged them to read more and that the library has helped them to enjoy learning.
'Enterprise' (17%) had the lowest levels of overall agreement suggesting that respondents were least likely to agree that the library has helped to improve the success of their business.
Outcomes by Domain
Dimension statements can be categorised into their representative outcome domain. Outcome domains represent categorisations of dimensions based on their general area of focus. For example:
Stronger and Creative Communities (SACC) Represents dimensions that reflect the ability of libraries to provide a safe and inclusive forum, support creative expression, and strengthen communities.
Personal Development and Wellbeing (PDAW) Represents dimensions that reflect the ability of libraries to provide access to information, knowledge and skills development that contribute to personal growth and greater quality of life.
Literacy and Lifelong Learning (LALL) Represents dimensions that reflect the ability of libraries to develop youth and adult literacy and provide skills and strategies for lifelong learning.
Community Engagement (CE) Represents dimensions that reflect the ability of libraries to provide spaces and programs that bring people together, encouraging connection and supporting participation in community life.
Digital Inclusion (DI) Represents dimensions that reflect the ability of libraries to provide access, skills and confidence in using digital technologies, ensuring all communities can connect with others and important online services.
Economic and Workforce Development (EAWD) Represents dimensions that reflect the ability of libraries to support improved employment and productivity outcomes.
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Insights
When looking at the dimension outcome domains, 'Community Engagement' (82%) and 'Stronger and Creative Communities' (82%) received the highest levels of overall agreement. This suggests that respondents were likely to agree that the library is an important part of the place where they live, that it is changing in ways that increase its relevance for them, they feel safe and welcome when using the library service and that it helped them to be more creative in their own life and work.
'Economic and Workforce Development' (17%) received the lowest level of agreement indicating respondents were least likely to agree that the library service helped them to improve the success of their business.
More information about outcome domains are available at https://culturaldevelopment.net.au/outcomes/
Learning and Confidence
Library Use and Outcomes survey respondents were asked how the libraries had helped them to become more aware of the applicable resources and services that they provide. They were then asked what they had learned through the libraries and where they intend to apply what they learned. They were then asked how the City of Bayswater Libraries made them feel more confident. The following charts show the responses to each of these questions.
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Insights
41% of respondents indicated that the library helped them to be more aware of applicable resources and services it provides in the area of 'Civic/Community Engagement'. A further 38% became more aware of 'Reading/Literacy' resources and services provided by the library.
'Civic/Community Engagement' (32%), ‘Reading/Literacy’ (30%) and 'Education/Lifelong Learning' (23%) were the most-cited areas respondents had learned something new at the City of Bayswater Libraries. The same areas were also cited the most when respondents were asked if they intended to apply what was learned. Respondents claimed that the City of Bayswater Libraries helped them feel the most confident 'About reading' (47%). This was followed by 'About becoming involved in my community' (38%) and 'When using digital resources' (28%).
Comparison & Benchmarks
Demographic Breakdowns
Respondents were asked to provide their age and gender as part of the survey. This data enables results to be filtered to understand any differences that exist because of demography.
The following charts highlight a selection of results based on the gender that respondents identified with as well as by age cohort, categorised by their respective outcomes domain:
Stronger and Creative Communities (SACC) Represents dimensions that reflect the ability of libraries to provide a safe and inclusive forum, support creative expression, and strengthen communities.
Personal Development and Wellbeing (PDAW) Represents dimensions that reflect the ability of libraries to provide access to information, knowledge and skills development that contribute to personal growth and greater quality of life.
Literacy and Lifelong Learning (LALL) Represents dimensions that reflect the ability of libraries to develop youth and adult literacy and provide skills and strategies for lifelong learning.
Community Engagement (CE) Represents dimensions that reflect the ability of libraries to provide spaces and programs that bring people together, encouraging connection and supporting participation in community life.
Digital Inclusion (DI) Represents dimensions that reflect the ability of libraries to provide access, skills and confidence in using digital technologies, ensuring all communities can connect with others and important online services.
Economic and Workforce Development (EAWD) Represents dimensions that reflect the ability of libraries to support improved employment and productivity outcomes.
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Insights
Results were similar for all genders across the majority of dimensions. Overall, females were likely to give slightly higher or equal average scores compared to males for each dimension apart from ‘Personal Development and Wellbeing’. However, all average dimension scores were within only 5/100 of each other across both genders apart from 'Literacy' (6/100 difference) and 'Time with Children' (5/100) and ‘Role’ (5/100). Those who identified in another way scored highest in ‘Creativity’, ‘Skills’, ‘Role’, ‘Relevance’ and ‘Technology’.
Dimension averages did tend to vary by age group, with those aged over 60 and under 20 generally giving lower dimension scores for all dimensions under each domain. It should be noted that in some outcome areas the sample size for the Under 20 cohort was not large enough from which to draw insights from. ‘Enterprise’ scored the lowest amongst all age groups.
The biggest variation between age groups was seen for 'Time with Children' (28/100 difference), the average score also decreased as age increased suggesting that as age increased the library had less impact on how much time respondents spent with their children. Overall, these results suggest that the City of Bayswater Libraries create positive and relevant outcomes for a wide variety of age groups. There were not enough respondents aged under 20 or 20-29 to draw comparative insights from.
PLEN Benchmarks
In 2019, PLEN made benchmarks available from all libraries in their program that were evaluated by Culture Counts. Benchmarks give context to organisers so that they can understand the unique impact they deliver through their events and the outcomes that distinguish them from other offerings.
The below chart shows the average dimension results achieved for City of Bayswater Libraries, compared to the benchmark interquartile range of other libraries in the PLEN program. Results that sit within the range are considered a ‘benchmark’ result, with anything above the range considered to be exceptional.
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Benchmarks for 2022/23 FY: Survey count (s) 5 <= s <= 88; Response count (n) 37 <= n <= 3,390. Surveys with less than 3 responses are excluded from the benchmarking dataset.
Insights
Eight out of the eleven comparable dimensions fell within the PLEN benchmark range, indicating that almost all the City of Bayswater Libraries' average dimension scores were similar to other libraries in the network. ‘Learning’ and ‘Relevance’ fell just short of the benchmark, and ‘Connection’ fell considerably below. This indicates room for improvement in terms of how library members enjoy learning, with the library changing in ways that increase its relevance to members and in encouraging members to become more engaged in the community.
Of all dimensions on this list, 'Role' achieved the highest result, with an average sitting within the benchmark range. This demonstrates that City of Bayswater Library visitors are likely to agree that the library is an important part of the place they live, in line with the results of other libraries in the network.
More information about the Culture Counts PLEN Benchmarks available at https://culturecounts.cc/blog/public-library-evaluation-network-first-year-findings/
Library Service
Important Services
Respondents were asked which of the services provided by City of Bayswater Libraries were important to them. This gives insight into which library services are of most value to their users.
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Insights
The majority of respondents (78%) indicated that ‘borrowing books, DVDs, audiobooks, etc’. is the most important service at City of Bayswater Libraries. ‘Access to City services’ was deemed important by 56% of respondents, followed by ‘access to computers, scanners, printers and photocopiers’ (41%). On the other hand, meeting rooms and study space for groups are the least important services, with only 5% and 4% of respondents considering them important, respectively.
Library Staff Service
Respondents were also asked about the service they received from the library staff. These results give valuable insights into the service provided by the current City of Bayswater Libraries staff.
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Insights
The majority of respondents rated the service received from library staff as ‘very good’ (81%), an excellent result. 15% of respondents rated the service ‘good’ and 3% ‘just right’. There were very few ratings of ‘poor’ (1%) or ‘very poor’ (less than 1%).
Comments and Feedback
Respondents were asked a series of open-ended questions which allowed them to provide further feedback about the City of Bayswater Libraries. They were asked questions about their opinion of the libraries as well as areas that could be improved. Feedback helps organisations understand how they can be improved and strengthened in the future. A selection of comments from respondents across the different branches are listed below.
What would you like to tell us about the library and its services and facilities?
"I normally just take out books, but this survey has made me aware that there are potentially online services I could use. Will definitely follow that up" - Bayswater Library
"Bayswater library does not have a disability toilet or easy pram access to toilets to the toilet that does exist. This makes it difficult for parents to access the service with children / infants / toddlers. Also does not make it accessible to people with disabilities, this is sorely disappointing and discriminating." - Bayswater Library
"The library is more important than ever as an essential community service." - Bayswater Library
"Delightful location in a hub of other resources from recreational activities to artistic endeavours. Really friendly staff and a good resources library. It feels very airy inside." - Maylands Library
"Thanks for running Drag Queen story time and fostering inclusiveness in the community." - Maylands Library
"The staff are very friendly at this library, and I appreciate the collection of books I can access at Maylands. The location is also very central." - Maylands Library
"I very much appreciate the range and quality of the books available for me to borrow. Your automatic renewal is also useful. There is a very pleasant atmosphere in the place." - Morley Library
"I love our Library. The staff are a credit to the Library. They are all so helpful, engaging, happy and a pleasure to interact with." - Morley Library
"Really attentive, helpful staff, great selections - but the building is let down by the lack of windows, and the roof leaks every time it rains! We need a new Morley Library." - Morley Library
If you could make one improvement to the City of Bayswater Library Service what would it be?
"I think opening more hours after work hours would assist more people to be able to access the library and its services more frequently."
"Build a proper purpose built library in Morley that is more welcoming. Has natural light and pleasant places to sit and read or study"
"To have a drop off box for after hours, so that books can be taken back."
"More events that allow interaction with other members of the community. More weekly / ongoing events."
If you do not visit the libraries or use the services available, please let us know why.
"Due to working fulltime I don't get to utilise library as much as I'd like"
"I only visit the library to update my membership card. I borrow audio and ebooks on line."
"Harsh fluorescent lighting, stuffy ventilation, non-technical errors when trying to use digital services (eg. account changes I didn't make requiring verification on the app), lack of asynchronous facilities/services for local writers and creatives"
Data and Insights by
Report prepared for
This report has been prepared by Shelley Timms and Jamie McCullough of Culture Counts. The authors would like to thank all stakeholders and staff for their participation in this research.
Approved by: Cindy Wiese
Date of Approval: 20 October 2023.
We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognise the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.