Finnish Local Government 2004: Libraries 2002

The survey focused on public libraries in Finnish municipalities, concentrating on their management, services and development. Other similar surveys were carried out in 1996 and 1999. First, the respondents were asked a number of questions relating to staff numbers, library stock, and satisfaction with different library services. One theme pertained to who produces certain services like cataloguing, maintenance, IT systems etc. for the library, and satisfaction with these services. Some questions covered opinions on outsourcing. The respondents were also asked what kind of changes had happened in the library since 1999. They evaluated the state of the library and its services at the time of the survey. Decision-making was studied with questions pertaining to the role of the municipal committee responsible for library matters, and how active or knowledgeable etc. the committee members were. Opinions were probed on the impact of certain bodies (e.g. neighbouring municipalities, trade unions, civil servants, the EU, library users) on library services. The respondents were asked how important various duties and responsibilities were in their position as the person in charge, how much time they allocate to certain tasks, and who or which body has the power to make decisions on staff recruitment, acquisition, opening hours, allocation of funds etc. They were also asked whether certain areas for development (e.g. increasing the variety of services, extending the opening hours, producing more individual services, getting more funding) would be important for the library in the coming years. Use of client surveys was charted. Background variables included library type, and the respondent's gender, year of birth, education, work experience in libraries, responsibility areas at work, and number of inhabitants in the municipality.