Kundenzufriedenheit, Kundenbindung und Gewinnung von Neukunden zählen heute zu den selbstverständlichen Aufgaben einer jeden Öffentlichen Bibliothek. Denn die Zeiten, in denen es ausreichte, einen aktuellen und vielfältigen Medienbestand bereitzustellen, damit die Menschen in die Bibliotheken strömen, sind lange vorbei.
Attraktiv für Jugendliche, Familien und ganz neue Kundengruppen : Fünf Thesen zur Sonntagsöffnung
(2016)
"Libraries need to keep evolving. Changes in media and habits of media usage, as well as changing reading and leisure-time patterns, require that libraries adapt themselves in order to remain attractive. This article by Prof. Simone Flühles-Ubach and Ragna Seidler-de Alwis shows the potential benefits of Sunday opening hours for certain libraries.
In a study of Sunday hours at the City Library of Mönchengladbach, a total of 34% of all library visitors were interviewed on five different Sundays over a three month period. The research question for this study was: who – i.e., which target group – visits the library for what purpose on a Sunday?
The question was of particular relevance because the library offers neither professional assistance nor Internet access on Sundays. In other words, the services provided were quite truncated. In face-to-face interviews, 547 library users gave responses to a survey whose questions were developed in seven languages (Arabic, German, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish) in order to account for the high proportion of visitors (34%) with a non-German background. The evaluation was based on 18 questions, which could be summarized in the following five theses:
1. On Sundays the proportion of adolescents is especially high.
2. Adolescents rate Sunday opening hours especially positively.
3. Sunday opening hours attract new users; nearly half of the respondents have time for a library visit especially on Sundays.
4. Visits to the library are a family event.
5. Sunday visitors can do without professional services, but they miss Internet access.