Meeting a Composite of User Needs Amidst Change and Controversy: The Case of the New York Public Library
Abstract
The New York Public Library, a venerable institution with a strong commitment to serve the research and leisure needs of its users, has been a subject of much controversy in recent years. At the heart of the controversy is the Central Library Plan that proposes changes in both the facilities and the services that the library offers. The proposed changes are designed to modernize and improve services to users. The purpose of this study is to see how well New York Public Library meets user needs in the area of access and storage, as expressed by borrowing e-books, receiving library materials that are stored offsite. To answer these questions, we assigned a group of testers with two tasks and report their finding in both qualitative and quantitative terms. The results of our study provide a user perspective of how prepared New York Public Library is to meet their patrons' needs.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5860/rusq.54n2.52
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