Author: John Smith Date: 21 June 1991
When preparing for the Networking and Public Libraries Workshop it was found that there was very little information available concerning the current use of networking by Public Libraries.
It was felt that we must have detailed information on the state of networking in Public Libraries before we could make any suggestions for development. To this end it was decided to send out a questionnaire to all those surveyed by Chris Batt. The questionnaire was sent to a list of 167 addresses - and 135 finally replied. The time period covered was April - June 1991.
The main purpose of survey was to collect information on the current and proposed near future use of networking. However it was felt that this needed to be seen in the context of an overall picture of each library authority's use of technology so the questionnaire asks for information on a wide range of IT use.
The questionnaire had four parts:
All the information from the questionnaires, including any additional freetext comments, was transferred into a BRS based database on a Sun 3/50 computer.
A short presentation based on the results collected up to 20 June 1991 (99 replies) was given to the attendees at the Networking and Public Libraries Workshop.
The original purpose of the survey was, in part, to enable UKOLN to gather information on just what was the state of play with regard to the use of networking by Public Libraries. Although there was some anecdotal evidence of activities no-one had an overall picture.
Despite the apparent size of the Questionnaire (11 pages), the basic question was Do you use any of this technology? - if the answer was no the person filling in the questionnaire skipped 90% of the questions, though they were asked about future plans. This design was adopted throughout so if the respondent answered no to a major question they moved directly to the next one at the same level. The main reason for the apparent size of the questionnaire was that we tried to cover most of the possible answers in advance so the person filling it in would be able to answer most questions by ticking a box, or at most, writing in a number. In some sections a matrix approach was used which enabled very detail information to be collected - again just by ticking boxes. The results have been loaded into a BRS full-text database and all of the figures that follow were obtained by searching this database.
The questionnaire starts with a short set of background questions to establish the size and technological sophistication of the library authority concerned. For example questions are asked concerning type of library system and use of LANs but the main area of interest to UKOLN is use of national and international networks. Though the use of Local Authority Networks is of real interest. These questions start part way through Part 2 of the questionnaire.
99 out of 167 replied. This is a very acceptable response rate for a set of respondents who would get no immediate benefit from their work. A first impression is that this is probably a biased set in that many of those who didn't reply were doing least and therefore saw no point in filling in a questionnaire on the topic. However to state this as a fact would require a small amount of further research - basically a phone-call to each non-respondent to check this hypothesis. This was not done.
By reducing the replies to the early questions to just a range one can see the degree of difference between the largest and the smallest library authorities in the UK. The smallest had 4 service points and the largest 141, while the number of computerised points per authority ranged between 4 and 63. There was some comment on the population range, with the general feeling that 2 million was an overestimate for the resident user population of Devon.
92 replied that they used computers or some form of information technology. When looking at the types of machines installed, the main point is the overwhelming number of PCs or compatibles and the number of BBC micros that are being used for real work.
When looking a the more detailed breakdown of the question on microcomputer use we can see the predicted ordering (ie, the order in which the question was asked) was mainly correct except for the case of database use which was completely missed. Another figure that stands out is the number of CD-ROM users (51). Unfortunately this was not a specific question but related only to PC applications. Neither was it asked if these facilities were for public or staff access.
Of the 70 that used a mini or mainframe computer the great majority used it for cataloguing (67) or issue systems (64). Just over half (37) used it for OPAC provision.
Looking at LAN usage, 24 claimed to use a LAN of some sort, with ethernet being the most common type (8) and Novell the most common software used (10). In a third of the cases respondents knew they used a LAN but didn't know the type or network software being used! There is much more information in the database concerning peripherals attached but this will need further analysis.
Moving out from LANs to inter-site WANs. The results of the question on use of star or X25 networks are not clear. The overall numbers do not add up (38 inter- site WAN users but only 32 specified a type). Further, as was pointed out by attendees, these are not exclusive technologies anyway.
The question concerning Local Authority WANs was at least clearer concerning X25 use. This was another question asked mainly to give an insight into the general technological environment within which Public Libraries operate. Of the 50 where the Local Authority had a WAN only 37 made any use of it. The major uses were for access to financial information (18), mainframe access (12), and general intersite communication (11). These three are obviously not mutually exclusive. The last figure may be related to the fact that many Library HQs are based in the County Council HQ. In some cases respondents had replied that the library was not using the Local Authority network but the Local Authority was using the library network! Many of the attendees also pointed out that it was quite common that where the library service used/shared a Local Authority network it used the major part of the available bandwidth due to its online interactive nature.
Only three respondents claimed use of a private WAN. Of these two were LASER/Viscount users. There was some discussion whether Viscount was a network or a service. It was agreed that from the point of view of its users (and the functionality it offers) it was a network.
The questions on National and International networks returned to the clear assumption that networking and the use of telecommunications are synonymous. Nearly half (41) used PSS as one would expect but the interesting number is the four that claim to use JANET. Again due to lack of time these have not be isolated and their form of connection clarified. Using figures from Part 3 of the questionnaire we can gain some insight into the uses being made of these national and international telecommunications services. It is assumed that the majority of the 11 respondents that use a national network for ILL are probably accessing LASER but it will need further analysis to clarify this. In retrospect, it may have been useful to make these two meanings of networking more clearly distinct, ie, the term networking is used to mean both use of the services accessed via telecommunications and the use of the telecommunications services themselves.
The number using an international service was higher than we would have predicted but the brief analysis of the relevant sections of Part 3 (Use made of the technology) does not give a clear view of the specific uses made.
Getting down to basics, there were a series of questions on the underlying technology used, eg, dedicated lines, modems, etc. Although there were a wide range of modem speeds indicated there were two clear peaks one at 1200/2400 and the other at 9600. This probably represented the 'generation' of technology in use within the organisation. Also those library services with a central automated housekeeping system would need to use the faster modems.
A very high proportion (81 respondents) had access to a Fax machine, the maximum number being used by Kent County Libraries with 20. Although the main library operation related use was for ILL (17), a significant number (7) were using Fax for acquisitions.
It was expected that a high proportion would be using private Viewdata services but the number was quite small (18), less than 20% of respondents. It was suggested by some attendees that the use of this technology was falling and there was general agreement on this. In contrast, over half (53) had access to PRESTEL.
Looking at electronic mail, over half (53) were using it in some form with a wide spread in the underlying technology used. Those who used it internally (34) tended to have it based on a central mini or mainframe computer (19) closely followed by library system based (13). External e-mail (38) was very much based on British Telecom with BT-Gold (25) and LA-net (15). With 18 using PRESTEL as well, it is clear that many sites that do use these services use more than one of them!
The details available in Part 3 indicated a range of uses being made of e-mail but in each case it is only a small proportion, the largest number (7) using it for acquisitions.
Finally for this preliminary summary - a look into the future. Over half (49) of the respondents indicated they had definite plans for introducing new telecommunications or networking in the next two years.