Introduction to BC SRC Participant Feedback Survey
BC Summer Reading Club has been a part of libraries across the province for over thirty years. As the program continues to grow and evolve, we want to ensure that the program is meeting the needs of participating children and families, as well as library staff. With the introduction of the online reading tracker in 2020, BC SRC gained its first insights into how the program was servings participants through the Caregiver Feedback Survey; up until this point, feedback was only gathered through the annual staff survey. This feedback was valuable for both BC SRC and the funders.
As part of a UBC iSchool independent study in 2022-23, Stephanie Usher conducted a literature review surveying the history of public library summer reading programs (SRPs) in North America, with a specific focus on how programs have evolved over time. What was evident throughout the review was that there was virtually almost no replicable data on participant outcomes: , if one study demonstrated the effects of the summer reading loss, it could not be replicated in another due to the lack of consistent control groups. Instead, what summer reading programs should focus on are elements that can be consistently evaluated, such as outcomes and assessment measures. BC SRC will be employing this approach to gain a better understanding of the needs of participants and the program as a whole.
With the introduction of the Accessible British Columbia Act, BC public institutions, including libraries, are now legally mandated to ensure their services support people with disabilities, and BC SRC needs to support libraries by providing an accessible program. The survey provides an opportunity for caregivers to share if their child(ren)’s accessibility needs were met when it came to their library’s SRC program, which will be valuable feedback for both individual libraries and BC SRC.
The BC SRC Participant Feedback Survey will not only provide BC SRC and its stakeholders with evaluative outcomes, but will also provide direct feedback that library systems can use to better understand their SRC programs. The survey does not contain any personally identifying information from the respondents.
What do libraries need to know and do with the BC SRC Participant Feedback Survey
Libraries just need to promote the survey. BC SRC will collect survey results and share the anonymized, raw data with each individual library system by October 2nd. All the data will then be collated and shared in BC SRC’s final report.
The 11 question (8 required responses, 3 optional) survey begins on Monday, August 14, 2023 and will close on September 15, 2023 at 11:59pm. The survey should take no more than 5-10 minutes.
Due to this being an optional survey and our first year offering it through libraries, the volume of survey results may vary. We hope that as it becomes a more regular part of running an SRC program in your library, we are able to gather a larger sample size to reflect the participant population and provide useful feedback for libraries.
How can libraries promote the survey?
- Print and display the survey poster in relevant areas in your library, such as near the information desk, children’s area, and/or bulletin board
- Mention the optional survey to caregivers and let them know how their feedback can impact SRC in their libraries
- Post a link to the survey on your library website, with a reminder that it links to an external webpage
- Help caregivers access the survey on a library computer
What are some talking points for the survey?
- “Thanks for participating in Summer Reading Club! There is an optional and anonymous survey available to share your feedback on the program and we’d love to hear about your child’s program experience. The survey is an opportunity for us to directly hear from participants and make improvements in the coming year.”
- “Did you know that you can share your feedback on this year’s Summer Reading Club program? Scan the QR code to access a quick optional and anonymous survey to share how the program went for your family. The results will be shared with the Provincial programming committee, as well as, our local library and can help provide valuable information and insights in how to improve the program for our participants.”
Where can libraries find the promotional poster/materials and survey?
Promotional material can be found below. There is a poster with a QR code and a small leaflet.
The survey can be found on the public website under the “For Parents and Caregivers” tab starting August 14th .
Does my library have to participate?
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: the survey not only benefits BC SRC as a whole, but can provide insights into how your library’s program is serving its participants. We anticipate that libraries will gather varying amounts of responses, so even a few responses from your community can provide some valuable information on how to serve your participants. Since this is the first year of the survey, we anticipate learning more from this process and hope to find ways to better connect participants to their libraries.