OLA SuperConference ‘Meet the Generations’ Questions

As promised at OLA SuperConference, I am publishing my list of questions that I routinely use in focus groups as the base questions. Of course, specific questions are added depending on the environment and strategy of the library system.

Master List of Stephen’s Questions for Millennials, Scholars, Boomers, Seniors and more

These were used for OLA Panels in Feb. 2011. They were engaging focus groups that attempted to add the voice of the user in a constructive way into a large library conference to balance the echo chamber that is library land conversations. Some of the sessions were recorded by OLA.

Session Goals:

1. We are trying to give an experience of a public focus group to the OLA audience for a series of sessions with
a. Millennials
b. Young Scholars (college and university students
c. Boomers
d. Retirees
(On another note, I am considering proposals for sessions at OLA 2012 SuperConference so please send me ideas in the comments.)

2. We were probing on their technology preferences and behaviours, their life/age-stage goals and expectations, research preferences and judgments for quality and brand.
3. We probe on their public preferences for interacting with society and community and sources for news and events. We avoid anything too personal and we avoid anything but generalizations around edge case politics, religion, and sex.
4. Our true goal was to have the audience some to a different appreciation of the generations we serve in libraries and feel confidence in asking more users about their needs themselves.
5. Since consumer behaviour is such a driver of expectations of libraries we will probe subtly on that as well (brands, choice, technology, etc.) Also, in most non-student spaces research by choice is often based on personal consumer goals (e.g. travel, finance and savings, etc.)
6. It is best to end on search behaviours and reading choices and specifically library-oriented stuff as a bridge to the audience questions.

The panels were part of a major track at the OLA 2011 SuperConference in Toronto including the opening night session. Stephen Abram sat down with Shelagh Patterson, executive director of OLA last year and commented that after two decades of SuperConferences he couldn’t recall seeing too many real end-users on the conference program. He could recall hundreds of times where we asserted that we wanted to be end-user focused, researcher focused, and learner-centric in our library’s strategies. So, Stephen volunteered to organize a spotlight series for the 2011 OLA SuperConference to chat with the cohorts of library end-users who do seem to be undergoing dynamic changes in behaviours and needs.

Here is the 2011 set of sessions:
Meet the Next Generation!
Meet Today’s Scholars!
Meet the Boomers!
Meet the Seniors!

On the Stephen’s Lighthouse blog I try to keep current with and share end-user information behaviour studies that are low cost or free. These can provide more information about the changes in our communities of users.

Following is my master list of questions that I use for these public focus group. I owe a strong debt for the development of the original foundation of these questions to Richard Sweeney at the NJIT Library who has done a lot of research on Millennials and libraries.

The panels are instructed that it is perfectly OK to not answer any question and pass on any question. We’re just asking for their opinion and personal experiences and there are no ‘right’ answers. I also emphasize that they’re not representing their entire generation and we recognize that they are individuals. We are merely desirous of getting a broader view of the changing dynamics in our library world of library users, members, and cardholders.

In OLA’s case we acknowledged that some of our panelists are under the age of consent and their parents signed permission slips for them. Other panelists signed recording permissions.

So here are some of the questions. I never use all of them and go with the flow sometimes. I’ve been using these same questions in some form or another through over forty of these panels across the US and Canada as well as in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, and China

1. What were the last pieces of music that you chose to listen to? Genre?
2. How did you listen to those pieces of music?
3. How many of you have an iPOD or MP3 player?
4. How important is brand to you? Are there brands that make a difference for you? (prompt with Apple? Levi? H&M?…?) Do brands or certain retailers play a role in your personal style?
5. So what is your set up? Do you have a PC at home? Is it connected to high speed internet? Do you have a laptop too or just a laptop? What kind? What so you do on it and what sort of software do you use?
6. Most surveys show that the Toronto centered region is the most Facebook dense population anywhere in the world. Are you on Facebook? If you aren’t why not? If you are what are your impressions?
7. How many close friends do you have that you constantly keep in touch with? Say on a weekly basis?
8. How do you contact those friends? (Prompt with e-mail, telephone, text, Facebook, in-person, etc.)
9. How many of those close friends are of a different ethnicity than you are?
10. What are the one or two biggest issues facing the word today? And what are the one or two biggest issues facing Canada?
11. Would you pay more taxes for cleaner air and water? To reduce global warming?
12. Do you expect to have a standard of living that is the same, better, or worse than your parents?
13. Do you expect the world to be better in 10 years when your generation begins making many of the key decisions?
14. When was the last time you volunteered for some non-school activity? What was it? When was it? Do you volunteer much?
15. When was the last time you exercised? What type of exercise did you do?
16. Do you agree with this statement: It’s better to be seen as part of a peer group than to be seen as too smart by them?
17. Are you aware of any incidents of cyberbullying among your friends or yourself? How about interpersonal bullying, playground or school? Which is worse?
18. Do you believe that government should pay to ensure that both poor and middle class students with acceptable grades get an education at a university of their choice?
19. Do you believe that same sex marriage, same sex adoption, and/or abortion rights and good law in Canada?
20. When was the last time that you played a handheld game, videogame, phone game, Facebook game, or other electronic game? What ones?
21. What and when was the last book that you read, and completed, that was not for school? Tell me a little about it.
22. When was the last time that you visited a super bookstore (e.g. Chapters/Indigo)? What did you do there? Why did you go?
23. When was the last time that you visited a public, school or college library?
24. When was the last time that you e-mailed a friend?
25. When was the last time that you texted a friend?
26. When you’re organizing a small group of 3-6 friends to get together for a meal, a party, coffee, a movie, or anything, how do you do it and when do you start?
27. How many of you are carrying a cell phone with you right now? By a show of hands, how many of you consider the cell phone your only phone?
28. Where do you start your research? What do you do next? Google, Wikipedia, Library, friends, teacher recommendations, textbook, other?
29. How does Google choose which hits come up on the first few pages? How many other basic web search engines do you use?
30. How do you make choices about the quality of information you find – through a web search, the library, on databases . . .?
31. How many of you believe that most of your close friends voted in the last federal, provincial, municipal election?
32. When was the last time and how did you use your academic library?
33. Have you visited the library website at your college or university? Do you use the special (and expensive) databases there?
34. Have any of you used your mobile phone or iTouch, etc. to search for information? For fun or for school?
35. How often have you used the academic library in this semester?
36. What do you wish that your school or public or academic library had now and in the future?
37. Do you consider yourself to be a Liberal, Conservative, New Democrat, other, or an independent?
38. How would you prioritize the following city budget issues:
a. the public library
b. the local schools
c. community parks & recreation
d. public transit
e. police services
39. What do think your friends would say about the future of the public (or school or academic) library, if any?
40. Are any of you are considering becoming a librarian? How many of you have a friend who is or is planning to become a librarian?

You will not use every question due to time constraints.
Some questions are not useful for some generations.
Have fun while you’re doing this
Treat every panelist with respect and as an individual.
Smile.

Stephen