Teddington Library Refurbishment

Overview

To find out what users of the library thought of the range of present stock, new services, facilities and available help in finding books.

We were overwhelmed with the response to the Teddington Library refurbishment consultation and wish to thank everyone who took part.

 We received 811 Questionnaires filled in by Library users, 647 in Teddington and 143 on line. 65 non users also filled in a questionnaire, 34 in Teddington and 31 on line. 215 suggestion cards were filled in for our ideas board. We spoke to the Teddington Scouts and Venture Scouts, to the Teddington School Book Club, visited the day centre at Ellerary Hall and had a lively discussion with the Teddington Society.

 Summary of the findings

The main themes to come out of the comments on the questionnaires, the suggestions cards and suggestions from the rest of the consultation are as follows:

- The provision of the written word was still the most important aspect of the Library

- Service and should not be diminished. People really love the building and the feel of the library and felt very strongly that this character must not be lost. They felt that any modernisation should be sympathetic to the age of the building and its original architectural features should not be tampered with, although increased ventilation would be beneficial. They also felt that both the garden and the staff were great assets and should not be changed. A toilet with baby changing facilities was high on the list of priorities as was comfortable seating. The opinion on the provision of tea and coffee is split with a very slight majority in favour with a few people wanting a water fountain.

- Computers also featured high on people's wish list, wanting both more and better computers and the technology that goes with them, faster and wider ranging internet access and IT help and courses. A non bookable computer that could be used for quick reference/research for short periods of time was also suggested. There is a small area of dissent from people who thought that there is already too much space given over to their use.

- As far as the layout is concerned people seem to want a quiet area for reading and study away from the computer section and the children's area. The children's area needs to be secure and include comfortable seating for both children and adults.

- There seems to be a need for a separate area for teenagers with more suitable stock for both study (with computers for their use) and reading. Comfortable and appropriate seating for all ages is a theme running through all areas, children's, teenagers, adult browsing areas and the quiet reading and study space.

- There is a strong feeling that there needs to be more community involvement, with a community space for more talks and events for all ages. The type of talks and events asked for are very diverse but there is a strong theme of local events, history and arts. People want talks from writers, more recommended reading lists (either from the library staff or in the case of the teenage section a recommendation book so they could all add their favourites) and more reading and discussion groups to cover the whole age range.

- The consultation also highlighted the fact that people are not aware of some of the services we already offer, i.e. access to the garden and some of our on line facilities like the on line catalogue and reservation service. We are trying to rectify this and have already answered some people's questions on our Teddington Refurbishment update board within the library. People have also come up with very good ideas which are not dependent on the refurbishment and these are being considered.

What has happened as a result?

Having assimilated the information gathered, the next stage in the process is to prepare a design brief. We will keep everyone up to date on our progress through the Teddington Library Refurbishment board within the library