The national user surveys of Finnish libraries collect information on the use of library services, customer satisfaction and the effectiveness of services. The surveys are aimed at the end users of public, university and special libraries and have been conducted as online surveys. The identical questionnaires used in the surveys enable the comparison within and between the library sectors, as well as the examination of trends. FSD collections cover data for 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2018.
The survey investigated user perceptions of public libraries in Finland. Main themes included types of library use, library collections, electronic library resources and other services provided, as well as the perceived impact of the services.
First, the respondents were asked how often they visited the library they were evaluating, what they usually did when visiting the library and which electronic resources they used. Views were probed on the library as a service environment (e.g. location, opening hours, premises, computers provided). Library collections, electronic library services and customer services were evaluated. The respondents were asked how well the library had succeeded as a whole in providing services and in what way the library's services had benefited them.
Background variables included the region and municipality in which the library evaluated was located, the respondent's gender, age group, highest education and economic activity.
Libraries published the link to the online survey on their web pages and were responsible for informing library users of the survey.