Library and Information Science Commons^™

The Importance Of "Focusness": Focus Groups As A Means Of Collection Management Assessment, Barbara J. Strauss, Fran Mentch, Carol Zsulya

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

In order to assess the Library's collection, the Collection Development Assessment Team at Cleveland State University used focus groups to complement the information gathered in LibQUAL+™. Groups of undergraduates, graduates, and faculty participated in four separate focus groups. All groups reported they were essentially satisfied with the collection but also wanted better local collections and used OhioLINK to supplement their research; fewer users also utilized the rich resources of the public library systems. In keeping with previous surveys, all groups wanted more full-text available electronically, faster access to materials, and a more navigable website. It appeared that the more sophisticated …