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Library performance

The Library is committed to providing a high quality service. In order to do this we annually review the standards we use to measure our services.

These standards are outlined below. Pre 2021/22 data is available on our archive page.

Service standard Result from 2021/22 Result from 2022/23 Result from 2023/24
  • We will achieve at least 90% overall satisfaction rating on Question 20 in the National Student Survey "How well have the library resources (e.g., books, online services and learning spaces) supported your learning?".
85.71% 88% 87.90%
  • We will maintain 100% Archive Service Accreditation for our Special Collections and Archives to ensure our services meet good practice and agreed standards for our students, staff and external researchers.
Achieved Achieved Achieved
  • We will get 95% of returned books back on the shelves for you within one working day.

99%

99%

99%

  • We will ensure 100% of reserved books will be available to collect by you within two working hours of being returned.

95%

98%

100%

  • We will ensure 90% of new eBooks will be available to you within 5 working days from being ordered.
96% 95% 94%
  • We will ensure 90% of new print books received by the library will be added to stock within 5 working days from being received.
98% 99.90% 100%
  • We will ensure at least 90% of Inter-Library Loan requests will be processed within three working days of receiving the request from you.

100%

99%

99%

  • We will ensure customer services are available 24/7 either in person, library Chat, email or phone.
100% 100% 100%
  • We will acknowledge / respond to 95% of your enquiries, feedback or complaints within one working day.
92.25% 89%  
  • We will achieve 90% of our workshops being rated as good or excellent.
100% 97% 97%
  • We will ensure JB Priestley Library is open for you 99% of advertised opening hours.
Achieved Achieved Achieved
  • We will ensure our resource discovery service, Summon, will be available for you 99.7% of the time.
99.93% 99.98% 99.99%

If you would like more information about our standards or targets please contact the Library.

We would also like to hear your views on our service standards. Please give feedback to guide our service improvements.

NSS satisfaction levels

The National Student Survey (NSS) is an annual survey of final year undergraduates, designed to gather students' opinions of the quality of their experience at the university they attended.

Below are the results from the responses to the library specific question "How well have the library resources (e.g., books, online services and learning spaces) supported your learning?" 

  • 2023/24 - 87.9%
  • 2022/23 - 88%
  • 2021/22 - 85.71%
  • 2020/21 - 76.46%
  • 2019/20 - 90.87%

We acknowledge the drop in our NSS score for 2020/21 and 2021/22. The Covid-19 pandemic led to a disruption in many of our services, including access to library facilities and resources throughout the last two years. Normal services have now been reinstated.

The library is very conducive for learning. I've got all the materials I need for study and my research. The library is well organised, the staff are courteous and always willing to assist.

Student feedback received 2024

You said, we did!

We welcome feedback from our users to guide future decisions about service improvements.

We have now opened the Study Hub on Floor 01. It has 12 new group study rooms, each with their own PC and large monitor.

The library already offers different zones for group work or silent study. We have also opened our new Study Hub for groups to meet and work as a team, and a new social area is open in Student Central. There are lots of social learning spaces across campus, where you can socialise and study.

There are some lights on individual desks in the quiet areas on Floor 0 and Floor 1 and we are currently working with Estates and the Disability Service to provide a variety of light levels in areas to meet the diverse needs of our students.

We extended the loan period of laptops available from the laptop cabinet from 2 hours to 24 hours.

We now have automatic renewal of books on loan to you if not requested by another user and have increased the quota of books our users can borrow to 30. 

While we can’t offer this in the library, you can eat hot food and study in Student Central or any of the social learning areas across campus, such as the one in the Richmond building.