HourGLASS A newsletter for friends of the Georgia Library for Accessible Statewide Services Volume 4, Issue 2 - Spring 2017 www.georgialibraries.org/glass Customer Satisfaction Survey Results The results of the GLASS customer satisfaction survey are in! We appreciate all of the patrons who responded, as well as those who filled out the survey for patrons. Our results had great representation of patrons over 50, who made up about 81 percent of responses. A staggering 95 percent of survey respondents say they’ve called GLASS with questions, book requests or for other services. We were pleased to hear that 81 percent of those who called us found telephone service “very helpful,” with another 16 percent saying we were “helpful.” One person added, “These people are a blessing.” We were very happy to find 100 percent of respondents who have visited our walk-in locations in Atlanta and in Bainbridge found the service helpful. Please, come visit again! We love seeing you. The survey showed what our reader advisors know: Our readers devour their talking books and magazines. About 38 percent of patrons read two to six hours a day. An impressive 18 percent of patrons read at least six hours a day! A bit over half of those who responded do not use a mobile device to use our service. Awareness of the BARD Mobile app is fairly high, with 79 percent of patrons saying they’ve heard of it. Several patrons expressed growing pains as we updated our catalog. We have hired a technical support librarian to work on keeping our catalog as easy to use as possible. He is also cleaning up book information to make it easier for you to find the type of books that you like. Many thanks to those who tell their friends and loved ones about GLASS! Almost a fourth of respondents shared that friends and relatives were the ones who told them about GLASS. Other common referral sources were government agencies, social workers or rehabilitation staff, public library staff and optometrists. Not all of our patrons could recall how they first heard of the service, with one stating they had “been using it for what seems like forever.” While a common refrain was that our patrons had their local library as an excellent source of audiobooks, 73 percent of our patrons would have no audiobook or accessible library material access without GLASS. Several people knew of Audible but said that the amount they read would make it a “financial burden” if that was the only source of books. One reader can’t afford to buy accessible books since retirement, but they happily continue using talking books, as they have for 51 years. Altogether, 92 percent of our patrons say they are satisfied or completely satisfied with their service. Many included kind comments such as “this is a wonderful service and I am so grateful for it.” Another person said, “I love and appreciate all of your programs. I could not make it without them.” Thank you all for your feedback. We are proud to serve our GLASS patrons. How GLASS Patrons First Learned About Our Service * Friend or Relative - 24% * Government Agency - 12% * Social Worker or Rehabilitation Counselor - 12% * Public Library Staff - 12% * Doctor or Optometrist - 9% * Other - 14% Talking Book Topics Have Order Forms There’s been a change to the delivery of talking book topics on cartridge. The cartridges are now mailed with a large print form you can use to order books! The form has your information and our return address on it already. All you need to do is select your books on the form, tape the form closed and put it in the mail. Returning the cartridges has gotten a bit easier as well. The talking book cartridges no longer have a mailing card that you have to flip before putting the container in the mail. Instead there is a label with the return address on the cartridge container. All you have to do when you finish your talking books cartridge is put it in the box and put it in the mail. It’s as easy as that. If your cartridge and form arrive in a cardboard box, there is no need to return the box. Feel free to throw it away. 2016 Pulitzer Prize Winning Books Note: Talking books begin with DB. These titles have not been released in print braille yet. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (DB82047, On Bookshare) Saigon of 1975 is in chaos. A half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain escapes Vietnam to live as a communist spy in America. Some violence and some strong language. Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick (DB82561, On Bookshare) This book presents operational details and historical perspectives on the radical militant group ISIS. Unrated. Custer’s Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America by T.J. Stiles (DB83009, On Bookshare) An examination of General George Armstrong Custer’s life and often-ignored aspects of his legacy, attempting to dismantle Custer’s historical caricature. Unrated. Barbarian Days: [A Surfing Life] by William Finnegan (DB82098, On Bookshare) Memoir of an obsession and a way of life by a writer who started surfing as a child. Describes chasing waves all over the world. Unrated. Try O Magazine Fans of Ladies Home Journal or Redbook might want to try O Magazine. O Magazine is produced by Oprah, and combines the flair of a lifestyle magazine with Oprah-style optimism to encourage you to “live your best life.” Call 800-248-6701 to subscribe to the magazine on cartridge, or download issues from BARD Mobile. Call 404-235-7157 to request this newsletter in alternate formats. Join our email list at: hourglass@georgialibraries.org HourGLASS is published quarterly by the Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS), a division of Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the University System of Georgia. This publication is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to Georgia Public Library Service under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services 1800 Century Place, Suite 150 Atlanta, GA 30345 Phone: 404-235-7200 Toll Free: 1-800-248-6701 Fax: 404-235-7201 www.georgialibraries.org/glass