NCW Libraries (“Library”) is seeking proposals from qualified firms to gather high-quality public opinion information from area residents via representative surveying/polling strategies. The Library continually engages with the public to gain input regarding local services, programs, and spaces. However, no comprehensive system-wide polling or surveying has been conducted. The Library believes that gathering thisinformation is a criticalstep toward determining how they can best ensure fiscal sustainability and responsible stewardship of public taxpayer dollars while striving to maintain services that the public deems essential. The Library’s goal is to engage in a process that can be repeated on a biennial cadence. With deference to the expertise of the selected firm, the Library is primarily interested in gathering quantitative data that can be used to inform system-wide decision-making. The Library seeks to gather this information from a subset of adults that are representative of the diversity of residents across the five-county service area. Desired goals of the public opinion research project include: • Determine a baseline understanding of the public’s awareness of the Library. • Gather information about the public’s needs and preferences regarding Library services. • Discern barriers to awareness and use of Library resources and services. • Learn how the public rates the Library’s value in their community as a user/potential user. • Learn how the public rates the Library’s value as a community asset. • Obtain replicable public opinion research that the Library can build upon in future years.
