FMU’s James A. Rogers Library will be conducting a survey this semester to measure its effectiveness in providing services to students and faculty. Services include available academic resources as well as other things that benefit students.

They conduct this survey every two years to meet accreditation requirements set by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

This year, for the first time, the library is conducting the survey entirely online. In previous years, the library sent paper surveys to randomly chosen classes.

The link to the survey will be located on the library’s webpage when it begins. Information about the survey will also be posted on the library’s social media pages.

Brenda Calcutt, acquisitions coordinator for the library, felt that conducting the survey online would create a better opportunity for diverse opinions and better inclusion of students who take many classes online. Going paperless is also better for the environment.

Calcutt said that students should participate because it is designed to benefit them. She said students may sometimes feel that the survey results will not matter, but that services such the Keurig in the library and extended hours during finals have been a direct result of students’ requests.

“It benefits students because we use their responses to offer more services that they need and tailor our services to student needs,” Calcutt said. “The results are analyzed by a committee that creates a report to consider what we can do to benefit everyone.”

Calcutt said that the survey should take about three minutes to complete. Library employees plan to set up tables with computers at different locations on campus during the weeks of the survey. She hopes students will be on the lookout for these tables and complete the survey between classes.

The library conducts a survey for faculty during the same time as their student survey.