From: Tech News April 11, 2008
The Sno-Isle disc collection is definitely our hardest working resource. In 2007, our disc collection (including DVD, compact disc, and recorded books on disc) checked out an average 12.4 times, while books checked out an average of 5.4 times. Our goal is to provide the best customer service that we can and this includes offering our patrons resources that are in good physical condition.
With this heavy use comes the need for cleaning and repair of discs more frequently. However, we do not have a scheduled review of these materials and, consequently, we do not know how many discs are circulating in poor condition. We rely on our customers to let us know if their experience viewing or listening to a disc was not optimal and work to correct the problem when it is identified.
Beginning on May 1, the Snohomish Library will carry out a customer survey about the disc collection. Each disc at Snohomish will be slipped with a survey form that asks the customer to tell us if they experienced a problem viewing or listening to the disc. Problem discs will be sent to the Service Center for cleaning or repair. A new disc repair machine enables staff in Materials Processing to clean or repair up to 200 discs each day so we expect that we can keep up with the possible avalanche of damaged materials. We are piloting the survey in one library to give us an idea of the volume of materials needing attention. We will report back on our experience with the survey during the summer. Discs returned at Snohomish should have a survey form inserted before they are shelved for the duration of the project.
Some discs will circulate outside Snohomish or be returned to another library and these should be treated in the same way: send any disc with reported damage to SRV2 for cleaning or repair. If the customer did not report a problem with the disc, remove the survey slip and shelve it with the appropriate area of the collection in the library where it was returned.
A sample of the form used in the survey appears below:
