For years the central library assumed its evening hours went largely unused. A simple experiment — a two-question survey printed on checkout receipts — suggested the opposite. The demand was there; it just hadn’t been counted.
The responses revealed a steady stream of would-be evening visitors: students without quiet study space at home, job seekers using the public computers, and parents who could only visit after work. The branch has now extended its weekday closing time and added Sunday afternoons.
Listening cheaply
What makes the story notable is not the expanded hours but the method. The library did not commission a study. It asked two questions on paper it was already printing.
- The survey cost almost nothing to run.
- Responses came from actual users, not a general poll.
- The results were specific enough to act on immediately.
Other departments have taken notice. When the cost of asking is this low, the harder question is why anyone stopped asking in the first place. The library, for its part, plans to keep the receipt survey running and adjust as the answers change.
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Further reading: Public libraries
