The Chelsea Public Library is asking residents what they want from it, and it wants to hear from people who never walk through the door as much as from its regulars. The library has opened an online community needs assessment, with separate surveys for adults and young people, in English and in Spanish.
The city announced the survey on Facebook this week. The library says the answers will guide decisions about its programs, services, collections, technology, spaces and community partnerships. “Whether you visit the library regularly, occasionally, or not at all, your opinion is important,” the survey’s introduction says.
How to take it
- Online: the four survey links (adult and youth, English and Spanish) are on the city’s Community Needs Assessment page.
- On paper: copies are available at the Chelsea Public Library, 569 Broadway.
- Time: the adult survey says it takes 5 to 7 minutes.
The library has not posted a closing date.
What it asks
The adult survey starts with a few questions about you: age range, whether you live, work, study or own a business in the community, and what kind of household you have. Then it asks how often you use the library and for what, from borrowing books and printing documents to Wi-Fi, museum passes and help with technology.
The middle of the survey asks people to rate community needs, including early childhood learning, homework help, digital literacy, job and career help, financial and life skills, health information, services for older adults and news literacy, and to pick the three the library should put first. It asks how interested people would be in programs such as computer and AI classes, book clubs, local history and genealogy, and programs for older adults.
Later sections ask about the building itself, which spaces matter most (quiet study areas, the children’s and teen areas, the computer area, the auditorium) and what keeps people from using the library. The choices there include library hours, transportation, parking, program times, not knowing what the library offers and “I don’t feel the library is intended for people like me.” The last section asks how people hear about library programs.
Why it matters
The survey arrives in a busy stretch for the library on Broadway. It added notary service by appointment in October, and today, Saturday, it holds its 21st Chelsea Reads celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with free books for every child and teen who comes. Anyone stopping by for that can pick up a paper copy of the survey on the way out.