Effective techniques for the segmentation of academic library users
| Published date | 14 November 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-07-2016-0052 |
| Date | 14 November 2016 |
| Pages | 454-464 |
| Author | Zhixian Yi |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries,Library strategy,Library promotion |
Effective techniques for
the segmentation of
academic library users
Zhixian Yi
Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine how Australian academic librarians perceived
effective techniques used to segment library users into smaller groups and the influencing factors for
their perceptions of the used techniques.
Design/methodology/approach –An online survey was sent to 400 academic librarians in
37 Australian universities and 230 (57.5 per cent) respondents completed and returned surveys. The
descriptiveand inferential statistics and content analysismethod were used to analysethe collected data.
Findings –A variety of effective techniques were utilised to segment library users. Library variables
such as number of staff and number of library branches and human capital variables such as education
level, years of present position, formally studying marketing and attending a workshop on marketing
in the last five years were significant predictors of perceptions of the effective segmentation techniques
used, but this study indicates that other predictors such as number of different library professional
positions and years involved in all library services and demographical variables made no difference.
Practical implications –This paper provides a useful overview of the effective techniques used to
segment library users.
Originality/value –The valueof this study isthat librarians mayutilise the resultsto better understand
differenttechniques, to reflecton the effectiveness of the usedtechniques, and to balancethe weight of the
influencingfactors. This will enable them to segment library users more effectively in the future.
Keywords Survey, Segmentation, Factors, Academic library users, Effective techniques,
Ordinal regression
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The information society of today has redefined the positions and objectives of all the
institutions which work with information, knowledge and culture. With the ever-
changing technological and information environment and increased user expectations,
academic libraries need to re-evaluate the quality and delivery of their services and
how they are perceived, and ensure that they are a valued part of the university.
Libraries will always need to meet the particular needs of their users. Using marketing
segmentation is an effective way of being able to achieve this. Marketing segmentation
is the process of getting to know and defining sub-groups of the community and their
needs. Also, it involves assessing what needs are being met by the library and what
needs are not being met.
In an academic library, there are internal and external users. The internal users are
students, academic staff and supporting staff. According to Schmidt (2006), “there are
general or administrative staff, including library staff, who have a wide range of needs,
as well as university management”. The external users include other educational
institutions and their students or staff and the wider community users (Schmidt, 2006).
Academic library users are varied and the primary users, staff and students, are the
foci of this market segmentation. They can be segmented using the techniques by age,
discipline of study, origin or ability. While a few studies discussed, explored and even
Library Management
Vol. 37 No. 8/9, 2016
pp. 454-464
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-07-2016-0052
Received 14 July 2016
Revised 7 August 2016
Accepted 18 August 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
454
LM
37,8/9
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