Service standards
We have updated our service standards to put the focus on you and the way that you work. You want to be sure that resources, space and support will be available to you when you need them. For example, that books will be reshelved as quickly as possible, that a reading list will be ready when teaching starts, and that if you have an urgent question, you’ll get an immediate response from a member of Library staff.
And we want to go further. Please let us know if there’s anything else that you’d like to see as one of our customer service standards using the form at the bottom of this page. What is most important to you about what we are providing and the way that we’re doing it?
We will identify any dips in performance against our standards and explain why this is, together with the action we are taking to put things right and prevent further recurrence. We will review our service standards every year.
| Service area | Standard | 21-22 | 22-23 | 23-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening hours | The building will be open 100% of our advertised opening hours | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Timeliness | NEW: We will respond to 100% of emails sent to library@sussex.ac.uk within three working days |
100% | 100% | 100% |
| 100% of the time, our first response to a question through the chat service will take one minute or less1 | 93% | 91% | - | |
| Customer satisfaction | Our average chat rating will be 4 out of 5 or higher (what the platform identifies as a 'Great chat') | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.9 |
| We will be above the national average for students answering yes to question 20 in the NSS: 'The library resources (e.g. books, online services and learning spaces) have supported my learning well' | +2% | +1% | +1% | |
| Access to resources | 100% of reading lists submitted by the deadline will be reviewed for the start of teaching | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| We will ensure that 100% of physical books are reshelved within 24 hours of being returned2 | 88% | 96% | - | |
| We will process 100% of interlibrary requests within three working days | 100% | 100% | 100% |
1. This will no longer be measured following user feedback to our chat service. We will continue to monitor the quality of our chat responses to ensure you get the information you need.
2. This will no longer be measured due to a reduction in print borrowing and accessibility of online resources.
Dips in service: explanation and action
The dip in chat service timeliness was due to fewer staff working simultaneously on the online chat service when physical service desks re-opened following lockdown and staff were required to work on other service points. A new rota was introduced during 22/23 and training delivered to staff, that we hope will resolve the issue and will be reflected in the 23/24 figure.
The dip in the reshelving time of our physical books in 21/22 was due to staff absences and fewer book returns. Fewer book returns resulted in trolleys taking longer to become full and therefore longer to leave the book sorter. To combat this, we hired two new staff members who began in January 2023, and we have changed our procedures to ensure that books are shelved in a timely manner (for example taking trolleys out of the book sorter before they are full). We saw improvements in 22/23 which we hope will continue.
*If you have any comments or complaints about our services, or wish to suggest a service standard, please complete our online feedback form.
National Student Survey Results - 2024
The feedback on the Library in the 2024 NSS was very positive. 90.7% of final year undergraduate students responded positively to the question: How well have the library resources (e.g. books, online services and learning spaces) supported your learning?
This score has continued to improve year on year and is an increase of 0.5% on 2023 and remains above the national average of 89.8%.