At Solent University, we value your feedback and use comments, suggestions, compliments and complaints to improve our services.
If you have any comments or suggestions about the services we offer in the library, we would love to hear from you.
We have made it straightforward for students to give their feedback and for staff to respond and record.
Due to the pandemic, we did not produce an annual report for 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. However, we do have reports based on our Online Chat statistics for those years, which can be seen here.
There are several ways to do this. You can:
You don’t have to give your name and contact details but if you do, we will reply to you personally.
If you would like to suggest new books, journals or other resources for the library to consider buying, contact library.support@solent.ac.uk
If if you are unhappy about any aspect of the services you receive from the library, please let us know. Find out how to make a complaint on our comments, compliments and complaints page.
As a result of your feedback, we have put in place a number of improvements. These can be found on our you said, we listened page.
At Solent University, we value your feedback and use comments, suggestions, compliments and complaints to improve our services.
If you are happy with the service you have received from the library, we would love to hear from you.
Our staff work very hard to give the best possible support to students and university staff and we greatly value your feedback and encouragement. It’s just as important that you tell us if you are not happy with the service you have received. We are continually looking to improve our service and we take all feedback seriously and will take action where appropriate.
Our customer engagement strategy outlines the different consultation methods used to find out what students think about the services offered by the library, so that we can develop and improve them.
There are several ways to do this. You can:
We may publish your comments anonymously on our you said, we listened web page.
You don’t have to give your name and contact details but if you do, we will also reply to you personally.
We welcome feedback about the library via social media and we do take your comments into account when reviewing or developing our services.
The first thing to do if you are unhappy about any aspect of our services is to speak any member of the library staff. They will try to resolve your concerns immediately. You can also raise a complaint via our online chat service.
If you are unhappy with the way you have been treated by a member of library staff, please ask to speak to the senior staff member on duty.
If you cannot or do not wish to make a complaint in person, you can submit a complaint by:
We will acknowledge any written or emailed complaints within two working days of receipt. You will receive a full response to your written complaint within ten working days (as appropriate).
You can see the processes we will follow in responding to your complaint on our flowchart.
However, if you are not satisfied with how we respond to your complaint and feel that you have been treated unfairly, please contact:
Fiona Cooksley, Associate University Librarian
Solent University Library, East Park Terrace, Southampton SO14 0RJ
Email: fiona.cooksley@solent.ac.uk
Your complaint will be acknowledged within two working days. We will investigate it further and provide a written response within ten working days (as appropriate).
During March 2022, we conducted a poll on Social Media (Instagram) to understand more about which floors of the library students prefer to work on.
On this occasion we asked students the following question:
Here at Solent Library... Which is your favourite floor to work on?
We received a total of 45 responses. The results are as follows:
As shown, the second floor of the library appears to be the most popular choice for working on. This information helps us to understand a little more about your use of the library learning spaces.
During August 2021 we consulted with students using an online voting poll to see whether they would like to continue to have bookable spaces that are socially distanced. We were intending on keeping this as one set space for students to use if they felt more comfortable having a socially distanced area to study in.
On this occasion, we asked students the following yes/no question:
"Would you like the library to offer a small number of bookable computer/study spaces in limited areas that are socially distanced?"
We received a total of 56 votes on this poll. The results are as follows:
An equal number of people said yes and no - 28 for each.
We decided that, because it was just as many people who said yes as said no, we would put in place a small number of socially distanced computer/study spaces in area 0A.
We are going to repeat this poll with a slightly adjusted question to find out if people are still keen to keep this area the way it currently is.
During February 2022 we ran this poll again. However, this time we slightly changed the wording of the question which can be seen below.
“Would you like the library to continue to offer a small number of bookable computer/study spaces in 0A that are socially distanced?”
This time round we had 76 responses and the results are as follows:
64 yes and 20 no
As a result of this poll we will be keeping the bookable socially distanced study spaces in place.
The Library and Learning Service (LLS) conducted a customer feedback survey based around student views on customer service, the library environment and the resources we have to offer.
The survey consisted of 14 questions; 8 were multiple choice and 6 were open-ended questions, with an open text field to input answers.
The results of this survey are very positive, and we are pleased to see that the majority of students have a positive response to our service.
In November 2022 we conducted a survey to find out about library users in the evenings.
The survey consisted of 17 questions; 14 were multiple choice and 3 were open-ended questions, with an open text field to input answers. This was a more in-depth survey to help us find valuable information on how the library is used in the evenings and by whom.
This survey gave us valuable information on the type of users and also feedback on our services.
The Library and Learning Service (LLS) conducted a customer feedback survey based around student satisfaction, staff helpfulness and timeliness. The survey consisted of 6 questions; 5 were multiple choice or rating scale and 1 was an open-ended question with an open text field.
We decided to keep the survey short to keep it quick and easy for students to answer and provide us with some valuable feedback.
The results of this survey are very positive, and we are pleased to see that the majority of students have a positive response to our service.
In order to continue to improve our services we need to hear your opinion on what the library is doing right or wrong.
We value your feedback and act on it.
There are a number of ways in which you can give us your feedback:
Below are some examples of how your comments have shaped our service during most recent academic years. For examples from previous academic years please see the PDF documents at the bottom of this page.
We did - we have made the Quiet Study Area on Floor 3 of the library available for clubs and societies to book at the weekends. The space can be booked here or at https://libguides.solent.ac.uk/c.php?g=666059&p=5268349
We did - we have ordered an A3 guillotine and placed it in the Lower Ground Floor.
We did - we now have a bookable room on the first floor of the library for individuals who have an online meeting such as an online exam or online interview. This is away from the individual silent study rooms so you can participate in the meeting without disturbing other library users. It can be booked via the 'Book a study room' link on our portal page.
We did - we have now changed the minimum booking time for study rooms from 1 hour to 30 minutes; the booking grid shows the slots in 30 minute increments. We hope this helps fit in with students schedules.
We did - we have made some laptop bags available for loan, these can be loaned for a week alongside the laptop. Please just ask a member of staff at the information desk if you'd like to use one of these.
We did - we made arrangements so that the third floor of the library could be used as a teaching space at the weekends.
We did - A new printer which is accessible for wheelchair users has been installed in the library.
We did - We added an electric fan heater attached to the wall. We hope this will provide more heat and make students feel more comfortable when using this room. This heater does have a function whereby if it will turn off if the room is not occupied.
We did - We have a pair of speakers available for loan from the Information Desk in the foyer of the library. Use the QR code on the posters in the group study rooms to check the availability of the speakers.
We did – The radiators are thermostatically and timer controlled. In addition, we contact the Estates Team when the building is too hot / too cold and the temperature can be altered.
We did – Most of the lighting in the library is controlled by motion sensors. These sensors have been adjusted to take account of how busy certain areas of the library are. Stairway lights are not motion sensitive due to safety considerations.
We did – There is a limited amount of space on the main university website for the library. However, we have numerous pages which link from the main library page detailing all our services.
We did - You can now purchase a High quality heavy duty bike lock at discounted price from the University.
We did - We increased the opening hours for the weekend of 29th and 30th April - from 10am-5pm to 10am-10pm both days. This was in line with deadlines.
We did - there is now a signposted area in the Lower Ground Floor of the library for you to use for these types of online learning events or meetings. These can be used by individuals or in a small group.
We did - We have made floor 0A a socially distanced area with bookable computer and study spaces.
We did - We now have a new vending machine that dispenses cups with each coffee, we hope this resolves any issues with cups running out.
We did - There is now more soft furniture around the library for you to use.
We did - We have expanded our collection of fiction books. These can be found on floor 2C of the library.
We did - In line with university and government guidelines, we have now made all of the individual study rooms available for you to use again.*
*Due to the ventilation of these rooms, we closed every other room during the pandemic.
We did - There is now cutlery attached to all of the snack pots.
We did - You can now book a computer in advance for the Assistive Technology Centre. You can also still turn up and use the computers if they are available.
Quotes said by you about our library service...
"Sarah Belkacem, Kathryn Ballard, Harbeet Sandhu and Dan Scutt are the wonderful librarians of Solent University's Mountbatten Library who have provided tireless help in tracking down obscure books and journal articles on baseball history, baseball films and religion for me, for which I am very grateful."
"I think it's so good that they put [spare paper] here. Life saver!"
"The library staff were super helpful tonight and I was able to get the books I wanted."
"Perfect and many thanks for such a helpful service"
"The customer service is excellent, very friendly."
"The library and services have been invaluable to me throughout my time at Solent."
"The Library is a Beacon of Light"
"It is a welcoming and safe space"
"As always top drawer help!"
