SeAMK-Finna user survey provided valuable feedback

The user survey of the SeAMK-Finna search service was open from January 21 to February 17, 2025. We received nearly one hundred responses, which was an excellent number. The previous survey was carried out in 2023. Compared to the previous number of responses, this year we had 25% more responses. Many thanks to all those who responded.

The feedback from the survey will help us evaluate and improve the quality of the service. The Finna search services are maintained and developed by the National Library, and each library, archive, and museum has its own local view. We can modify some aspects of SeAMK-Finna, but for major developments we can submit wishes and suggestions to the National Library.

Highlights from the received responses

• Most respondents were students (86%)
• Most respondents reported using SeAMK-Finna primarily for studying, teaching, and research
• Additionally, some respondents were using the search service for hobbies and leisure activities
• More than half of respondents were using the search service weekly or more often (58%)
• 95% of the respondents reported that they usually found what they were looking for in the search service
• In addition to searches, reserving materials, renewing loans, and favourites lists were the most used functions according to respondents

Good results

Many respondents found SeAMK-Finna to be an easy to use and useful search service. The average rating given to the search service was 8.2 (on a scale of 1–10), which was the same as in the survey carried out two years ago. Respondents would also recommend the search service to others, and the Net Promoter Score (NPS) was 46. However, the Net Promoter Score decreased compared to the survey conducted two years ago, when the NPS was 50. Both scores were considered very good.

Always room for improvement

However, improvements were still needed. Among other things, respondents wanted broken links to be removed and the relevance of search results to be improved. The user interface should be clearer and some improvements to the search filtering options were also requested. Some of these improvements can be implemented by updating the SeAMK-Finna instructions, but others will require further development.

We warmly thank all respondents! Your feedback is invaluable to us and the National Library in the continuous development of Finna search services.