Effective techniques for the segmentation of academic library users

• Autores: Zhixian Yi
• Localización: Library Management, ISSN-e 1758-7921, Vol. 37, Nº. 8-9, 2016, págs. 4-4
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Purpose The purpose of this study 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%) respondents completed and returned surveys. The descriptive and inferential statistics and content analysis method were used to analyse the collected data. Findings A variety of effective techniques were utilized 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 5 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 value of this study is that librarians may utilise the results to better understand different techniques, to reflect on the effectiveness of the used techniques, to balance the weight of the influencing factors. This will enable them to segment library users more effectively in the future.