Council library services need to improve their performance online says new Socitm report based on mystery shopping exercise (UK)

The usability of libraries' online services needs to improve if more customers are to get a better service at lower cost, says a new report from Socitm Insight, based on a comprehensive mystery shopping exercise that tested the library user experience online. According to other Socitm research, libraries are the fourth most popular reason for people to visit a UK council website (7.86% of all visits), with an estimated 25.7m visits to libraries taking place online across the UK each year. To carry out the mystery shopping exercise, a Socitm researcher joined libraries in six different London boroughs and experienced a range of processes from signing up through catalogue searches to paying fines for overdue books