Best questions for citizen survey about library services satisfaction

Here are some of the best questions for a citizen survey about library services satisfaction, plus tips on crafting them for deeper insights. If you want to build your own survey fast, Specific can help you generate one in seconds.

The best open-ended questions for citizen survey about library services satisfaction

Open-ended questions are a powerful way to let citizens express themselves freely. They invite narratives, detail, and real context—as opposed to boxed-in multiple choice. These are especially helpful when you want to uncover meaningful feedback or pain points that structured options just can’t capture. For example, research on patient feedback showed that 76% of respondents took the opportunity to add their own comments, a clear signal people want space to elaborate when it matters. [1]

1. What do you appreciate most about your local library’s services?

2. Can you tell us about a time when the library staff helped you solve a problem?

3. Is there anything you find challenging or inconvenient about the library experience?

4. What new services or resources would you like the library to offer?

5. How do our library programs fit your needs (or your family’s needs)?

6. What motivates you to visit the library most often?

7. Are there areas where you think our library could improve?

8. If you could change one thing about your library, what would it be?

9. How satisfied are you with the accessibility of our facilities and resources?

10. Is there anything else you’d like to share about your library experience?

While open-ended questions offer richer stories, keep in mind they can sometimes lead to higher “skip” rates, with nonresponses reaching up to 50% for specific types of questions. [2] That’s why balancing them with closed-ended items is key.

The best multiple-choice questions for library services satisfaction

Single-select multiple-choice questions are great when you need to quantify results quickly or get a snapshot of opinions. They work well either to break the ice or to nudge citizens toward reflecting before diving deeper. Often, people find it easier to start by picking an option—making the survey experience less intimidating and speeding up completion.

Question: How often do you visit the library?

• Weekly

• Monthly

• Several times per year

• Rarely/Never

Question: How would you rate the helpfulness of our library staff?

• Excellent

• Good

• Average

• Poor

Question: Which library service do you value most?

• Book lending

• Events/programs

• Study spaces

• Digital resources

• Other

When to follow up with “why?” Follow up when you want to go beyond the surface—asking “why?” after a rating (especially low or high scores) encourages citizens to elaborate, providing context that helps you interpret the numbers and potentially address root causes. For example, if someone rates staff helpfulness “poor,” a follow-up like “Could you share a recent experience that influenced your rating?” uncovers actionable insights.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? “Other” lets people share something your options didn’t cover. Follow-up questions here often reveal unique needs or ideas you hadn’t considered, making your data set more robust.

Should you use an NPS-style question for library satisfaction?

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a simple single-question metric—“How likely are you to recommend our library services to a friend or family member?”—followed by a “why?” It’s commonly used in business but is valuable for public services too, as it quantifies overall advocacy and loyalty at a glance. For library satisfaction, it provides clear benchmarking and pinpoints both promoters and detractors—so you can prioritize improvements. If you want to try this approach, check out Specific’s ready-to-use NPS library survey builder.

The power of follow-up questions

Adding follow-up questions transforms data-gathering from a “one-and-done” to a genuine dialogue. Instead of collecting thin answers, you uncover motivations, barriers, and emotions that drive satisfaction—or frustration. Specific’s automatic follow-up questions use AI to ask relevant and natural follow-ups based on what each citizen says, in real time. This saves huge amounts of time versus manual follow-up (think endless back-and-forth emails) and delivers stories you can actually act on.

• Citizen: “The library needs to upgrade its computers.”

• AI follow-up: “What issues have you experienced with the current computers, or what kind of upgrades would be most helpful?”

How many follow-ups to ask? Usually, 2-3 well-placed follow-ups get you what you need. Specific lets you set a max—plus an option to skip once the AI has what it needs, so you don’t risk annoying respondents or bogging down the experience.

This makes it a conversational survey: Follow-ups transform a generic survey into a real conversation. That’s the foundation of a conversational survey, and it’s what citizens respond to best today.

Analyze open-ended feedback with AI: Open-ended feedback can seem overwhelming (so much unstructured text!), but there are easy ways to analyze citizen survey responses using AI. Specific’s built-in tools turn long-winded replies into clear, actionable themes, so you don’t just collect feedback—you make it make sense.

Automated follow-ups are still new to many—try generating a survey with these features and see how dynamic and insightful your library research can be!

How to prompt ChatGPT (or GPTs) to generate better survey questions

If you’re brainstorming with ChatGPT, be specific! Here’s a simple baseline prompt:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for citizen survey about library services satisfaction.

But you’ll get even better questions if you give background. Example:

I’m designing a survey for citizens aged 18–70 who use both digital and in-person library services. My goal is to understand satisfaction and ideas for improvement. Suggest 10 open-ended questions.

Next, organize the brainstormed questions by type, using:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Now, focus on topics you care about most—say you want more on technology and accessibility, try:

Generate 10 questions for categories Technology and Accessibility in public libraries.

This iterative prompting gives you a rich set to choose from—and makes survey-building much less overwhelming.

What is a conversational survey?

A conversational survey feels like a chat, not a form—it adapts, asks follow-ups, and keeps citizens engaged like a human would. Instead of static forms, you have a smart virtual interviewer who responds in real time. The experience is more natural (especially on mobile), and citizen feedback is richer as a result.

Here’s a quick comparison:

Why use AI for citizen surveys? Most satisfaction surveys benefit from tailored follow-ups, fewer skipped questions, and deeper context. An AI survey example like those you can quickly make with Specific shows how fast and easy it is to go from idea to insight—no technical skills required. That makes all the difference for busy teams and engaged citizens alike.

Specific offers a best-in-class user experience in conversational surveys; feedback feels natural for citizens and stress-free for survey creators. If you want to see how simple it is to build your own, check out this article on how to create a citizen survey about library satisfaction.

See this library services satisfaction survey example now

Try it yourself and see how effortless it is to uncover actionable insights from citizens using a dynamic, AI-driven approach—fast, conversational, and uniquely tuned to real feedback.