One-off or short-term consultations can be useful when you have a particular proposal or planning issue that you would like young people to comment on. Perhaps you need to know what your new Young Adult area should be called or maybe you would like young people's advice about how to attract their peers to the library.

In this section you will learn about the pros and cons of different one-off methods of consulting with young people.

Some methods for conducting consultations are:

Focus groups
Questionnaires
Interviews
Suggestion boxes
Competitions
Web surveys and discussion groups
Large scale events

Focus groups

A focus group is when you invite a group of young people to have a discussion about specific issues and record their ideas. It will usually involve a facilitator asking questions, managing group dynamics and making notes.

Useful for:

General discussions about how libraries could be improved
Collecting and testing out ideas before submitting funding bids
Testing out ideas for activities or library re-development
Collecting detailed ideas from young people

Which young people you want to invite to your focus group
What the young people may gain from being involved
How you are going to make your focus group interesting and enjoyable
What the boundaries are and how you are going to present this to young people e.g. you might not be able to afford to act on all of their ideas

The Reading Agency used a focus group to find out what young people thought about libraries as part of its response to Youth Matters

these guidelines for conducting a focus group. Also the focus group plan in the Involving and Consulting section of the TRF Resource Library.

Questionnaires

Questionnaires are an easy way to collect the opinions of young people. They can be distributed in libraries or through schools and youth groups in order to provide feedback on a variety of library issues.

Questionnaires are useful for:

Getting a wide range of opinions
Collecting statistics e.g. 70% of young people think that libraries should open on Sundays

Making your language simple and clear
Asking open, neutral questions rather than leading, closed questions
How you will collect information from young people who have English as a second language and those with low literacy levels

Cambridgeshire used a survey to determine which magazines young people would like libraries to stock.

Guidelines for using questionnaires and the sample questionnaire in the Involving and Consulting section of the TRF Resource Library.

Interviews

Individual young people can be interviewed to get their ideas about library services either in planned way or on an ad hoc basis.

Useful for:

Getting in depth answers to questions
Working with socially excluded young people or those who have difficulties with group working or reading
Building good relationships with young people

How representative the young people are of the wider community
How you can phrase questions so that you're not leading their responses

Derbyshire used this method for getting ideas for the website www.whatareyouuptotonight.com (launches new website)

Suggestion boxes

Suggestion boxes can be placed on the library counter alongside suggestions slips which young people can fill in.

Useful for:

Collecting suggestions on a specific issue e.g. which graphic novels young people would like the library to stock
Voting e.g. for the best book of the year
Allowing young people to make general suggestions to library staff on an ongoing basis

Whether this method is giving you a wide enough range of opinions as it can only be accessed by library users

Changing the theme of the box regularly to keep young people interested
How you can encourage young people to make their suggestions - eg: by offering a monthly prize draw as an incentive

Gloucestershire use Suggestion Boxes to collect ideas for CDs in the Music Libraries in Cheltenham and Gloucester

Competitions

Competitions to design logos and slogans can be a simple way to get young people involved in shaping library services, although their scope is very limited as often only one idea can be used.

Useful for:

Designing logos and posters
Coming up with names and slogans

Whether you should test out your chosen image or wording with other young people - it might just appeal.

Web surveys and discussion groups

Websites can be used for posting information about library plans and posing questions for immediate debate and discussion to young people.

Useful for:

Consultations which involve a lot of visual content e.g. designs for websites and posters, decorating schemes for libraries
Reaching a wider audience than paper surveys and focus groups
Getting immediate feedback

How you are going to publicise your website or survey
How you will moderate the site so that you can make sure it's used for the appropriate purpose
Involving young people in the initial design of the website

Large scale events

If a focus group doesn't seem to encompass enough young people for your purpose, you might consider a large-scale event in which there are several focus groups taking place alongside other activities, perhaps supplemented by questionnaires

Useful for:

Engaging large numbers of young people who may be recruited for future projects or committees
Getting detailed feedback on a range of issues
Providing a fun opportunity for schools and youth groups

The cost implications of such a large event. You might need a number of facilitators, a large venue and a range of fun workshops or activities
How you will attract large numbers to attend - eg: by having a slam poet in attendance

Have a look too at these tips for involving young people

Next section: Short-term projects