A total of 31 participants attended the second course of the summer school. At the end of the week, everyone received a questionnaire. 28 questionnaires were returned. Participants spent a considerable amount of time on the evaluation. A lot of suggestions and comments were given, which were all very valuable for Ticer. We would like to express our gratitude for that!
The second course of the Eight International Summer School on the Digital Library was a success. 86% of the participants indicated they would recommend the summer school to colleagues in the field, 77% said the summer school was worth its money and 93% indicated that they will use what they learned in practice.
- "Overall an excellent course - very good speakers, well presented and lots of opportunity to discuss both in small groups and in the larger group".
- "It came at just the right time for me, as I am I in the early stages of some reorganisation".
- "It was very useful for the changes I want to implement. For that "I picked my pieces" of the programme".
- "The programme was great. I have learned so much from both presentations and colleagues. Thank you".
- "Very worthwhile".
- "Thank you for an excellent summer school. The participant peer group game added value through their experience, expertise and friendship".
- "It was an excellent course, time very well spent for me. The range and variety of material kept everyone very focused and enthusiastic".
- "The summer school was excellent. The programme sessions, coupled with the shared experience & expertise of the participants, gave me many new and useful ideas and practical advice".
- "An excellent course that covered the theory and practice of change management. Learning through discussions, case studies and fun exercises".
All participants (except one) could discover the structure in the programme. 65% of the participants thought the programme was not overfull and people were confident about the opportunity for discussion. An imaginary case study was used throughout the programme to put the knowledge gained in practice. This case study approach was thought very useful by 89% of the participants. General suggestion on the programme was to pay more attention to case studies from libraries outside the United Kingdom. Some remarks on the case study group work:
- "Very good, also the amount, times you could work together."
- "Very interesting and much to learn from. Challenging. Fun. Engaging."
- "Very good, nice discussions, interesting work. It was inspiring to discuss the case-studies and the group grew more a team during the course. That is an aspect I liked about it consisting of the same people during these 3 days."
- "Valuable opportunity to share experience with colleagues from different countries and cultures."
- "Very interesting and the best part of the course."
In the evaluation, participants could rate a programme item 'extremely good', 'good', 'neutral', 'bad' or 'extremely bad'. With their ratings, we calculated a score from 0 to 5, with 5 being the maximum score. The average score was 4.3.
The following lectures were rated as the best. For privacy reasons, the lecturers are indicated by numbers which correspond with the numbers in the syllabus given to all participants and lecturers.
| Syllabus number | Score | Comments |
| 2 | 4.8 | inspirational |
| 9 | 4.6 | very helpful |
| 6 | 4.3 | it was like looking in a mirror |
| 5 | 4.3 | no comments |
37% of the participants indicated that a colleague attended the summer school in one of the previous years. 22% received a paper brochure on the summer school via direct mail. Communication between Ticer and the participants was considered 'very good' to 'good' by 92% of the participants. The combination of e-mail and Ticer's web site to keep participants informed was considered 'very adequate' to 'adequate' by 93% of the participants.
Only 31% of the participants used the Tilburg University facilities to read their mail almost every day. Most of these participants agreed that they had plenty of opportunity to read their mail and found the computer facilities at the university 'excellent' or 'good'. Many people indicated that they didn't use the e-mail facilities on purpose to concentrate on the course and to meet other participants and lecturers.
The quality of dinners and lunches was considered 'good' by the majority of the participants. The duration of the lunch breaks were concidered 'very good' to 'good' by almost everyone.
Of the 28 people who filled out the questionnaire, 23 stayed in a hotel near Tilburg University. Participants were very pleased with this hotel. The price quality ratio was considered 'perfect' or 'good', they thought the hotel was situated in a quiet neighbourhood and nobody would rather stay in a hotel in the city centre next time. Everybody would like to stay in this hotel next time again.
Two people stayed in another hotel. The price quality ratio of this hotel was considered 'good' but both of them indicated they would not stay there again a next time and prefer the hotel near Tilburg University.
