A topic of special interest with respect to the goals of the survey was the availability and nature of local/regional support organizations that support Greenstone. All respondents were asked to answer questions regarding their opinions of local or regional needs and awareness. Respondents who indicated that they were aware of a local support organization were asked to assess the services of those organizations; and those who indicated that they were not aware of a local support organization were asked to indicate the ways in which a local support organization might be useful.
Of the 80 people who indicated whether they were aware of a local support organization, 22 (27.5%) indicated that s/he was aware of such an organization. Thirty-eight (47.5%) indicated that there was not such an organization, and 20 (25.0%) that s/he did not know whether or not such an organization existed. Respondents who indicated they knew of a local support organization were presented questions designed to assess the usefulness of several potential service offerings. Respondents who did not know of a local support organization (i.e., selected answer choices “No” or “I don’t know” to the question discussed above) were asked to indicate what services could and should be strengthened through better local support. (See “Local Support Organizations” section below.)
Local Needs and Awareness
Respondents were asked to indicate the level of agreement or disagreement with a series of questions related to local needs and awareness of Greenstone. Overall, answer selections indicate that respondents thought there should be stronger local support. Statements presented and the mean level of agreement with each statement (where 1=”Strongly Agree”; 7=”Strongly Disagree”) are presented in Table 1 below.
Table 1. Respondent perspectives on the adequacy of local needs and awareness. Respondents were asked to indicate his/her level of agreement with a set of four statements related to local support using a seven point answer scale. Answer choices ranged from “Strongly Agree” (1) to “Strongly Disagree” (7).
| Statement | Mean Level of Agreement | Standard Deviation |
| There is adequate awareness of Greenstone software in my country/region. (N=80) | 3.95 | 1.882 |
| There should be more Greenstone training opportunities in my country/region. (N=81) | 2.30 | 1.239 |
| There should be more support for developing Greenstone collections in my country/region. (N=80) | 2.30 | 1.344 |
| There is adequate support for adapting Greenstone to the neds of my country/region. (N=80) | 3.76 | 1.982 |
Local Support Organizations
Services and outcomes that could and should be strengthened through better local support
Respondents not aware of an existing local support organization were asked to indicate which, if any, of a set of potential services/outcomes could and should be strengthened through better local support. Fifty-six participants responded to this question. The table below summarizes the potential services or outcomes and the frequency with which the selection was chosen. The percent of respondents who indicated a service or outcome is based on the 56 who answered this question.
Table 2. Respondent views of how local support services could and should be strengthened. Respondents were asked to select potential services and outcomes that could and should be supported through better local support. Respondents could indicate any number of services/outcomes, and were provided the opportunity to indicate services and outcomes not presented in the list.
| Service Area or Outcome | Frequency | Percent |
| Increase awareness of Greenstone software in my area. | 43 | 76.8% |
| Increase awareness of Greenstone collections in my area. | 37 | 66.1% |
| Influence others in my area to use Greenstone. | 36 | 64.3% |
| Provide fellowship/camaraderie among Greenstone users. | 29 | 51.8% |
| Centralize local Greenstone collection development services. | 18 | 32.1% |
| Assist with local Greenstone collection development tasks. | 32 | 57.1% |
| Adapt other Greenstone functionality to the needs of my area. | 27 | 48.2% |
Two respondents indicated ways in which they thought local Greenstone support should be provided. One suggested local user groups, and another, support for regional/state experts who could share expertise through training seminars and workshops. One person indicated the need to simplify Greenstone installation.
Services and outcomes supported by existing local support organizations.
Respondents who were aware of the existence of a local support organization were asked to assess how useful the organization was with respect to a list of potential services and outcomes. It should be noted that some of the services respondents were asked to assess might not have been applicable in the context of the organization or the respondent. For example, “Support language-specific needs of my area” might not be relevant in an area that is predominantly English-speaking. It should also be noted that the services presented are a list of potential services, and not necessarily services that fall under the mandate of existing local support organizations. Finally, whether the identified support organizations support Greenstone use exclusively, or in addition to any number of other services and software was not asked.
Of the 27 people who indicated knowledge of a local support organization, 18 assessed services provided by the organizations. One person indicated s/he was abstaining from answering because of his/her affiliation with the organization. The service/outcome areas asked about and level of usefulness rating frequencies are presented in Table 3 below.
Table 3. Services and outcomes supported by local support organizations. Frequencies of the number of respondents who indicated the level of usefulness of select service areas and potential support outcomes are indicated in the table.
| Level of Usefulness | |||||
| Service Area or Outcome | Very Useful | Useful | Somewhat Useful | Not Useful or Not Existent | No Answer |
| Increase awareness of Greenstone software in my area. | 5 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Increase awareness of Greenstone collections in my area. | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Influence others in my area to use Greenstone. | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Provide fellowship/camaraderie among Greenstone users. | 1 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| Centralize local Greenstone collection development services. | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Assist with local Greenstone collection development tasks. | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Support language-specific needs in my area. | 7 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Adapt other Greenstone functionality to the needs of my area. | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Greenstone User and Developer Survey 2009 