Understand Your Library Visitors & Members.
Grow Your Impact.

Large-scale audience research trusted by 1,300+ library locations across Europe. Understand your visitors and members in depth and benchmark your results against peers. Supported by 7 universities.

Scientific, accessible and affordable audience research for public libraries.

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1,300+ LIBRARIES
250,000+ RESPONDENTS
7 UNIVERSITIES
Personalised SURVEY
Benchmarking

Academic partners

University of Antwerp
Université de Bordeaux
Universitat de València
Universität Hildesheim
University of Groningen
Ca' Foscari University of Venice
FH Kufstein Tirol

Join 1,300+ library locations using Europe's leading audience research.

Sentobib is a large-scale independent audience study designed specifically for public libraries. It is a widely adopted international research programme, now available as a permanent instrument that libraries can deploy as needed or on a regular basis.

Sentobib enables public libraries of all sizes and types to collect in-depth, actionable insights about their visitors, members, lapsed members and non-visitors, through dynamic, multilingual surveys. The study combines methodological rigour and scientific foundation with practical usability, allowing libraries to conduct professional audience research in an accessible way.

Sentobib offers a wide range of insights — from visitor and member satisfaction and experience evaluation to impact on wellbeing, Net Promoter Score (NPS), visit motivations, audience profiles, and non-visitor research.

The study is based on a standard questionnaire, allowing benchmarking with comparable libraries and cross-library learning. Your library’s data and results are confidential and shared only with you — benchmarking is based on anonymised data.

The study is suited for the smallest to the largest public libraries, regardless of their type of offer, structure or location. Already over 1,300 library locations across Europe have successfully participated in this study.

Register your library for the Sentobib audience study.

Young boy engaging with a library exhibit
Children exploring a library
Friends visiting a library together
Library visitors viewing artworks
How libraries rate Sentobib
4.4/ 5overall
Quality of the questionnaire
4.5
Ease of use
4.3
Dashboard & insights
4.6
Support & guidance
4.4
Feasibility & workload
4.1
Value for investment
4.4
Based on verified ratings from participating libraries

Sentobib in 3 minutes

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Participation costs

Accessible and affordable library audience research

After a successful first edition in 2024 with over 1,300 library locations, Sentobib is now available as a permanent instrument. The participation fee is kept as low as possible thanks to the large-scale approach and is based on the number of inhabitants of the municipality where your library is located.

The fee covers the complete research from A to Z. You can choose to split the invoice across two financial years. Groups receive reduced fees.

Feature Member Free Pro Add-on Ambassador Premium
Full personalised visitor & member survey ✓ ✓ ✓
Live dynamic dashboard ✓ ✓ ✓
Multilingual (up to 6 languages) ✓ ✓ ✓
Personalised communication materials ✓ ✓ ✓
European benchmarking report + webinar ✓ ✓ ✓
Members, visitors, lapsed members & non-visitors ✓ ✓ ✓
Survey availability year-round year-round year-round
Reporting moments May or Nov May or Nov May or Nov
Extra helpdesk support — ✓ ✓
Trend measurement over time — ✓ ✓
Group participation + group report — ✓ ✓
Individual library research report — — ✓
Benchmarking with peer libraries — — ✓
Executive summary for board — — ✓
Raw data access — — ✓
Short thematic surveys Coming 2026 — ✓ ✓
Dynamic audio interviews Coming 2026 — ✓ ✓
Contact us

Participation fees per library location

Municipality size (inhabitants) Member Free Pro Add-on Ambassador Premium
Up to 10,000 inhabitantsFree€420€840
10,001 – 30,000 inhabitantsFree€580€1160
30,001 – 100,000 inhabitantsFree€750€1500
100,001 – 300,000 inhabitantsFree€920€1840
More than 300,000 inhabitantsFree€1100€2200

Prices per library location per year, based on municipality size, exclusive VAT. Groups and networks receive reduced fees. You can split the invoice across two financial years.

Amounts exclusive of VAT. Groups and multi-location networks receive reduced fees.

Sentobib Member

Complete audience study for your library

Timeline

  • Available year-round
  • Reporting in May or November
  • Can be repeated annually

Survey

  • Access to the Sentobib platform
  • Full personalised survey covering all key topics
  • Personalised interactive dashboard
  • Multilingual questionnaire (up to 6 languages)
  • Clear manuals, roadmap and short videos

Target groups

  • Visitors, members, lapsed members and non-visitors
  • Personal survey link and QR code
  • Personalised communication materials
  • Incentives: 1 m² rainforest preserved + prizes
  • Library logo added to the survey

Results

  • Live dashboard with filters, charts and crosstabs
  • Results confidential to your library

Reporting

  • National and European benchmarking report
  • Webinar with results and insights
Foundation plan — everything you need for a complete audience study.

Sentobib Pro

Everything in Member, plus:

Survey

  • Extra support via helpdesk

Results

  • Trend measurement (comparison over time)

Group participation

  • Registration as a group or network
  • Group-level questions possible
  • Group report available
  • Group structure on the platform
Suitable for libraries that want trend data and for library networks.

Sentobib Ambassador

Everything in Member + Pro, plus:

Timeline

  • Report delivered in June or December

Results

  • Raw data available
  • Additional questionnaire modifications

Reporting and benchmarking

  • Personalised research report
  • Benchmarking with peer libraries, national and international results
  • Executive summary for board or stakeholders

Groups

  • Individual reports per location
  • Additional benchmark with network-wide results
  • Raw data available at group level

Coming 2026

  • Short thematic surveys
  • Dynamic audio interviews
Full option for libraries that need an individual research report with benchmarking.

What libraries say about Sentobib

Viviane Dierickx, Library of Genk

"The study showed the importance and the very positive impact of our library on the well-being of our visitors. This research is a welcome tool to support conversations with our stakeholders with concrete figures."
"The comparison with other libraries was extremely interesting."

Library director, pilot participant

"The report feels valuable from the very first read. It surfaces insights on themes we do not measure ourselves, and the benchmarking gives the results the context we need to act on them."

Stadtbibliothek Dormagen

"The library received an outstanding rating in the international study. The significance of the library for the inhabitants of Dormagen was clearly mapped out."

Library network participant

"The study is rich, engaging, and full of actionable information — especially for a network of libraries that needs shared insights and clear comparisons."

Academic team behind the Sentobib library study

Prof. Dr. Annick Schramme

Prof. Dr. Annick Schramme

Master in Cultural Management, University of Antwerp, Antwerp Management School

Prof. Dr. J.A.C. (Johan) Kolsteeg

Prof. Dr. J.A.C. (Johan) Kolsteeg

Art Sciences, Organisation and Communication in the Arts; Cultural Democracy, University of Groningen

Prof. Dr. Birgit Mandel

Prof. Dr. Birgit Mandel

Audience Development, Cultural Participation, Cultural PR and Marketing, University of Hildesheim

Dr. Raphaëlle Bats

Dr. Raphaëlle Bats

Librarian-Curator, URFIST Bordeaux & Scientific and Technical Information Reference, University of Bordeaux

Prof. Dr. Juliette Passebois-Ducros

Prof. Dr. Juliette Passebois-Ducros

Head of Master's Programme in Marketing Strategy and Communication, University of Bordeaux

Dr. Juan De Dios Montoro Pons

Dr. Juan De Dios Montoro Pons

Associate Professor of Applied Economics, University of Valencia

Prof. (FH) Dr. Verena Teissl

Prof. (FH) Dr. Verena Teissl

Cultural Management and Cultural Studies, Cultural Tourism, Ecosystem of the Cultural Sector, FH Kufstein Tirol

Prof. Dr. Francesco Casarin

Prof. Dr. Francesco Casarin

Professor of Marketing Strategy, Ca' Foscari University of Venice

Giulia Cancellieri

Giulia Cancellieri

Researcher in Economics and Business Management, Ca' Foscari University of Venice

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Sentobib

Sentobib is a large-scale independent audience study designed specifically for public libraries. It enables libraries of all sizes to collect in-depth, actionable insights about their visitors, members, lapsed members and non-visitors through dynamic, multilingual surveys. The study is backed by 7 European universities and has been used by over 1,300 library locations across Europe.

Over 1,300 library locations across Europe participated in the 2024 edition, generating more than 200,000 respondents. The 2024 edition was so successful that Sentobib has been transformed into a permanent instrument, available year-round.

The participation fee is based on the number of inhabitants of the municipality where your library is located. Fees range from €420 to €1,100 per library location per year, exclusive of VAT. The fee covers the complete research from A to Z. Groups and multi-location networks receive reduced fees. You can split the invoice across two financial years.

Sentobib is available year-round. You can survey your visitors and members whenever it suits your library best. You can choose between two reporting moments: May or November.

The study covers visitors and members of your library. If desired, you can also include lapsed members (people who are no longer members) and non-visitors (people who have never visited). The smart survey system automatically identifies these profiles and shows them only the relevant questions.

Sentobib is developed in collaboration with 7 leading European universities: University of Antwerp, Université de Bordeaux, Universitat de València, Universität Hildesheim, University of Groningen, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, and FH Kufstein Tirol.

Each participating library can offer its Sentobib survey in up to 6 languages: Dutch, German, English, French, Spanish and Italian. The questionnaire is fully adapted to the local context and research needs of each library.

For every fully completed Sentobib survey, 1 m² of threatened rainforest is preserved in partnership with World Land Trust. In the 2024 edition alone, over 164,000 m² of natural areas were protected.

Sentobib is currently available for public libraries in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. New countries will be added later in 2026.

Incentives

World Land Trust rainforest partnership

World Land Trust logo

World Land Trust partnership

For every fully completed Sentobib survey, 1 m² of threatened rainforest is preserved in partnership with World Land Trust.

In addition, respondents have a chance of winning attractive prizes, to encourage participation.

Sentobib selects winners automatically and anonymously. There is no extra workload or investment for your library.

Rainforest preserved
85,000m2
and counting
Certificates