Home⇛PAARL Research Journal⇛vol. 11 no. 1 (2025)

What People Are Saying About City Libraries in Metro Manila: Insights from Google Maps Reviews

Luis Ezra D. Cruz | Agnes S. Barsaga

Discipline: library and information science

 

Abstract:

Public libraries play a central role in fostering equitable access to information, lifelong learning, and social inclusion within their communities. Evaluating how effectively these libraries fulfill these roles is essential for ensuring that services remain responsive to user needs. While traditional assessment tools, such as surveys and usage statistics, provide valuable quantitative insights, they often overlook the spontaneous and candid perspectives that reflect genuine user experiences. This study examines the potential of online review platforms, specifically Google Maps, as alternative sources of user feedback for evaluating public library services. The research focused on city libraries in Metro Manila, Philippines and employed qualitative content analysis and sentiment analysis of user-generated reviews. Nine city libraries with sufficient reviews within the predetermined date range were analyzed using Taguette for thematic coding and TextBlob for sentiment classification. Findings revealed six recurring themes: service quality, collections, facilities, accessibility, programs, and technology. Service quality and facilities emerged as the most frequently mentioned areas. Overall sentiment toward Metro Manila city libraries was largely positive, with users highlighting courteous staff and well-maintained facilities. However, concerns were raised about inconsistent operating hours, limited technological infrastructure, and outdated online information. The study shows that online reviews provide valuable and timely insights into user experiences and expectations, complementing formal evaluation mechanisms. It recommends that city libraries in Metro Manila adopt systematic monitoring of online feedback, strengthen their digital presence, and address operational and infrastructural gaps to improve user satisfaction.



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