LibQUAL Origins, Design, Interpretation

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LibQUALOrigins, Design, Interpretation

• La Calidad en las Bibliotecas
• Conferencia
• Palma de Mallorca
• 13-14 January 2005
• Fred Heath
• Vice Provost and Director, University of Texas
  Libraries

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Why Assessment?

• In an age of accountability, there is a pressing
  need for an effectiveprocess to evaluate and
  compare research libraries.
• 124 Association of Research Libraries (ARL)
  alone, over 3.2 billion dollars were expended in
  2000/2001
• 500 LibQUAL participants in Lib QUAL

Note. M. Kyrillidou and M. Young. (2002). ARL
Statistics 2000-01. Washington, D.C. ARL, p.5.
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The Challenge of Assessmentin Libraries

• Traditional statistics emphasize inputs,
  expenditures, acquisitions, holdings, etc.
• Help funding agencies understand success of their
  investments
• No demonstrable relationship between expenditures
  and service qualityspending money is not
  enough.
• Lack of metrics describing outcomes how can we
  measure success from the users point of view
• Need to redesign library services to better meet
  changing patterns of use

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Libraries Remain a Credible Resource in 21st
Century

98 agree with statement, My library contains
information from credible and known sources.
Note. Digital Library Federation and Council on
Library and Information Resources. (2002).
Dimensions and Use of the Scholarly Information
Environment.
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Changing Behaviors

Recent Survey Only 15.7 agreed with the
statement The Internet has not changed the way I
use the library.
Note. Digital Library Federation and Council on
Library and Information Resources. (2002).
Dimensions and Use of the Scholarly Information
Environment.
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Library Use SummaryLibQUAL Spring 2003 Survey
UT Austin Aggregate
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Library Use SummaryLibQUAL Spring 2003 Survey
UT Austin Aggregate
Googleization
Users and funders alike can begin to wonder about
the relevance of libraries
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everyone in class tried to get those articles
on line and some people didnt even bother to to
to the stacks when they couldnt Google them.
Graduate
Student
NYT Online 6/21/04
(Katie Hafner, Old search engine in
the
the library
tries to fit into a Google world)
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Facilities Usage University of TexasEntrance
Statistics - UT Austin Libraries 1991-2003
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Printed Book Circulation All ARL Libraries
Note. M. Kyrillidou and M. Young. (2002). ARL
Statistics 2000-01. Washington, D.C. ARL, p.7.
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Research Behavior Personal Control

When searching for print journals for research

• Only 13.9 ask a librarian for assistance
• Only 3.2 consider consulting a librarian a
  preferred way of identifying information

Note. Digital Library Federation and Council on
Library and Information Resources. (2002).
Dimensions and Use of the Scholarly Information
Environment.
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Reference Decrease All ARL Libraries
Web-savvy users wish to be able to negotiate the
information labyrinth on their own terms
Note. M. Kyrillidou and M. Young. (2002). ARL
Statistics 2000-01. Washington, D.C. ARL, p.7.
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Searches for Online Journals University of
TexasUT Austin Libraries 2002-2004 Monthly
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Web Usage University of TexasTotal File
Requests - UT Austin Libraries 2000-2003
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Enter LibQUAL A response to

• The necessity of assessment
• Rapid shifts in information-seeking behavior
• The reallocation of resources from traditional
  services into technology-enabled inquiry

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LibQUAL Goals

• Improve mechanisms and protocols for evaluating
  libraries
• Develop web-based tools for assessing library
  service quality
• Identify best practices in providing library
  service
• Support libraries seeking to understand changes
  in user behavior
• Assist libraries seeking to re-position library
  services in the new environment

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LibQUAL Outcomes

• Securing information that contributes
  meaningfully to planning and improvement efforts
  at a local level
• Providing analytical frameworks that
  institutional staff can apply without extensive
  training or assistance
• Helping decision-makers understand success of
  investments
• Finding useful inter-institutional comparisons

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76 Interviews Conducted

• York University (Canada)
• University of Arizona
• Arizona State
• University of Connecticut
• University of Houston
• University of Kansas

• University of Minnesota
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Washington
• Smithsonian Institution
• Northwestern Medical

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Atlas Ti
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LibQUAL Participants
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Validity Correlations
Validity Correlations
Serv_Aff Info_Con LibPlace TOTALper Serv_Aff 1.
0000 .7113 .5913 .9061 Info_Con .7113 1.0000
.6495 .9029 LibPlace .5913 .6495 1.0000 .8
053 TOTALper .9061 .9029 .8053 1.0000 ESAT_TO
T .7286 .6761 .5521 .7587 EOUT_TOT .5315 .6
155 .4917 .6250  
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alpha By Language
By Language Service Info. Lib as Group n
Affect Control Place TOTAL American
(all) 59,318 .95 .91 .88 .96 British (all)
6,773 .93 .87 .81 .94 French (all)
172 .95 .90 .89 .95
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Survey Structure Page 2
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And a Box

• Why the Box is so Important
• About 40 of participants provide open-ended
  comments, and these are linked to demographics
  and quantitative data.
• Users elaborate the details of their concerns.
• Users feel the need to be constructive in their
  criticisms, and offer specific suggestions for
  action.

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Rapid Growth in Other Areas

• Languages
• American English
• British English
• French
• Dutch
• Swedish
• Consortia
• Each may create 5 local questions to add to their
  survey

• 3. Types of Institutions
• Academic Health Sciences
• Academic Law
• Academic Military
• College or University
• Community College
• European Business
• Hospital
• Public
• State
• 4. Countries
• Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden,
  France, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, U.K.,
  U.S.

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Understanding LibQUAL Results

• Measures the distance between minimally
  acceptable and desired service quality ratings
• Perception ratings ideally fall within the Zone
  of Tolerance

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LibQUAL Survey Tool

• Conducted at UT Austin in 2001, 2002 and 2003,
  2004
• Web-based survey sent to 1200 faculty,
  1200 graduate students and 1800 undergraduates
• Participants selected randomly from
• University email databases
• 22 questions measuring users perceptions of
  library service quality

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LibQUAL 2004 Summary Colleges or Universities
Faculty - American English
Question view
Dimension view
(n 11,755)
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Key to Radar Charts
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Key to Bar Charts
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LibQUAL 2004 Summary Colleges or Universities
Faculty - American English
Negative gap
Positive gap
(n 11,755)
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Institutional Norms for PerceivedMeans on 22
Core Questions
Note Thompson, B. LibQUAL? Spring 2002 Selected
Norms, (2002).
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Access to Information by StatusLibQUAL Spring
2003 Survey UT Austin
Faculty at Texas less approving of collection
quality than students
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Library as Place by StatusLibQUAL Spring 2003
Survey UT Austin
Students rate Library as Place more
disapprovingly than Faculty (size of gap)
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Four Dimensions Social Science
PsychologyLibQUAL Spring 2003 Survey UT Austin
Our Psychology faculty do not rate their access
to needed collections approvingly
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Trends Access to Information by Status
Look for steadily improving trajectories
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LibQUAL Interactive Institutional Statistics
Your peer list of institutions
Master List
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The very act of administering LibQUAL is
beneficial
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LibQUAL Resources

• LibQUAL Website http//www.libqual.org
• Publications http//www.libqual.org/publication
  s
• Events and Training http//www.libqual.org/even
  ts
• LibQUAL Bibliography http//www.coe.tamu.edu/
  bthompson/servqbib
• LibQUAL Procedures Manual http//www.libqual.o
  rg/Information/Manual/index.cfm

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LibQUAL Contact Information

• Martha Kyrillidou
• Senior Program for Office of Statistics and
  Measurement
• martha_at_arl.org
• Consuella Askew
• LibQUAL Program Specialist
• consuella_at_arl.org
• Amy Hoseth
• LibQUAL Project Assistant
• amyh_at_arl.org
• Jonathan D. Sousa
• Technical Applications Development Manager
• jonathan_at_arl.org

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This presentation available at http//webspace.ut
exas.edu/fh355/www
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Core Questions SummaryLibQUAL Spring 2003
Survey ARL Faculty
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UT Austin vs. PeersLibQUAL Spring 2003 Survey
UT Austin