LibQUAL

1
LibQUAL Introduction

• Thessaloniki, Greece
• June, 2005
• Presented by
• Bruce Thompson

2
Total Circulation
Note. M. Kyrillidou and M. Young. (2003). ARL
Statistics 2002-03. Washington, D.C. ARL, p.8.
3
Reference Transactions
Note. M. Kyrillidou and M. Young. (2003). ARL
Statistics 2002-03. Washington, D.C. ARL, p.8.
4
Assessment

• The difficulty lies in trying to find a single
  model or set of simple indicators that can be
  used by different institutions, and that will
  compare something across large groups that is by
  definition only locally applicablei.e., how well
  a library meets the needs of its institution.
  Librarians have either made do with
  oversimplified national data or have undertaken
  customized local evaluations of effectiveness,
  but there has not been devised an effective way
  to link the two.
• Sarah Pritchard, Library Trends, 1996

5
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

6
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

7
Multiple Methodsof Listening to Customers

• Transactional surveys
• Mystery shopping
• New, declining, and lost-customer surveys
• Focus group interviews
• Customer advisory panels
• Service reviews
• Customer complaint, comment, and inquiry capture
• Total market surveys
• Employee field reporting
• Employee surveys
• Service operating data capture
• A SERVQUAL-type instrument is most suitable for
  these methods

Note. A. Parasuraman. The SERVQUAL Model Its
Evolution And Current Status. (2000). Paper
presented at ARL Symposium on Measuring Service
Quality, Washington, D.C.
8
The LibQUAL Premise
PERCEPTIONS SERVICE

• .only customers judge quality
• all other judgments are essentially
• irrelevant

Note. Zeithaml, Parasuraman, Berry. (1999).
Delivering quality service. NY The Free Press.
9
Extended GAPS Model
Organizational Barriers to SQ
Customers Assessment of SQ
GAP 1
GAP 2
GAP 5
GAP 3
GAP 4
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(No Transcript)
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22 items
2000 2001 2002 2003
41-items 56-items 25-items 22-items
Affect of Service Affect of Service Service Affect Service Affect
Reliability Library as Place Library as Place Library as Place
Library as Place Reliability Personal Control Information Control
Provision of Physical Collections Self-Reliance Information Access
Access to Information Access to Information
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Survey Structure Page 2(Detail View)
13
Colleges and Universities
14
Colleges and Universities
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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

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

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LibQUAL Participants
17
World LibQUAL Survey
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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
• Gap Theory/Radargraph Introduction
  http//www.libqual.org/Information/Tools/libqual
  presentation.cfm
• LibQUAL Procedures Manual http//www.libqual.o
  rg/Information/Manual/index.cfm

19
LibQUAL ContactInformation

• Martha Kyrillidou
• Director, ARL Statistics and Measurement
• martha_at_arl.org
• Amy Hoseth
• LibQUAL Communications Coordinator
• amyh_at_arl.org
• Jonathan D. Sousa
• Technical Applications Development Manager
• jonathan_at_arl.org
• Richard Groves
• Statistics and Measurement Research Assistant
• richard_at_arl.org