LibQUAL+TM
at the
University of Lethbridge
2005 January 26
L. Jacobs
LibQUAL+TM
at the University of Lethbridge
What is LibQUAL+TM
 Why LibQUAL+TM
 UofL and LibQUAL+TM
 Life after LibQUAL+TM

2005 January 26
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UofL Enrollment Trend
(UofL Facts Book, 2003-2004)
Annual FLE, 1994-95 to 2003-2004
10000
9000
8000
7000
Enrollment
6000
5000
Enrollment
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97*
1997/98*
1998/99*
1999/00
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
Years
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Library trends…in circ, ILL
(UofL Facts Book, 2003-2004)
Circulation & ILL, 1994-95 to 2003-04
200000
180000
160000
Transactions
140000
120000
Circulation Transactions
100000
ILL Transactions
80000
60000
40000
20000
0
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97*
1997/98*
1998/99*
1999/00
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
Years
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Library trends…in reference
(UofL Facts Book, 2003-2004)
Reference Transactions
25000
Reference Transactions
20000
15000
Reference Transactions
10000
5000
0
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97*
1997/98*
1998/99*
1999/00
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
Years
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What is LibQUAL+ TM
“suite of services used to solicit, track,
understand, and act upon users’ opinions
of service quality”
 Provided by Association of Research
Libraries (ARL)

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A suite of Services?

Web-based survey
 22
core questions
 A box




Management of survey data
Results notebook
Raw data
Training on understanding and using results
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What is LibQUAL+ TM

“suite of services used to solicit, track,
understand, and act upon users’ opinions
of service quality”
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Definitions:
Customer Service
All programs, activities, facilities, etc. of an
organization, which have a bearing on
users' experiences during and as a result
of their interactions with the organization.
 Focuses on the users' personal and
emotional reaction to service

http://www.libqual.org/About/FAQ/index.cfm#FAQ25
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Definitions:
Service Quality
the users' assessment of how good/bad,
or pleasant/unpleasant their experiences
are
 the users' subjective evaluation of
“customer service”

http://www.libqual.org/About/FAQ/index.cfm#FAQ25
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The General premise of
LibQUAL+ TM
Perceptions
Service
“… only customers judge quality; all other
judgements are essentially irrelevant”
NOTE: Zeithaml, Parasuraman, and Berry. (1999). Delivering quality service. New York: The Free
Press.
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What is LibQUAL+ TM
Provides a snapshot or discrete
summaries of users' evaluation of their
experiences with the Library
 Focuses on three “dimensions” of library
service:

 Affect
of service
 Library as place
 Information control
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How was LibQUAL+ TM
developed?

ServQUAL (developed by Parasuraman, et.al.)

ARL partnered with Texas A&M University to
develop, test, and refine LibQUAL+TM
 Originally
funded through U.S. Dept. of Education,
Improvement in Post-Secondary Education
 Since August 2003, self-sustaining through ARL
Statistics and Measurements Program
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76 Interviews Conducted
Source: Fred Heath, University of Texas at Austin , presented at La Calidad en las
Bibliotecas Conferencia Palma de Mallorca, January 13-14, 2005






York University
(Canada)
University of Arizona
Arizona State
University of
Connecticut
University of Houston
University of Kansas
2005 January 26





L. Jacobs
University of Minnesota
University of
Pennsylvania
University of
Washington
Smithsonian Institution
Northwestern Medical
14
LoadedPT:P1:01xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.txt,S:\Admin\Colleen\ServQual Interviews\TEXT Only\01xxxxxxxxx.txt (redirected: c:\zz\atlasti\fred
Source: Fred Heath, University of Texas at Austin , presented at La Calidad en las Bibliotecas Conferencia Palma de Mallorca, January 13-14, 2005
2005 January 26
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Source: Fred Heath, University of Texas at Austin , presented at La Calidad en las Bibliotecas Conferencia Palma de Mallorca, January 13-14, 2005
2005 January 26
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13 Libraries
English LibQUAL+™ Version
4000 Respondents
Emergent
2000
QUAL
PURPOSE
Describe library
environment;
build theory of library
service quality from
user perspective
LibQUAL+™
LibQUAL+™ Project
DATA
ANALYSIS
Unstructured interviews
at 8 ARL institutions
Content analysis:
(cards & Atlas TI)
PRODUCT/RESULT
Case studies1
Valid LibQUAL+™ protocol
LibQUAL+™
QUAN Test
instrument
Web-delivered survey
Reliability/validity
analyses: Cronbachs
Alpha, factor analysis,
SEM, descriptive statistics
Scalable process
Enhanced understanding of
user-centered views of service
quality in the library
environment2
QUAL
Refine theory
of service quality
Unstructured interviews at
Health Sciences and the
Smithsonian libraries
Content analysis
Cultural perspective3
QUAL
Refine LibQUAL+™
instrument
E-mail to survey
administrators
Content analysis
Refined survey delivery
process and theory of service
quality4
Reliability/validity analyses
including Cronbachs Alpha,
factor analysis, SEM,
descriptive statistics
Refined LibQUAL+™
instrument5
LibQUAL+™
QUAN Test
instrument
Web-delivered survey
QUAL
Focus groups
Refine theory
Content analysis
Iterative
Vignette
Re-tooling
2004
Local contextual
understanding of
LibQUAL+™ survey
responses6
315 Libraries English, Dutch, Swedish,
German LibQUAL+™ Versions
160,000 anticipated respondents
Source: Fred Heath, University of Texas at Austin , presented at La Calidad en las Bibliotecas Conferencia Palma de Mallorca, January 13-14, 2005
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Library
Service
Quality
Affect of Service
Reliability
Empathy
Responsiveness
Comprehensive
Collections
Assurance
Ubiquity and Ease
of Access
Self-reliance
?
Library as Place
Formats
Utilitarian space
Timely access to
resources
Symbol
Physical location
Refuge
Figure 1: Dimensions of Library Service Quality
Source: Colleen Cook & Bruce Thomspson, Presented to Library Assessment and Benchmarking Institute SLA/FEDLINK, September 14, 2002
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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
Source: Fred Heath, University of Texas at Austin , presented at La Calidad en las Bibliotecas Conferencia Palma de Mallorca, January 13-14, 2005
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Dimensions of
Library Service Quality
Library
Service
Quality
Information
Control
Affect of Service
Empathy
Scope of Content
Responsiveness
Convenience
Assurance
Reliability
Ease of Navigation
Library as Place
Utilitarian space
Symbol
Timeliness
Equipment
Self-Reliance
Refuge
Model 3
Source: Fred Heath, University of Texas at Austin , presented at La Calidad en las Bibliotecas Conferencia Palma de Mallorca, January 13-14, 2005
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So what is being measured?
Minimum expectation of service
 Desired expectation of service
 Perceived quality of service

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Source: Fred Heath, University of Texas at Austin , presented at La Calidad en las Bibliotecas Conferencia Palma de Mallorca, January 13-14, 2005
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The Gap Analysis …
Source: Colleen Cook and Bruce Thompson, Presented at the LibQUAL+(TM) International Workshop, at The Whitworth Conference Center at the Royal Military College of
Science, Cranfield University, Shrivenham, UK, 1/20/2005 - 1/21/2005.
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Key to the Bar Charts
NOTE: Martha Kyrillidou, “22 items and a box”, A webcast introduction to LibQUAL+TM, January 11, 2005.
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And a Box …
ARL has found:
 About 40% of respondents provide open-ended
comments which can be linked to demographic
data and quantitative data
 Users tend to elaborate on their responses to
the quantitative scales – basis for followup
 Users feel the need to be constructive in their
criticism and provide suggestions for action
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Additional info collected …

Five “local” questions
 Selected
from 108 questions used in previous
years (Document delivery (1), promotion (1),
information literacy (3))
Overall satisfaction questions
 Library usage patterns (i.e., in person, via
website, use of non-library gateways)
 Demographic information (e.g., age, sex,
discipline, constituency group)

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Why LibQUAL+TM … what are
we trying to accomplish?
Goals of LibQUAL+TM:
 Foster a culture of excellence in providing library
service
 Help libraries better understand user
perceptions of library service quality
 Collect and interpret library user feedback
systematically over time
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Why LibQUAL+TM … what are
we trying to accomplish?
Goals of LibQUAL+TM (cont’d):
 Provide libraries with comparable assessment
information from peer institutions
 Identify best practices in library service
 Enhance library staff members’ analytical skills
for interpreting and acting on data
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Benefit to ANY Library …

Assess whether we are meeting user
expectations … identify:
 what
are we doing well; what can we improve on
 what we need to focus on fixing
 what we need to learn more about re: expectations

Compare our performance to other libraries (i.e.,
establish best practices)
 Identify
new services and how we might improve
existing services
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Benefit to THIS Library …
Establish a baseline assessment of users’
perceptions of our services
 Provide direction about where to focus our
efforts and resources
 Provide a foundation for developing
performance indicators for library services
 ?????

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UofL and LibQUAL+TM
WHO?
 Focus on university population
 All
faculty
 All graduate students
 Sample of undergraduate students
(1500/~7500 or ~20%)
 All staff
 All library staff
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UofL and LibQUAL+TM
WHEN?
 Survey will run from February 28 to March
19
 Letter of invitation from University
Librarian (Feb.28)
 Weekly followup reminders
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UofL and LibQUAL+TM …
Promotion (PR Committee):
 Posters
 Screensavers
 The Melorist - Three Lines Free
 The Legend
 Website (under construction)
 Incentive (five $100 UofL Bookstore certificates)
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UofL and LibQUAL+TM …
TIMELINE:









2004 Sep: register
2004 Oct: cleared by HSRC
2004 Nov: UofL Branding
2004 Dec – 2005 Jan: customization & testing; sampling
2005 Feb-Mar: run survey
2005 Apr-Jun: raw data; incentive awards
2005 May: analysis (ARL)
2005 Jun: receive results notebook
2005 July and onwards: followup
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Life after LibQUAL+TM?
In the short term …
What we learn will determine how we
proceed …
 Focus
groups?
 Targeted surveys?
 Outcomes assessment?
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Life after LibQUAL+TM?
In the long term …
 LibQUAL+TM is rarely (if ever) a one-shot deal
for libraries. How do you know if you have
improved if you don’t continue to measure?
 Recommended MINIMUM frequency for
repeating LibQUAL+TM is 3 years … if you want
to stay ahead of evolving user needs (Colleen Cook,
Boston, 2005-01-17)
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If there are questions …
your own or from a user
UofL website: www.uleth.ca/lib/libqual.asp
 LibQUAL+TM project website:
www.libqual.org
 email: libqual.library@uleth.ca
 phone: 329-2008
 office: L1140

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