Initial LibQual+ 2011 Results
What is LibQual+?
 Service quality survey administered by the
Association of Research Libraries
 Helps libraries better understand user perceptions of
library service quality
 Provides libraries with comparable assessment
information from peer institutions
What does it do?
3 categories/dimensions
1. Library as place: issues relating to facilities
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A comfortable and inviting location
2. Information control: library collections, access to
resources
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A library web site enabling me to locate information on my own
Easy-to-use access tools that allow me to find things on my own
3. Affect of service: relating to library staff and services
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Employees who are consistently courteous
Dependability in handling users’ service problems
OSUL Goals
 Help the library better understand how the OSU
community evaluates and perceives library services
 Allow OSU Libraries to benchmark the results of the
LibQual+ survey against other research libraries to
determine best practices
 Identify the areas that need improvement and where
to concentrate service improvements for OSU
Libraries’ users
About LibQual+ Lite
 Regular LibQual+ has 22 core questions
 The Lite protocol allows:
 Data are collected on all questions
 Each user answers 3 questions, the rest are randomized (for a
total of 8 core questions)
 Shorter response time
 OSUL implemented LibQual+ Lite in February 2011
 Slogan “10 minutes to a better library”
 Sample: 25% of the undergraduate, graduate, faculty
Responses and Demographics
 529 total responses
 Library you use most
250 Undergraduates
118 Graduates
100 Faculty
30 Library Staff
31 Staff
often:
 Comparison to previous
 Gender
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LibQual+ surveys
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2003 responses: 185
2001 responses: 329
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Valley = 478
Guin = 6
OSU Cascades = 12
Ecampus/Remote = 29
Female = 307
Male = 222
Responses by College
 College of Engineering = 94
 College of Science = 89
 College of Health and Human Sciences = 63
 College of Agriculture Sciences = 41
 CLA – Social Sciences = 35
 Other = 29
 CLA – Humanities = 25
 College of Business = 24
Responses by College
 College of Forestry = 19
 College of Education = 17
 College of Pharmacy = 9
 CLA – Performing & Fine Arts = 7
 COAS = 6
 College of Vet Med = 5
 Undecided = 5
Results
Overall Results
 Questions where there is a large gap between perceived
and desired expectations
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Employees who instill confidence in users
Making electronic resources accessible from my home or office
A library web site enabling me to locate information on my own
The electronic information resources I need
Easy-to-use access tools that allow me to find things on my own
Making information easily accessible for independent use
Print and/or electronic journal collections I require for my work
Quiet space for individual activities
Graduate Students and Faculty Results
Areas where perceived service performance is
less then minimum service level
 Noted by Graduate Students and Faculty
 Making electronic resources available from my home or office
 The electronic information resources I need
 Print and/or electronic journal collections I require for my
work
 Resources added to library collections on request
 Ability to navigate library web pages easily
Comments
 212 total comments
 86 Undergraduate comments
 Space
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Service/interactions with staff
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I like to study in the 4th and 5th floor rotundas because of the
open tables, natural light, and quiet. I don't really like the closedin feeling of the "study cubbies”
I really like the service by the employees.
Noise
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It would be nice to have certain areas downstairs be low noise
levels.
Undergraduate Comments, cont.
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Collections
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Website/Search
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Wish staff would regulate how long people have been on the
computers because often times there are never any available.
Cell Phones
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The only suggestion I have is that the access to online materials
through databases is less confusing.
Computers
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Would like to see more exposure for journals relating to common
majors such as a journal on biology
It would be nice if cell phone conversations in the quiet areas of the
library were limited - sometimes they carry on too long.
Study Rooms

People can get really loud in their study room without realizing the
people in the other study room near them can hear the noise and it
can be very distracting.
Graduate Comments
 64 comments
 Main themes:
 Need for immediate access to articles
 Need for quiet study spaces
 Subthemes:
 More books (or ebooks) in specific disciplines
 Information control – not being able to find a specific journal
or item in the catalog; confusing search interfaces
 Better signage needed
 More e-scanners
Faculty Comments
 41 Faculty comments
 Collections not meeting need, especially online
 Appreciation for library service/staff
 Appreciation for ILL and Scan & Deliver service
 Challenges in searching/using website
Next Steps
 Analyzing results by discipline/college
 Comparing OSUL results to peer institutions
 Creating a 1-2 page overview of results for wider
distribution
 Looking at small scale changes in response to
results/comments