LibQUAL+™ old.libqual.org An Introduction to LibQUAL+ Selena Killick Cranfield University Presented at the Aslib Engineering Group AGM 17th January 2008 Imperial College of Science and Technology, London

LibQUAL+™ old.libqual.org LibQUAL+ Premise; Dimensions and Methodology

old.libqual.org The need for LibQUAL+ Underlying need to demonstrate our worth The reallocation of resources from traditional services and functions Rapid shifts in information-seeking behavior Need to keep abreast of customer demands Increasing user demands 37% of UK 16 – 18 year olds expect better libraries in return for their top-up fees

old.libqual.org The LibQUAL+ Premise “….only customers judge quality; all other judgments are essentially irrelevant” PERCEPTIONS SERVICE Note. Zeithaml, Parasuraman, Berry. (1999). Delivering quality service. NY: The Free Press.

old.libqual.org LibQUAL+ Development An ARL/Texas A&M University joint developmental effort based on SERVQUAL. LibQUAL+ initially supported by a 3-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) Initial project established an expert team, re- grounded SERVQUAL concepts, and designed survey methodology Survey conducted at over 700 libraries resulting in a data base of over half a million user responses

old.libqual.org 76 Interviews Conducted York University University of Arizona Arizona State University of Connecticut University of Houston University of Kansas University of Minnesota University of Pennsylvania University of Washington Smithsonian Northwestern Medical

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Dimensions of Library Service Quality Information Control Library Service Quality Self-Reliance Equipment Timeliness Ease of Navigation Convenience Scope of Content Affect of Service Library as Place Reliability Assurance Responsiveness Empathy Refuge Symbol Utilitarian Space

old.libqual.org Rapid Growth in Other Areas Languages American English British English French Dutch Swedish In development Chinese Greek Spanish German 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

old.libqual.org LibQUAL+ Languages Over 700 institutions 1,000,000 respondents

old.libqual.org LibQUAL+ and SCONUL Coordinated on behalf of the Society of College, National & University Libraries (SCONUL) Working Group on Performance Improvement (WGPI) UK Higher Education (HE) institutions agree to pilot the survey in a consortium of SCONUL Members Pilot seen as a success Consortium of SCONUL Libraries has participated in LibQUAL+ annually since Different institutions in 6 years

old.libqual.org Consortium of Research Libraries (CURL) University of Aberdeen University of Birmingham University of Bristol British Library Cambridge University Cardiff University Durham University Edinburgh University Glasgow University Imperial College London University of Manchester King's College London Leeds University University of Liverpool University of London The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) National Library of Scotland National Library of Wales Newcastle University University of Nottingham University of Oxford School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of Sheffield University of Southampton Trinity College Dublin UCL V&A Museum University of Warwick Wellcome Library

Aslib Participants – 69 Corporate Members Ashridge Management College Bath University Library Brunel University Cambridge University Library City University Cranfield University De Montfort University Denver University European Parliament Exeter University Glasgow University Library Helsinki University Of Technology Leeds Metropolitan University Liverpool John Moores University London Business School Library London Metropolitan University London South Bank University Loughborough University Louisiana State University McGill University Libraries Napier University Nottingham Trent University Ohio State University Libraries Oxford University Library Penn State University Queen Margaret University College Queen Mary, University of London Robert Gordon University Royal Holloway University of London Rutgers University Syracuse University Trinity College Library Dublin University College Cork University College London University of Alberta Library University of Birmingham University of British Columbia University of California University of Central Lancashire University of Chicago Library University of East London University of Hawaii Library University of Hong Kong Library University of Illinois University of Iowa Libraries University of Limerick University of Lincoln University of Manchester University of Maryland University of Minnesota University of Pittsburgh University of Rhode Island Library University of Sheffield University of Strathclyde University of Technology, Sydney University of Tennessee Library University of Texas University of the Free State University of the West Indies University of the West of England, Bristoll University of Toronto University of Ulster University of Wales, Aberystwyth University of Warwick University of Washington Library University of Western Ontario University of Westminster Wageningen University and Research Centre Washington State University Library

LibQUAL+™ old.libqual.org The LibQUAL+ Questionnaire

old.libqual.org How It Works Register with ARL (2008 cost $3,000) Institutional contact sets survey to local needs Local Questions Disciplines Send out a URL to the survey via Mounted on ARL servers Watch the surveys come in Close the survey when ready, institutional results available after a couple of weeks PDF SPSS Excel

old.libqual.org Survey Instrument 22 core questions

old.libqual.org Five Local Questions Participants can choose 5 questions to add to their survey from a range of over 100 Helping participants focus on local issues Maintaining standardisation for benchmarking purposes

old.libqual.org Free-Text Comments Box 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 Available in real-time enabling prompt responses to concerns

old.libqual.org Demographics User group, Discipline, Age, Sex, Gender Attached to SPSS and Excel results Enabling detailed further analysis

LibQUAL+™ old.libqual.org LibQUAL+ Results

old.libqual.org Understanding LibQUAL+ Results For the 22 items LibQUAL+ asks users’ to rate their: Minimum service level Desired service level Perceived service performance This gives us a ‘Zone of Tolerance’ for each question; the distance between minimally acceptable and desired service ratings Perception ratings ideally fall within the Zone of Tolerance

old.libqual.org Perceived is greater than desired Perceived is greater than minimum, less than desired Perceived is less than minimum Minimum Desired Perceived Gap Theory

old.libqual.org SCONUL 2007 Overall Results

old.libqual.org SCONUL Results by Dimension

old.libqual.org SCONUL Results by User Group

old.libqual.org General findings Highly desired Making electronic resources accessible from my home or office Print and/or electronic journals I require for my work A haven for study, learning or research Lowest Library staff who instil confidence in users Giving users individual attention Space for group learning and group study

LibQUAL+™ old.libqual.org LibQUAL+ in Action

old.libqual.org UK University Case Study 1: Using LibQUAL+ Results Strategic Service Developments Data to support service development Ability to identify where not meeting expectations Measure if change has met need Budget Discussions Data to support bid for increased funding Data to support case for change in emphasis (towards e-provision) Marketing Position Status of the library within the University Importance of national & international benchmarking

old.libqual.org LibQUAL+ Outcomes Funding received for: New Web Services Administrator Increased opening hours Now providing 222,578 seat hours per week Library refurbishment programme reinstated at costs in excess of £8 million

old.libqual.org Library Refurbishment From:To:

old.libqual.org UK University Case Study 2: Electronic Developments Information skills training Information Literacy outcomes received the lowest score in the 2003 survey Action: New Information Literacy project to provide software based tutorial to help students with IL, specifically to aid our distance learners Access to electronic resources Our Web site and providing electronic access to resources were seen as major opportunities for improvement Action: Developing a new library Web site, replacing 6 static html pages with a portal.

old.libqual.org New Information Literacy Tutorial

old.libqual.org New Web Site From:To:

old.libqual.org Results of Actions – Information Literacy QuestionMean+/ The library helps me stay abreast of developments in my field(s) of interest The library aids my advancement in my academic discipline The library enables me to be more efficient in my academic pursuits The library helps me distinguish between trustworthy and untrustworthy information The library provides me with the information skills I need in my work or study

old.libqual.org Results of Actions – Access to electronic resources QuestionSuperiority+/ Easy-to-use access tools that allow me to find things on my own Making electronic resources accessible from my home or office A library Web site enabling me to locate information on my own

old.libqual.org Why use LibQUAL? Feedback from LibQUAL+ Users “Why did you choose to use LibQUAL+?” LibQUAL+ was recommended to us as offering a well designed, thoroughly Library-focused set of survey tools Cost-effectiveness Automated processing & fast delivery of results Opportunity to benchmark Respectability and comparability (with others and historically)

old.libqual.org The benefits of LibQUAL+ LibQUAL+ has enabled us to find out what a broad range of our users thought of the services we offer; what level of service- delivery quality we had achieved in their eyes, and to get a clear picture of what they actually wanted the Library to deliver (as opposed to what we thought they wanted). UK HE Institution, 2006

old.libqual.org In Closing LibQUAL+… Focuses on success from the users’ point of view (outcomes) Demonstrates that a web-based survey can handle large numbers; users are willing to fill it out; and survey can be executed quickly with minimal expense Requires limited local survey expertise and resources Analysis available at local, national and inter-institutional levels Offers opportunities for highlighting and improving your status within the institution Can help in securing funding for the Library

old.libqual.org LibQUAL+ Resources LibQUAL+ Website: Publications: Events and Training: LibQUAL+ Bibliography: LibQUAL+ Procedures Manual:

old.libqual.org Acknowledgements Fred Heath, Bruce Thompson, Colleen Cook, Martha Kyrillidou and the rest of the LibQUAL+ team Stephen Town and rest of the SCONUL Working Group on Performance Improvement Helen Durndell and Jacqui Dowd, Glasgow University All SCONUL LibQUAL+ Participants

LibQUAL+™ old.libqual.org Selena Killick Research & Development Officer Cranfield University Tel: +44 (0)