This Delphi study identified the critical processes and performance measures of quality that can serve as a framework for new measures for assessing quality in academic library services and programs. These critical processes and performance measures were developed utilizing the structure and criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award's 1999 Education Criteria for Performance Excellence. A panel of experts from the library profession was selected to participate in a Delphi panel to determine the importance of a list of critical processes and performance measures relevant to measuring quality in academic libraries.The processes and performance measures were identified through a review of the literature and in consultation with a review panel of professional librarians. The results of the study showed that a student, faculty, and stakeholder focus was the most important aspect of academic library programs and services for ensuring quality.he library profession has been seeking new performance measures for measuring quality and effectiveness. The authors hypothesized that a study to determine the importance of performance measures adapted from the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award's (MBNQA) Education Criteria for Performance Excellence afforded a strong potential for identifying performance measures that would advance this inquiry. 1 Established by the U.S. Congress in 1987, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence is the most sought a er quality management award and recognizes businesses for achievements in quality University; e-mail: harerj@mail.ecu.edu Texas A&M University; e-mail: b-cole@tamu.edu. John B. Harer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Librarianship at East Carolina . Bryan R. Cole is a Professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development at 150 College & Research Librariesand business performance. The Education Criteria for Performance Excellence were adopted from the business criteria to establish similar high-performance standards and provide the same recognition process for educational institutions. The purpose of this study was to utilize the expertise of a panel of library professionals to determine the critical processes and performance measures of quality most important to academic libraries. This study was designed within the framework of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award's (MBNQA) Education Criteria for Performance Excellence because the criteria for the award have been deemed a very effective tool for evaluating educational organizations and because libraries, especially academic libraries, have implemented many aspects of continuous quality improvement (CQI). 2,3 The MBNQA criteria stress the importance of linking performance measures to critical processes; therefore, both critical processes and performance measures were identified and analyzed by the study. The study identified a significant number of critical processes and performance measures ranked high by the panel and sugges...
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to describe how small, academic libraries may realize significant benefits from employing LibQualþ TM as an assessment of customer needs and expectations, stressing that these benefits may vary by the actual size of the institution. Design/methodology/approach -Catawba College compared its experience utilizing LibQualþ TM with that of Washburn University, reported by Dole as a small, academic library application of the survey. Catawba College is a private, liberal arts college that is much smaller than Washburn, with one-quarter the student body and faculty. This paper examines the assessment experience of the two small institutions and compares the different advantages and disadvantages of using LibQualþ TM within these two different types of small, academic institutions. Findings -The study found that a larger response rate was realized than that of the larger of the two institutions, especially by faculty, and suggests that this is due to the nature of the small colleges where faculty and student body are more familial. The paper also describes LibQualþ TM as a type of "turn-key" survey process that is advantageous for small libraries with limited resources. Originality/value -This paper provides new information on the value of LibQualþ TM for assessment in small, academic institutions and describes the benefits of this assessment tool for libraries in much smaller settings.
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate current practices in employee satisfaction assessment to determine if quality in the production of library services and work systems are being assessed from the employees' perspective. It is grounded in the theoretical perspective that customers judge quality and that employees are internal customers, equally important to assessment efforts as are external customers. The paper argues that employees provide a unique perspective to the assessment of quality that external customers cannot provide and that quality assessment needs to be an additional form of employee assessment from that of employee satisfaction or organizational climate initiatives. Design/methodology/approach -A content analysis of measures in organizational climate surveys gathered from the Association of Research Libraries was performed. Each item of several organizational climate surveys was analyzed for words and phrases identified as associated with quality assessment. Conclusions were made based on this analysis. Findings -Each of the organizational climate surveys examined included some measures of quality, though there was no consistent focus on quality. Quality issues in these surveys included sharing skills, work load issues, and alignment with library vision and mission. Research limitations/implications -This is the first part of an ongoing research project. The next steps include content analysis of employee satisfaction instruments and a Delphi study of quality measures gleaned from this analysis. Originality/value -The paper contends that quality assessment is different than employee satisfaction assessment, but significantly enhances employee assessment in general -providing benefits to both the library and its employees.
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