Beyond Providing Information: An Analysis on the Perceived Service Quality, Satisfaction, and Loyalty of Public Library Customers

Abstract

This study investigates the customers’ perceptions on three traditional dimensions of the perceived library service quality (library personnel; library resources and user services; and facilities and equipment), customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty of the public library users. Survey data using simplified questionnaires were analyzed which were collected from 1015 users of public libraries in 2015 and 2019 respectively in South Korea. The results show that they were generally satisfied with public library services and want to visit them again and/or recommend them to others based on the good perceptions on the public library service quality, because the means of each variable on a Likert 5-point scale was fairly high: customer satisfaction 3.85, customer loyalty 4.12, and perceived service quality 3.80 (library personnel 3.80, library resources and user services 3.81, and facilities and equipment 3.79). Each of three dimensions of perceived service quality had statistically significant positive impacts both on customer satisfaction and on the loyalty of the users, and that customer satisfaction had statistically significant positive impacts on customer loyalty. Different groups by gender, age, education, and occupation show the mean differences in customer loyalty. This article suggests research and managerial implications and limitations of the study.

How to measure service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty of public library users: Application of library customer satisfaction index (LCSI) lite model

“…This research was a subsequent expansion of the 2009 and 2013 models to investigate and check the applicability of the LCSI Lite version to other public libraries in general. Oh (2020) successfully justified the basic rationale of this model using multiple regression analysis that proved the direct influences of service quality both on satisfaction and on library customers' loyalty.…”

“…Many studies have tried to integrate similar models to that of Martensen and Grønholdt (2003), including Oh (2005), Oh et al (2006), and so on. Many studies deal with the relationship of or influences of customer satisfaction with or on the loyalty of the library customers (Gede Mahatma Yuda Bakti and Sumaedi, 2013;Haruna et al, 2017aHaruna et al, , 2017bKeshvari et al, 2015;Kiran and Diljit, 2011;Oh, 2005Oh, , 2020Soares-Silva et al, 2020;Tan et al, 2017;Xu and Du, 2018).…”

“…Oh (2013) developed a simplified version "so-called LCSI Lite for public library with 15 items of service quality based on the analyses on the 20 Delphi-type AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) questionnaires both from library researchers and public library practitioners, and on the analysis and testing of the SEM using the data from more than 800 user questionnaires" (p. 335). Oh (2020) suggested theoretical rationale of the LCSI Lite version applying it to the practical surveys of 2015 and 2019 both of which were administered by him (It included parts of items from the 2019 survey data using only those that were the same as those of 2015). As suggested in Table 1, the LCSI Lite version reduced the numbers of items of each dimensions of service quality into smaller core ones based on the feedback information from the specialists in the areas, and successfully proved that the simplified version can work with sufficient validity and feasibility (Oh, 2013(Oh, , 2020.…”

“…Oh (2020) suggested theoretical rationale of the LCSI Lite version applying it to the practical surveys of 2015 and 2019 both of which were administered by him (It included parts of items from the 2019 survey data using only those that were the same as those of 2015). As suggested in Table 1, the LCSI Lite version reduced the numbers of items of each dimensions of service quality into smaller core ones based on the feedback information from the specialists in the areas, and successfully proved that the simplified version can work with sufficient validity and feasibility (Oh, 2013(Oh, , 2020. However, some recommendations to develop better ones remain (see Oh, 2020).…”

Improving Library Service Delivery by the Instrumentality of Knowledge Management Practices: A Critical Review

“…A substantial amount of effort in scholarship has been placed on unraveling how an improved, enhanced or quality service delivery in libraries significantly influences their outcome. Service quality has been revealed to influence library users' satisfaction (Amanullah, Hasan & Hafez, 2021), increase use of library resources (Khaola & Mabilikoane, 2015), boost users' loyalty towards the library (Oh, 2020) and is extremely beneficial to both the library and the user community (Reddy, 2017). Thus, libraries are taking measures to improve their service delivery to achieve and sustain quality.…”