LibQual+TM in Lilliput: assessment benefits for small academic libraries

Harer, John B.

doi:10.1108/14678040610713156

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 3 publications

(3 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…(2) The second seeks to validate the type of services that best meet the needs of users. It is a section that is based on numerous studies regarding the use of the LibQUAL instrument and the set of inquiries concerning information access, quality of collections, research support, space, noise, environment, and information retrieval , Cook et al, 2001b, Hiller, 2001, Lincoln, 2002, Blixurd, 2003, Lee, 2005, Wei et al, 2005, Satoh et al, 2005, Harer, 2006, Jankowska et al, 2006, Thompson et al, 2010.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New challenges for the quality of librarian services delivery in Portugal

Carvalho

Domínguez

2012

Library Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reflect on the user's assessment of the level of quality of the library services of the Portuguese University of Trás‐os‐Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) in order to identify its potential improvement.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a literature review on library service quality assessment focusing on the ServQual, Lib Qual, or Biqual conceptual tools, a survey was designed and applied to a sample of the UTAD library's users, and then subjected to statistical analysis.FindingsThe literature review on library quality service assessment points out an array of dimensions that must be taken into account. The conceptual tools recently developed for that assessment showed that the services provided by the UTAD library needed to be redefined in order to enhance its user's autonomy. The results of the survey follow the findings of the literature review and, in particular, show that for the UTAD case study: gender is an important variable to take into account; the access to new technologies and to its convenient use is of the outmost importance; and face to face relation between users and service providers must be deepened.Practical implicationsThe data survey clearly indicates the areas in which UTAD library has to direct its efforts in order to improve the quality of its services and meet users' expectations.Originality/valueThe results opened up the way to future comparative investigations with other services provided by other university libraries.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New challenges for the quality of librarian services delivery in Portugal

Carvalho

Domínguez

2012

Library Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The functional purpose became even more notable during LIBQUAL's fourth round of testing. Since then, the matured LIBQUAL +TM instrument continued to be applied by a large number of libraries for actual evaluation purpose (Harer, 2006; LIBQUAL +TM , 2006; Jankowska, 2006; Wei, 2005).…”

Section: Existing Research On the Validity/utility Of Servqual In Libraries: A Critical Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

An epistemological critique of gap theory based library assessment: the case of SERVQUAL

Hong²,

Gu³

et al. 2008

Journal of Documentation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the epistemological underpinning of SERVQUAL and its limitations; and second, to propose ways to enhance the utility of SERVQUAL as a library assessment tool.Design/methodology/approachThe study first conceptualises quality judgment as a knowing process and locates the epistemological stance of SERVQUAL within the general framework of epistemology demarcation; it then examines related SERVQUAL assumptions and their implications for library assessment in general and for service quality assessment in particular based on two empirical investigations: a questionnaire survey and an interview survey. The questionnaire survey applies the SERVQUAL instrument to three Chinese university libraries, with a view to examining the SERVQUAL score in light of epistemological considerations; the interview survey interviews 50 faculty users in one of the three universities with a view to illuminating the naturalistic process through which users develop their judgement of the library's service quality and through which the SERVQUAL score is formed.FindingsThe study shows that the actual SERVQUAL score is distributed in a very scattered manner in all three libraries, and that it is formed through a very complex process rooted primarily in the user's personal experiences with the library, which are in turn shaped by factors from both the library world and the user's life‐world. Based on these findings, this research questions a number of SERVQUAL assumptions and proposes three concepts which may help to contextualise the SERVQUAL score and enhance its utility in actual library assessment: library planning based variance of user perception, perception‐dependent user expectation and library‐sophistication based user differentiation.Originality/valueThe research presented in the paper questions a number of SERVQUAL assumptions and proposes three concepts that may help to contextualise the SERVQUAL score and enhance its utility in actual library assessment.

show abstract

“…These figures apply regardless of the user population except in very small institutions (Creaser, 2006, p. 160). For very small institutions, no sampling is needed (Harer, 2006, p. 203).…”

Section: Decisions Takenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many students use their personal Yahoo or Google e‐mail addresses instead of their official campus e‐mail addresses (a Pegasus™ system) (Harer, 2006, p. 203). Rhodes students are no exception in this regard.…”

Section: Problems Encountered and Lessons Learnedmentioning

confidence: 99%

LibQUAL+^TM at Rhodes University Library

Moon

2007

Performance Measurement and Metrics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate how LibQUAL+™, as a “turn‐key” survey instrument, can provide the type of benchmarking information that can facilitate targeted service improvements.Design/methodology/approachThis paper focuses on the Rhodes Library's implementation of the 2005 LibQUAL+™ survey. Results are looked at within the broader context of aggregate scores and score norms from the South African cohort. The library's first efforts to address areas where perceptions of service quality differed from users' expectations are described and plans for future efforts are indicated. The paper also details some lessons learnt by other LibQUAL+™ participants, as documented in published case studies.FindingsThe paper found that all groups of library users at Rhodes were very dissatisfied with their library building. Rhodes performed very well in the “Information Control” dimension but less well in the “Affect of Service” dimension.Originality/valueThe paper shows that other libraries implementing LibQUAL+™ for the first time could benefit by focusing on the lessons Rhodes learnt during the survey implementation.

show abstract

LibQual+TM in Lilliput: assessment benefits for small academic libraries

Cited by 6 publications

References 3 publications

New challenges for the quality of librarian services delivery in Portugal

New challenges for the quality of librarian services delivery in Portugal

An epistemological critique of gap theory based library assessment: the case of SERVQUAL

LibQUAL+^TM at Rhodes University Library

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

LibQual+TM in Lilliput: assessment benefits for small academic libraries

Cited by 6 publications

References 3 publications

New challenges for the quality of librarian services delivery in Portugal

New challenges for the quality of librarian services delivery in Portugal

An epistemological critique of gap theory based library assessment: the case of SERVQUAL

LibQUAL+TM at Rhodes University Library

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

LibQUAL+^TM at Rhodes University Library