LibQUAL+ ® is a suite of services that libraries use to solicit, track, understand, and act upon users’ opinions of service quality. These services are offered to the library community by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). The program’s centerpiece is a rigorously tested Web-based survey bundled with training that helps libraries assess and improve library services, change organizational culture, and market the library. As of spring 2003, more than 400 institutions have participated in LibQUAL+ ®, including colleges and universities, community colleges, health sciences libraries, law libraries, and public libraries—some through various consortia, others as independent participants. LibQUAL+ ® has also expanded internationally, with participating institutions in Canada, the UK, and Europe. The growing community of participants and its extensive dataset are rich resources for improving library services.
The goals of LibQUAL+ ® are to:
- Foster a culture of excellence in providing library service
- Help libraries better understand user perceptions of library service quality
- Collect and interpret library user feedback systematically over time
- Provide libraries with comparable assessment information from peer institutions
- Identify best practices in library service
- Enhance library staff members’ analytical skills for interpreting and acting on data
There is increasing pressure for libraries to move towards more outcome-based assessment efforts, instead of relying solely on input or resource metrics. This pressure comes from funding authorities as well as users themselves. Outcome measures show how well an organization serves its users, and ARL members have been interested in finding new measures that demonstrate their efficiency and effectiveness. The LibQUAL+ ® project is one of several begun under the ARL New Measures Initiative.
The LibQUAL+ ® survey evolved from a conceptual model based on the SERVQUAL instrument, a popular tool for assessing service quality in the private sector. The Texas A&M University Libraries and other libraries used modified SERVQUAL instruments for several years; those applications revealed the need for a newly adapted tool that would serve the particular requirements of libraries. ARL, representing the largest research libraries in North America, partnered with Texas A&M University Libraries to develop, test, and refine LibQUAL+ ®. This effort was supported in part by a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE).
As individual libraries receive information about areas needing improvement, this project will allow libraries to compare their service quality with other peer institutions, to develop benchmarks, and to develop best practices across institutions. By using the LibQUAL+ ® instrument and initiating action based on the results of this survey, the UWM Libraries can be more responsive to users’ needs and provide services that are better aligned to users’ expectations.
LibQUAL+ ® gives you as a library user a chance to tell us where services need improvement so UWM Libraries can respond to and better manage your expectations. UWM Libraries can develop services that better meet your expectations by comparing our data with that of peer institutions and examining the practices of those libraries that are evaluated highly by their users.
The entire UWM community is being invited to share their opinions by taking the survey. The survey is available from March 3-April 7.
The data will be collected on secure servers located in the Texas A&M Library. Each response will be disaggregated as it reaches the server, and survey results will ultimately be reported back to the participating institution as aggregate mean score data. Individual responses of participants will be wholly confidential.
There will be no compensation per se for completing the survey, though incentives will be offered. At the end of the web-based survey, you can elect to include an email address, which will enter you in a drawing for the incentive prizes.
This survey research has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of the UWM Department of University Safety and Assurances.
The survey should take a minimum of 10 minutes.
Although some information is captured from respondents, such as network and email address, privacy is protected in two ways. First, only very indirect information is captured which would be difficult to trace back to an individual. Second, everything possible is done to separate personal information from survey responses. Email addresses are not saved with the responses, and once the responses are saved, there is no way to link them to an email address - assuring confidentiality when entering the incentive drawing.
Please do not skip any questions in the LibQUAL+ ® survey. Surveys that are not completely filled out are discarded. If you feel a question does not apply to you, please select the answer option of NA (not applicable).
The survey incentive prizes will be an iPod shuffle, 10 Grind gift cards, and UWM Libraries T-shirts and mugs. Winners will be notified via email within 2 weeks of the end of the survey.
Please email libqual-info@uwm.edu with questions or for more information.
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