LibQUAL+

Surveying the Library’s Users

Supervisor’s Meeting

March 17, 2004

What is a library?

It’s People

Places

Services

Interactions

The culture of assessment

“Assessment efforts should not be concerned about valuing what can be measured, but instead about measuring what is valued."-A.W. Astin

Choosing an assessment approach

Survey questionnaires

Focus groups

Observations

Interviews

LibQUAL+

Developed by the Association of Research Libraries & Texas A&M University and based on a business model called SERVQUAL

Identify the key elements that determine a customer’s satisfaction

Adapt service quality measures to libraries

Quantify results so that they can be compared over time and shared with other libraries

LibQUAL+

Pilot at Texas A&M

2000-03 test the LibQUAL questionnaire at 400 academic and special libraries

Collect a pool of responses large enough to demonstrate the validity of questions

2004 LibQUAL+ program standardizes questions and survey form

LibQUAL+ Gathering user feedback

27 questions to measure 3 factors:The affect of service (e.g. empathy, responsiveness, assurance)

The library as a physical space

Information control (e.g. scope, timeliness, convenience, ease of use).

General demographic information for each respondent

LibQUAL+ at ChicagoSome reasons to invest our time now on a user survey

Assess the effect of recent library & university changes

Learn more about user expectations

Respond to SPG & SPG focus group suggestions

Information for a new library director

New Palevsky dormitory complex

Science quadrangle construction

Consolidated periodicals collection

Compact shelving in Crerar, Law & JRL

Computing clusters in libraries

LibQUAL+ at Chicago

January 2004 decision to use LibQUAL+Form a survey teamIdentify pool of participants (to sample or not to sample?) Establish survey address and web pageSelect optional questions & pretest surveyCommunicate to library staffAnnounce LibQUAL+ to university community

LibQUAL+ at ChicagoApril 12-May 3 survey period

Invite selected participants & provide them with the web survey URL

Respond to survey problems, bounced e-mail addresses, informational questions

All survey responses are managed at the LibQUAL survey center in Texas

All personal information is disaggregated from survey responses

LibQUAL+ at ChicagoFollow-up

Analysis of LibQUAL+ results by LibQUAL + survey center provided in Summer

User comments

Printed reports

Data

Interactive web site with graphs & charts

July ALA follow-up meeting

LibQUAL+ at ChicagoFollow-up

Chicago activities

Study reports and draw some preliminary conclusions

Work with Library’s Assessment Group to communicate work to staff & user community

Determine further local analysis needs

In Summary

Survey user expectations about the library with the LibQUAL+ standard surveyConduct survey Spring Quarter 2004Assess, analyze and, communicate resultsIntegrate LibQUAL+ information with other library assessment work

For more information

LibQUAL + at Chicago web site www.lib.uchicago.edu/staffweb/groups/libqual/Contact the survey group

survey @lib.uchicago.eduSurvey team

David LarsenSheri LewisRebecca StarkeyAndrea Twiss-BrooksKathleen Zar

Thanks

Photographs Beverly Sperring & Barbara Kern

Design and technical adviceDiana Cole