The following post is submitted by guest blogger Jessica Nelson Moore from Northwestern College.
In
order to assess library service quality, the Berntsen Library at Northwestern College administered the LibQUAL+® survey to NWC’s students
and faculty in 2008 and 2012.
The LibQUAL+®
survey assesses library patron’s perceptions of 22 aspects of library
service quality, grouped into three major dimensions: Affect of Service,
Information Control, and Library as place.
· Information Control refers to users’ perceptions of access to information. Questions include “Making electronic resources accessible from my home or office” and “Print and/or electronic journal collections I require for my work”.
· Library as place refers to users’ perceptions of the library’s environment. Questions include “Library space that inspires study and learning” and “A comfortable and inviting location”.
One
of the benefits of LibQUAL+® is that it shows not only the perceived
level of service for each dimension, but also the desired level of
service. The results show not only how patrons felt about each aspect
of the library, but whether or not it was important to them. For
example, in the 2012 survey undergraduates ranked their top five desired
(the most important) aspects of library service quality as “Employees
who are consistently courteous”, “Employees who deal with users in a
caring fashion”, “A library web site enabling me to locate information
on my own”, “Willingness to help users”, and “Making information
easily accessible for independent use”. Of these top five desired
qualities, three were considered by undergraduates to be in the top five
areas of highest perceived service quality. To put it another way, of
the top five things that undergraduates think the library is doing well,
three of them were in the top five things they most cared about.
Survey
results are plotted graphically on a circular chart, referred to as an
“Antarctica chart” because of its resemblance to the polar continent.
The yellow band on the chart represents areas where the perceived level
of service for that aspect of service was less than the desired level of
service. (A wider yellow space indicates that there is a wider “gap”
between the desired level of service and the perceived level of service
for those attributes.) The blue band on the chart represents areas
where the perceived level of service was greater than the minimum level
of service, i.e., adequate service. The green on the chart represents
areas where the perceived level of service was greater than the desired
level of service, i.e., superior service. Any areas of red on the chart
would indicate that the perceived level of service for that area was
below the minimum accepted level of service.
A
huge benefit of LibQUAL+® is the comments that survey respondents offer
with their response. About 1/3 of survey respondents left a comment
with their survey. Many of the comments reveal suggestions for specific
areas of improvement for the library, such as noise level. Example:
“Once in awhile it is too noisy, but mostly it works great!” Other
comments reveal the aspects that patrons most appreciate about the
library, such as reference service. Example: “The reference librarians
at NWC are amazing. Not only are they incredibly helpful, they are also
very friendly.”
After
the 2008 survey, results were communicated to library staff and other
stakeholders such as the campus Assessment Steering Committee. Changes
were made based upon survey feedback, including updating library
computers with new software and enhanced printing capabilities, and
enhancing study spaces with lighting and electric outlets. A follow-up
focus group was conducted to further understand what students wanted
from their library. The staff of the Berntsen Library is looking
forward to analyzing the results of the 2012 survey, especially in
comparison to the initial, benchmark survey in 2008.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.