Libraries Act on Their LibQUAL+ Findings: From Data to Action

by Fred M. Heath, Martha Kyrillidou, Consuella Askew

Overview

Learn how other libraries are using LibQUAL+™ data to improve their services and programs

This book focuses on the value of the 2002 LibQUAL+™ survey data to help librarians provide better services for users. This unique work highlights the continued efforts of participating libraries that used this Web-based marketing instrument to assess and evaluate their service quality, resource allocations, staffing, technology, and policies. Library professionals dealing with—or interested in—library service quality assessment will benefit from the practical examples and graphical representations found in this vital book.

With Libraries Act on Their LibQUAL+™ Findings, you will gain a better understanding of how to use your LibQUAL+™ data to identify opportunities to improve your services and programs, initiate further data exploration, and identify those areas of your library which need change. In times of budget reductions, the information in this book will show you how to better demonstrate to your patrons, community, and government agencies the value of the investment in library staff and resources. Enhanced with charts, graphs, tables, and figures, this text will help your library smoothly evolve with your patrons’ expectations and needs.

Libraries Act on Their LibQUAL+™ Findings: From Data to Action covers several important topics, including:

• the LibQUAL+™ survey instrument—what it is and how it works
• library service quality and user perceptions of library service quality
• peer comparisons and benchmarking
• qualitative and quantitative data analysis—how to read your findings
• strategic planning—how to use your findings
  

This resource is of national importance, presenting varying perspectives from different library contexts, such as library consortia, library types, and individual library case studies. The book also provides ideas for using LibQUAL+™ to develop better library services for diverse users—faculty as opposed to students or the general public rather than specialists. From identifying and reaching patrons for conducting the LibQUAL+™ survey to identifying gaps between desired, perceived, and minimum expectations of services, this book will guide you in continuously meeting the needs of your community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780789026026
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/23/2004
Series:	A Monograph Published Simultaneously As the Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism Series
Pages:	268
Product dimensions:	5.81(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Heath, Fred M.; Kyrillidou, Martha; Askew, Consuella

Table of Contents

• Preface
• The Starving Research Library User: Relationships Between Library Institutional Characteristics and Spring 2002 LibQUAL+™ Scores (Martha Kyrillidou and Fred M. Heath)
• CONSORTIA
• Defending and Expanding Library Turf—The Need for Scalable Consumer Research (Tom Sanville)
• The OhioLINK LibQUAL+™ 2002 Experience: A Consortium Looks at Service Quality (Jeff Gatten)
• HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARIES
• Exploring Outcomes Assessment: The AAHSL LibQUAL+™ Experience (Tamera Lee)
• LibQUAL+™ in a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Medical School: The Case Study of the Medical Library and Peyton T. Anderson Learning Resources Center (LRC) at Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia (Jan H. LaBeause)
• The Evolution and Application of Assessment Strategies at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (Rick B. Forsman)
• The LibQUAL+™ Challenge: An Academic Medical Center’s Perspective, Duke University (Richard Peterson, Beverly Murphy, Stephanie Holmgren, and Patricia L. Thibodeau)
• An Academic Medical Library Using LibQUAL+™: The Experience of the Galter Health Sciences Library, Northwestern University (James Shedlock and Linda Walton)
• UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE LIBRARIES
• Quantifying Qualitative Data: Using LibQUAL+™ Comments for Library-Wide Planning Activities at the University of Arizona (Wendy Begay, Daniel R. Lee, Jim Martin, and Michael Ray)
• Another Tool in the Assessment Toolbox: Integrating LibQUAL+™ into the University of Washington Libraries Assessment Program (Steve Hiller)
• Mining LibQUAL+™ Data for Pointers to Service Quality at Wayne State University (Barton Lessin)
• We Ask Them What They Thought, Now What Do We Do? The Use of LibQUAL+™ Data to Redesign Public Services at the University of Pittsburgh (Amy E. Knapp)
• LibQUAL+™ Meets Strategic Planning at the University of Florida (Stephen R. Shorb and Lori Driscoll)
• Using LibQUAL+™ Data in Strategic Planning: Bowling Green State University (Lorraine J. Haricombe and Bonna J. Boettcher)
• LibQUAL+™ 2002 at Vanderbilt University: What Do the Results Mean and Where Do We Go from Here? (Flo Wilson)
• Index
• Reference Notes Included
  

What People are Saying About This

Brinley Franklin

A VALUABLE ADDITION to the growing body of library literature on performance measures, metrics, and assessment. . . . Particularly suitable for college and university libraries, library consortia, and health sciences libraries. . . . Practitioners describe how LibQual+ can be used to optimize resource decisions, modify staffing patterns, contribute to strategic planning efforts, and improve physical spaces and service strategies for new and redesigned library facilities.
—MLS, MBA, Director, University of Connecticut Libraries; Chair, Association of Research Libraries, Statistics & Measurement Committee

Rush Miller

INSIGHTFUL. . . . Documents the monumental impact of having a large community of libraries talking to a large community of users. IMPORTANT. . . . Should be required reading for academic libraries and librarians who are seriously interested in the assessment of services, collections, and effectiveness.
—PhD, MLS, Hillman University Librarian, University of Pittsburgh

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Bruce A. Johnston, MLS (Duquesne University)
Description: This book presents a compilation of 15 articles which describe and analyze the post-survey experiences of several different types of libraries resulting from their participation in the 2002 iteration of the LibQUAL+ assessment survey developed by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in partnership with Texas A & M University libraries. LibQUAL+ data analysis by health sciences libraries, consortia members, and academic libraries is presented in several contexts including models of service quality, outcome assessment strategies, and implications for strategic planning initiatives.
Purpose: The three editors, each actively involved in the development and implementation of LibQUAL+, have culled from the diverse and growing LibQUAL+ literature a set of articles representative of the wide range of analysis, interpretation, and applications accompanying the LibQUAL+ assessment process.
Audience: This book appeals to a wide audience within the library community. Increased emphasis on outcomes assessment, accreditation and accountability issues, and quality of service measurements coupled with the growing popularity of the LibQUAL+ survey among different types of libraries has led to increased interest among library personnel at all levels to acquire meaningful data on user perceptions and expectations as a means to supplement traditional qualitative measurements. The book editors are credible experts in library evaluation and measurement who specialize in the LibQUAL+ survey, and nearly all individual article authors are directors, deans, or senior administrators of their respective libraries.
Features: Each article provides a unique perspective and analysis of LibQUAL+ results. Several libraries integrated their findings into strategic planning activities; a medical school library analyzed its LibQUAL+ data in the context of its Problem-Based Learning (PBL) curriculum; an academic medical center library performed comparative analysis by conducting surveys in two consecutive years. The book is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of numerous tables, charts, graphs, radar graphs, and appendixes. Many are in full color which enables more meaningful interpretation. An introductory chapter authored by two of the editors provides a useful overview of the LibQUAL+ evolution, concepts, survey instrument, and extensive notes linked to Web sites and additional print resources.
Assessment: Although this book was written by many library professionals from numerous perspectives, the quality remains consistently high. One of the book's strengths is the diversity of information and experiences it contains. The editors have done a superb job in presenting well written descriptions and analysis of LibQUAL+ post-survey activities within a variety of library environments. It is very useful to have all of this information on a topic of great interest to many libraries gathered into one relevant book.

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