How are we doin'?
During
April 19 - May 7, the University Library (along with other UW Libraries and
hundreds of
libraries throughout the world) is asking our users about the quality of our
library services. The Web-based Survey, a rigorously tested research
instrument called LibQUAL+™, was created
by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). It will be available for
selected UW-Stevens Point students and all faculty and academic staff. The
survey asks questions about core library services, user satisfaction, library
use, and demographic data.
Participants received an e-mail on April 19th inviting their participation. The survey takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete and can be accessed through a URL embedded in the e-mail message. The survey will close on May 7. Reminder e-mails will be sent out with additional opportunities to respond for those who might not have filled out the survey upon the first invitation. If you would like to participate in the survey but did not receive an invitation, please click here.
The survey consists of questions about customer service, accessibility and control of information, and the library as a place. Participants will also be asked about their library usage, and their demographics. Each question requires that participants indicate the minimum level of service that is acceptable, the level of service that they personally want, and the level of service that they believe the UWSP library currently provides. Participants will also be able to make additional remarks in a comments box.
Below are answers to frequently asked questions about the LibQUAL+™ survey.
- What is LibQUAL+™?
- What does the survey measure?
- Why is the University Library participating in LibQUAL+ ™ ?
- What other libraries are participating in LibQUAL+™?
- What is the survey timeline?
- How is the survey conducted?
- What kinds of questions are asked in the survey?
- Why does the survey seem to repeat the same question(s)?
- Why are reminders sent to respondents who have already completed the survey?
- What will be done with the survey results?
- What information is shared with other institutions?
- How can I get more information about LibQUAL+™?
- Who will receive the survey?
- How long with the survey take?
- Are responses confidential?
- What discipline category should I choose for my major or area of research?
- Can I skip questions that don't apply to me?
- What Web browsers are supported for the survey?
- Is there a version of the survey compatible with text-to-speech web browsers?
LibQUAL+™ is a set of services offered by the ARL (Association of Research Libraries) that allows libraries to solicit, measure, and understand users' opinions of service quality. LibQUAL+™ centers around a survey instrument that measures library users’ perceptions of their libraries’ service quality and identifies gaps between minimal, desired and perceived levels of service. The survey is designed to provide a measure of the value of library service quality across multiple academic and research libraries and is currently used by over 400 academic libraries a year. LibQual+ will allow us to assess how well we meet our service goals, it will serve as a benchmark for analyzing our service quality over time, and serve as a basis for comparison for other libraries.
The LibQUAL+™ survey instrument is adapted from an instrument called SERVQUAL, which is grounded in the "Gap Theory of Service Quality" and was developed by the marketing research team of A. Parasuraman, V.A. Zeithaml, and L.L. Berry. The Texas A&M University Libraries and other libraries have been using modified SERVQUAL instruments for several years. In order to meet the needs of libraries, researchers worked to adapt SERVQUAL to the library context. The adapted instrument, called LibQUAL+™, has been refined, and shortened with each iteration of the survey.
2. What does the survey measure?
The survey instrument addresses three service quality dimensions that have been found to be valid in previous assessments of library services: service affect, library as place, and information control. Each question has three parts that ask respondents to indicate the minimum service level they will accept, the desired service level they expect, and the perceived level of service currently provided. This design will permit analysis of gaps between expectations, perception, and minimum acceptance level of service.
3. Why is the University Library participating in LibQUAL+ ™ ?
The University Library is participating in this survey to gather information on our users expectations, desires and perceptions of the library. We will analyze and use this data to identify service strengths and areas needing improvement, and utilize the information in its strategic planning process to ensure that library services are closely aligned with user expectations. LibQUAL+ ™ results will enable comparison of service quality with peer institutions. Many libraries in the UW system will be participating this year, giving us the opportunity to share results and best practices system-wide.
4. What other libraries are participating in LibQUAL?
See http://www.LibQUAL.org/Information/Participants/index.cfm
5. What is the survey timeline?
The survey will be distributed on April 19th, and surveys will be accepted through May 7. The Library will receive results by the beginning of June.
6. How is the survey conducted?
LibQUAL+™ uses a scalable web interface and protocol to ask library users about their library service expectations. Each participating library gathers a random sample of email addresses representative of their user population and sends a message to the sample encouraging recipients to complete the survey on the Web. Survey data are transmitted directly from the central LibQUAL+™ server to a database. The data are then analyzed and reports that provide information on how users perceive the quality of their library services are generated for the individual libraries. The reports present information on the gaps between users' desired, perceived, and minimally acceptable levels of service.
7. What kinds of questions are asked in the survey?
The survey is broken into 2 parts: demographic data, and survey questions which ask you to rate a series of statements. You'll be asked to click a radio button to indicate:
The number (1-9) that represents the minimum level of service that you would find acceptable (minimum).
The number (1-9) that represents the level of service that you personally want for this item as we provide it for you (desired).
The number (1-9) that represents the level of service that you believe our library currently provides on this service issue (perceived).
8. Why does the survey seem to repeat the same question(s)?
The survey examines a variety of dimensions of library services, each represented by at least 5 questions. Redundancy, while kept to a minimum, is necessary to assess the validity of responses through statistical means. Over time, questions that are not as effective as others in measuring the specific dimensions of service quality will be discarded.
9. Why will reminders be sent to respondents who have already completed the survey?
Due to security and confidentiality features, everyone surveyed will receive reminders, even those who have already responded. When submitted, survey responses and identifying information are immediately disaggregated, so we have no way of knowing who has already responded. Reminders, therefore, are distributed to everyone in the survey group.
10. What will be done with the survey results?
Survey data are transmitted directly from the LibQUAL+™ server to a database. The data are then analyzed and reports are generated for individual libraries that provide information on how users perceive the quality of their service. Participating institutions will have access to summary results for each institution, allowing for comparisons among peer institutions and all participating academic institutions. This will aid in developing benchmarks and understanding best practices across institutions. The University Library hopes to use the results of this survey to plan for the future, as well as to track improvement over time.
11. What information is shared with other institutions?
Only summary statistics are shared with other institutions.
12. How can I get more information about LibQUAL+™ ?
- For more information, see the LibQUAL+™ homepage.
- To e-mail the national headquarters for LibQUAL+™, contact the Association for Research Libraries at LibQUAL@arl.org.
- UWSP is committed to compliance with federal rules for the protection of human research subjects, and the survey instrument and process has been approved by the campus Institutional Review Board (IRB). If you have questions about the IRB approval process, please contact Dr. Sandra Holmes, Chair of the Institutional Review Board, at sholmes@uwsp.edu.
- If you have questions about the survey, please contact Arne Arneson, Director of the University Library, at aarneson@uwsp.edu.
13. Who will receive the survey?
An invitation to complete the survey has been e-mailed to all instructional staff, faculty and selected undergraduate and graduate students.
14. How long with the survey take?
The survey will take about 10-15 minutes to complete.
15. Are responses confidential?
Yes. The completed surveys are transmitted directly to a server located at Texas A & M University. The responses are automatically separated from any identifying information, including the e-mail and network addresses of respondents.
16. What discipline category should I choose for my area or major?
If your department or major is not listed, please choose the broader category under which your area or major would fit.
17. Can I skip questions that don't apply to me?
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, select NA (not applicable).
18. What Web browsers are supported for the survey?
The LibQUAL+™ survey has been developed to work in many settings, including public libraries and community colleges. Any browser should work so long as it is not too old. Please contact aarneson@uwsp.edu if you have a technical problem.
19. Is the survey compatible with text-to-speech web browsers?
Yes, the survey is compatible with the JAWS screen reader software.
The University Library urges you to take part. Your perceptions and opinions matter to us! We will use the results of the survey to improve our services and plan for the future.