A-LIEP: Service Quality in Libraries

"Stability of Library Service Quality Benchmarking Norms across Time and Cohorts: a LibQUAL+ Study" by Bruce Thompson, Colleen Cook, and Martha Kyrillidou was really about LibQUAL+, "a suite of services that libraries use to solicit, track, understand, and act upon users’ opinions of service quality." In short, it's a market research firm for libraries. For more information about their services, see "LibQUAL+: Defining and Promoting Library Service Quality."

At this time, very few Asian libraries are represented in the LibQUAL+ database. If you would like to have your library included in the database, there are two ways that you may do so:

1. If your library can afford to pay US$2,500 (note: Thompson says that if there are more users, then they can probably lower the cost), then the data will be valuable in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your library as perceived by your users and you will find out how your library compares with other libraries around the world.
2. If you cannot afford to pay the fee, grants were awarded to six libraries (one from China) to participate in the 2006 survey. Check out the criteria (doc) last year, and wait for the announcement for the 2007 grants.

Finally, if you're a student doing research, you may wish to look at their sample screens to find out what reliable questionnaires look like. Please note that LibQUAL+ is trademarked and that its questionnaires are copyrighted, so these may not be used without permission.


Category: A-LIEP