LibQUAL 2006 at London South Bank                                                                                                                                           

Peter Godwin London South Bank University 18 July 2006

LibQUAL 2006… London South Bank & LibQUAL LSBU experience

London South Bank and LibQUAL London South Bank University 2003 = 276 2004 = 568 2005 = 766 2006 = 660

London South Bank University Central London new University 20,775 students Founded in 1892 as Borough Polytechnic, Joined 4 other colleges to become South Bank Polytechnic in 1970 Became South Bank University in 1992 and London South Bank University in 2003

London South Bank University 41% male, 59% female 63% are 25 and over 48% are part-time 71% undergraduate, 24% postgraduate By country of origin 40% are from overseas 40% are white and 60% ethnic minorities

London South Bank University 19% Arts and Human Sciences 31% Health and Social Care 20% Engineering, Science and Built Environment 23% Business, Computing and Information Management

LSBU 2006 experience E-mail option has improved this year and most of the response was through this Participation increased each year, until this year : survey fatigue? Promotion of the survey around the buildings was good Fewer filled in printed version this year

LSBU experience 2003 was a pilot and detailed results had to be treated with caution 2004 was valid and showed some improvements in satisfaction 2005 showed marked improvement, with all positive undergraduate adequacy mean scores 2006 response rate was disappointing, but results have validity and were surprising

LSBU 2003 experience After 2003 survey we : redecorated the main library installed smart new book shelves put in a new Library Management System

LSBU 2004 experience After the 2004 survey we redesigned our Web site made off-campus access easier used “floorwalkers” at crucial times of the year improved our guiding and maps prioritised shelf tidying using special team of shelvers with mandatory shelf tidying each week for all staff prioritised purchase of core above optional items on reading lists

LSBU 2005 experience After the 2005 survey we : Revised our Web site to make it easier to navigate Improved the marketing to PG students inc. special guide and fliers Building on 2004 experience with floor-walking we made staff available on top floor at start of Semester 1 to help students navigate the building Piloted a new help desk on journal floor on level 1 West 11-3 throughout the year

2006 LSBU situation Book fund was cut by £200,000 this year to £224,000 and spending stopped in the early new year LIS set to merge with Learning Resources Centre and Learning Development Centre in spring

LSBU LibQUAL 2006 results User group composition of respondents, age and sex profile, FT/PT profile unchanged. Discipline composition similar except for substantial spike in health : up from 29% to 41%

LSBU LibQUAL 2006 results Overall satisfaction is slightly up with printed materials (IC3) and slightly down with journal provision (IC8) Overall satisfaction with Library as Place has substantially deteriorated In local questions “availability of main texts… for my work” gets adequacy mean of -0.54, down from -0.39 in 2005 and availability of subject help still at -0.08, a slight improvement on -013 in 2005

LSBU LibQUAL 2006 results UG results show remarkably similar satisfaction with materials print and electronic for their work. Results from local questions on required texts do show some decline in satisfaction , and this is almost entirely at UG level With cuts in book fund this year poorer results were expected. However in comments vast majority of materials criticism comes from Health students Effects of extra journal help not clear from the data

LSBU LibQUAL 2006 results Library as Place is main consideration. From survey questions and comments it appears that noise is the main concern, coupled with inadequate physical space

LSBU LibQUAL 2006 results Academic staff response similar to previous years and cannot be held to be representative. Most significant is less than adequate scores for IC and LP

What could be done? Increase book fund, especially for Health Clearer zoning of where mobiles can be used Pilot new ways of giving help e.g. blogs for specific courses or subject groups ; more online help Restrict help on other floors to busiest times Engage academic staff by having individual interviews in their offices Hold focus groups with students about study areas

LSBU experience The instrument is comprehensive but is long and off-putting to fill in Provides excellent information on user satisfaction AND can be supplemented by our own snap surveys e.g.this year on use of Key Text and Reference collections Comments in the box are very valuable and supplement the statistical information Focus Groups can follow up areas of concern

Comments “The main complaint I have about the library is the lack of space that is provided for studying alone or in groups…” (UG Health & Social Care male student 31-45) “I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL THE STAFF FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION!! I SALUTE YOU ALL!!!!! (UG Combined studies Year 3 female student 31-45)

Comments “It looks dirty and unclean, and doesn't inspire me to go” (PG Business Male student 31-45) “I would like the library to become a quiet haven to do quiet reading and research…” (PG Applied Science FT female student 18-22)

What have I learned? “Only customers judge quality ; all other judgements are essentially irrelevant” (Zeithaml,V.A. Parasuman, A., Berry.L.L. “Delivering quality”)