CICD LIASA WINTER SEMINAR PERSPECTIVES ON QUALITY SERVICES AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN EKURHULENI METROLPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY LIS: A COMPETITIVE NECESSITY FOR BUSINESS AND SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS 1 ST JULY 2009

INTRODUCTION The purpose of employing 2008 survey was to: (1)provide detailed information about the users’ opinion of the service; (2) help to clarify the organisation’s concept of the service as well as assumptions about the user’s needs; (3) indicate problems and suggest solutions The research is informed by the Batho Pele Principles:

BACKGROUND (43) library service points. The objective is to provide a library and information services which: is free, equitable and readily accessible; provide for the reading and learning needs of community; and promote a culture of reading and life long learning thereby contributing towards a literate Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality community.

LITERATURE REVIEW Understanding Service Quality Service quality is variously defined as a component of customer satisfaction and vice versa The quality that consumer perceives in a service is a function of the magnitude and direction of the gap between expected service and perceived service. “Perceived quality” vs “objective quality” Technical or outcome dimension, and functional or process dimension

LITERATURE REVIEW Understanding Customer Satisfaction Satisfaction is defined as an emotional reaction to a specific transaction of service encounter. Satisfaction or dissatisfaction may or may not be directly related to the performance of the library on a specific occasion but to multiple encounters. Satisfaction may involve long-term as well as short- term perceptions and a personal reaction to service built up over a number of transactions of various quality.

METHODOLOGY The scope of the study has been limited to perceptions on quality service and customer satisfaction. The survey was conducted amongst all forty three (43) libraries in Ekurhuleni. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data in the process. The study covered a representative sample of 1720 respondents. Data was collected among library users within the following age groups: Years Years Years Years 60+ Years

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS There were 17 questions, section 1 of the questionnaire was asking for the respondents’ biographical information and preferred reading language; section 2 questions addressed the following areas: Membership Frequency of library usage Convenience of library hours Main use of the library Interest in subject field Library resources Library programs and services

RESULTS:SECTION % were females and were males; 25% were scholar learners; 20% were students; 15% were employed, 5% were self employed; 20%% were unemployed; 15% were pensioners and 5% did not specify; Representatively of ethnic languages were IsiZulu, Afrikaans, English SeSotho, Sepedi, IsiXhosa, Setswana, Xishonga, IsiNdebele, IsiSwati, Tshivenda, 5% did not specify; 90.32% preferred reading English language, 7.96% in Afrikaans and 1.72% in IsiZulu;

MEMBERSHIP

REASONS FOR NON MEMBERSHIP

FREQUENCY OF USING THE LIBRARY

CONVENIENCE: LIBRARY HOURS

LIBRARY MAIN USAGE

INTEREST IN SUBJECT FIELDS Subject fieldsPercentage of those who are interested per subject Sport53% Travel45% People59% Competitions / Crossword puzzles44% Novels / Bestsellers59% Study Materials64% Current Affairs / Newspapers60% Home craft (cooking, Knitting, Gardening, Needlework, Crafts33% Management41% Health information64% HIV / Aids58% ICT related53% African Writers44% Heritage collection37% Tender documents90% Community information90% Government information90% Metro Information85% 2010 World Cup59%

SATISFACTION IN LIBRARY PROGRAMS/SERVICES Programs and servicesPercentage of those using services who are satisfied Personal client involvement70% Activities for children69% Regular subject specific book displays80% Assistance with projects and reference services70% Circulation services70% Discussion rooms69% Security90% Convenient Location70% Daisy players for the Blinds65%

LIBRARY PROGRAMS ENCOURAGING VISITING LIS Program Strongest Link Reading Programme Educational toys Story Books Talks / lecture careers Reading circle / Book clubs Adult literacy classes Hobby programs for scholars Health Information Books on tape / services to the blind Information on employment opportunities Availability of government information Participate in Friends of the Library or Library Committee

LIBRARY RESOURCES Library media collection Staff friendliness and support ICT equipment

ACTION ITEMS Futuristic research Library media collection Customer Care Policies and strategies ICT equipment Marketing Library programs Partnerships Public participation

FRAMEWORK FOR IMPROVING SERVICE QUALITY & SATISFACTION - to be more responsive and relevant to the needs of citizens; –to be more efficient and effective in the use of public resources; –to be more representative of the diversity and needs of all, especially, the most disadvantaged sectors of the society; –to improve access to services; –to be more flexible and more efficient in the use of allocated funding; –to remove the command or control approach of management and accompanying excess regulation –to have the ability to adjust policies and processes when societal problems are detected –to better utilise technology in the delivery of service; and –to promote partnership with other sectors of public and private sector.

CONCLUSION In essence, the findings reveal that libraries should change their priorities and align more closely with those of users. Library and information services reliance on measures of “objective quality” has not always met the customer needs therefore the focus must be on “perceived quality” of the customers. The study point out that customer satisfaction is a measure of service quality. Broadly defined service expectation, can potentially lead to improvements in actual service quality. In competitive word of information and document delivery channels, libraries need to focus on customer satisfaction, as satisfied customers are returning customers (Rowley, 1994:9). Arguably, the body of research into service quality and customer satisfaction in the field of library and information studies shows consistent results and patterns of responses by users in different libraries

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