TM Project web site: Colleen Cook Bruce Thompson Martha Kyrillidou Glasgow January 19-20, 2004 “ 22 Items and a Box ” Qualitative Grounding :

LibQUAL+  Why the Box is so Damn Important

LibQUAL+  1. About 40% of participants provide open-ended comments, and these are linked to demographics and quantitative data.

LibQUAL+  2. Users elaborate the details of their concerns.

LibQUAL+  3. Users feel the need to be constructive in their criticisms, and offer specific suggestions for action.

“In an age of accountability, there is a pressing need for an effective and practical process to evaluate and compare research libraries. In the aggregate, among the 124 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) alone, over $3.2 billion dollars were expended in 2000/2001 to satisfy the library and information needs of the research constituencies in North America.” The Imperative for our Research Note. M. Kyrillidou and M. Young. (2002). ARL Statistics Washington, D.C.: ARL, p.5.

Note. M. Kyrillidou and M. Young. (2002). ARL Statistics Washington, D.C.: ARL, p.7. Total Circulation

Note. M. Kyrillidou and M. Young. (2002). ARL Statistics Washington, D.C.: ARL, p.7. Reference Transactions

 Only 13.9% ask a librarian  Only 3.2% consider consulting a librarian a preferred way of identifying information Note. Digital Library Federation and Council on Library and Information Resources. (2002). Dimensions and Use of the Scholarly Information Environment. Finding Print Journals for Research

Note. Digital Library Federation and Council on Library and Information Resources. (2002). Dimensions and Use of the Scholarly Information Environment.  92.7% find out about e-journals on-line  21.7% report using print resources to find  16.5% would ask a person for assistance  Only 2.5% would prefer to ask a librarian Finding Electronic Journals for Research

 Only 15.7% agreed with the statement “The Internet has not changed the way I use the library” Note. Digital Library Federation and Council on Library and Information Resources. (2002). Dimensions and Use of the Scholarly Information Environment. Information Seeking Behaviors are Changing

Premise for Mixed-Methods  “The underlying premise of mixed-method inquiry is that each paradigm offers a meaningful and legitimate way of knowing and understanding” (p. 7). Note. Greene, J.C. and Caracelli, V. J. (Eds.). (1997). Advances in mixed-method valuation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

u Data were gathered for building a theory of service quality through unstructured interviews of users of research libraries in north America. u The theory was analyzed, tested, and refined from a grounded theory perspective through an iterative and emergent process that employed both qualitative and quantitative methods. u Interview data were derived and subjected to traditional quantitative analysis for reliability and validity to ascertain whether it both accurately assessed user sentiment of service quality, and whether it succeeded in evaluating what it purportedly was designed to do. uInitial interviews served to inform subsequent interviews, which in turn determined the texture of survey questions. Mixed Method Design

13 Libraries English LibQUAL+™ Version 4000 Respondents QUAL QUAN QUAL QUAN QUAL PURPOSE DATA ANALYSIS PRODUCT/RESULT Describe library environment; build theory of library service quality from user perspective Test LibQUAL+™ instrument Refine theory of service quality Refine LibQUAL+™ instrument Test LibQUAL+™ instrument Refine theory Unstructured interviews at 8 ARL institutions Web-delivered survey Unstructured interviews at Health Sciences and the Smithsonian libraries to survey administrators Web-delivered survey Focus groups Content analysis: (cards & Atlas TI) Reliability/validity analyses: Cronbachs Alpha, factor analysis, SEM, descriptive statistics Content analysis Reliability/validity analyses including Cronbachs Alpha, factor analysis, SEM, descriptive statistics Content analysis Vignette Re-tooling Iterative Emergent Libraries English, Dutch, Swedish, German LibQUAL+™ Versions 160,000 anticipated respondents LibQUAL+™ Project Case studies 1 Valid LibQUAL+™ protocol Scalable process Enhanced understanding of user-centered views of service quality in the library environment 2 Cultural perspective 3 Refined survey delivery process and theory of service quality 4 Refined LibQUAL+™ instrument 5 Local contextual understanding of LibQUAL+™ survey responses 6

LibQUAL+  Process  SERVQUAL dimensions served as a priori theoretical starting point

Gap Theory of Assessment: Perceptions, Service Quality and Satisfaction PERCEPTIONS SERVICE “….only customers judge quality; all other judgments are essentially irrelevant” Note. Zeithaml, Parasuraman, Berry. (1999). Delivering quality service. NY: The Free Press.

 York University  University of Arizona  Arizona State  University of Connecticut  University of Houston  University of Kansas  University of Minnesota  University of Pennsylvania  University of Washington  Smithsonian  Northwestern Medical 76 Interviews Conducted

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Dimensions of Library Service Quality

“You put a search on a book and it’s just gone; it’s not reacquired. … There’s more of a problem of lost books, of books that are gone and nobody knows why and nobody’s doing anything about it.” Faculty member Reliability

“I want to be treated with respect. I want you to be courteous, to look like you know what you are doing and enjoy what you are doing. … Don’t get into personal conversations when I am at the desk.” Faculty member Affect of Service

“Over time my own library use has become increasingly electronic. So that the amount of time I actually spend in the library is getting smaller and the amount of time I spend at my desk on the web … is increasing.” Faculty member Ubiquity of Access

“I think one of the things I love about academic life in the United States is that as a culture…, we tend to appreciate the extraordinary importance of libraries in the life of the mind.” Faculty member Comprehensive Collections

“One of the cherished rituals is going up the steps and through the gorgeous doors of the library and heading up to the fifth floor to my study. … I have my books and I have six million volumes downstairs that are readily available to me in an open stack library.” Faculty member Library as Place Library as Place

“I guess you’d call them satisfiers. As long as they are not negatives, they won’t be much of a factor. If they are negatives, they are a big factor.” Faculty member Library as Place Library as Place

“The poorer your situation, the more you need the public spaces to work in. When I was an undergraduate, I spent most of my time in the library, just using it as a study space.” Faculty member Library as Place Library as Place

“…first of all, I would turn to the best search engines that are out there. That’s not a person so much as an entity. In this sense, librarians are search engines [ just ] with a different interface.” Faculty member Self-reliance

“By habit, I usually try to be self-sufficient. And I’ve found that I am actually fairly proficient. I usually find what I’m looking for eventually. So I personally tend to ask a librarian only as a last resort.” Graduate student Self-reliance

_____________________________________________________________________________ Factor_______ _ No. I II III IVItem Core _____________________________________________________________________________ Willingness to help users Giving users individual attention Employees deal with users caring fashion Employees who are consistently courteous Employees have knowledge answer questions Employees understand needs of users Readiness to respond to users' questions Employees who instill confidence in users Dependability handling service problems A haven for quiet and solitude A meditative place A contemplative environment Space that facilitates quiet study A place for reflection and creativity * website enabling me locate info on my own * elec resources accessible home or office * access tools allow me find on my own Modern equip me easily access info I need * info easily accessible for independent use Convenient access to library collections Comprehensive print collections Complete runs of journal titles Interdisciplinary library needs addressed Timely document delivery/interlibrary loan Convenient business hours ________________________________________________________________ LibQUAL+  Core Questions Y1

Dimensions of Library Service Quality

Survey Instrument

 York University  University of Arizona  Arizona State  University of Connecticut  University of Houston  University of Kansas  University of Minnesota  University of Pennsylvania  University of Washington  Smithsonian  Northwestern Medical 76 Interviews Conducted

The Value of the Qualitative Perspectives  “Only with in-depth, local, qualitative, ‘culture’ studies can libraries know and understand what compels some to remain as far away from the library as possible, while others refrain from engaging library staff in their own search for proficiency and self- reliance” (Lincoln, p. 15).

“If Foucault is correct that we in the West live in surveilled societies, then what function does self- reliance serve? …the library user who wishes to navigate resources with as little help as possible – seeks a kind of privacy from the surveillance of librarian help …Having found the relative anonymity of cyberspace and a virtual world, this self-reliant user now seeks the same independence and lack of surveillance in the text-based and digitized universe of information resources known as the library” (Lincoln, p. 12). Cultural Perspective – Self-reliance

 “…It’s beyond the ease [with] which you can find information, just because the library experience is something like Greece or Athens…” (Undergraduate)  “…the library needs to welcome them in. It needs to make them feel like this is a place where they can be in almost a haven, a refuge” (Business professor)  “writing an undergraduate thesis with this big dome over his head…he felt really like a scholar” (Linguistics professor)  Writing a dissertation in a particular library for another scholar “was an emotional experience” Cultural Perspective – Library as Place

“In the physical [vs. virtual] reality, ‘texture’ has become important. Density of collections becomes important, and, if collections are not complete, users want to know where they can find missing volumes, journal articles, and/or how swiftly interlibrary loan will work for them” (Lincoln, p. 11). Cultural Perspective - Collections

to Survey Administrators “A number of the questions asked to rate the library from low to high, with n/a if it doesn’t apply to me. The latter wasn’t clear, but there were a number of questions which implied what a library should be that I don’t agree with. For example, a number of questions asked whether the library was a ‘contemplative place’ or a ‘center for intellectual stimulation.’ I don’t think our library is, but I don’t want it to be, and I certainly wouldn’t want any scarce resources to be devoted to this.” Communication to web-master

“…as users have metamorphosed from penitents to self-reliant information surfers, the rules of engagement have changed. Service is not something dispensed; rather, it is enacted as an elaborate cultural ritual, the texture and fabric of which is changing in front of us. Service may now embody multiple overlays of meaning, many too dense for anything but an anthropological fieldwork study to uncover” (Lincoln, p. 15). Service as Performance

to Survey Administrators “Other questions implied that any good library staff would ‘empower’ me to find my own research. I don’t mean to sound snippish, but if I wanted to be ‘empowered’ to be able to find all my own research, I’d enroll in the outstanding school of library science here on campus. I thought the reason we bring in talented and trained librarians is so that we can efficiently divide labor, and I can remain dependent on them – unempowered, if you will, to assist me when need it. (And let me assure you I AM dependent, and they ARE excellent in assisting me.)” Communication to web-master

Dimensions of Library Service Quality

Focus Group Follow-up  Downward trend in scores on question, “Employees have knowledge to answer user question.”  What employees? “I asked for help in searching on the 1 st floor of the annex. They said they aren’t trained in that….”  What knowledge? “Some just say, ‘I don’t know.’ Do you know who could tell me? I ask, and sometimes, they don’t know that either” (Crowley & Gilreath, pp ).

 Transactional surveys*  Mystery shopping  New, declining, and lost-customer surveys  Focus group interviews  Customer advisory panels  Service reviews  Customer complaint, comment, and inquiry capture  Total market surveys*  Employee field reporting  Employee surveys  Service operating data capture *A SERVQUAL-type instrument is most suitable for these methods Note. A. Parasuraman. The SERVQUAL Model: Its Evolution And Current Status. (2000). Paper presented at ARL Symposium on Measuring Service Quality, Washington, D.C. Multiple Methods of Listening to Customers

woof LibQUAL+  Related Documents LibQUAL+  LibQUAL+  Web Site LibQUAL+  LibQUAL+  Bibliography Survey Participants Procedures Manual