1. Listening To Our Users LibQUAL @ Queen’s 2007
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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Listening To Our Users LibQUAL @ Queen’s 2007

2. What Is LibQUAL+ ?
Part of the Library’s ongoing process of service evaluation and planning.
Web-based tool for assessing library service quality & identifying opportunities for enhancements
Developed and refined over 7 years, 400,000+ respondents, 500+ institutions
Based on ServQual. 17 years of research and application at Texas A&M, etc.

3. How Does LibQUAL+ Measure Quality?
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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How Does LibQUAL+ Measure Quality?
Rating of services in context
Based on client perceptions and expectations
Gap analysis between perceived level of service, and minimum and desired service level
Although higher scores are better, they have no absolute intrinsic meaning on their own.
Meaningful in comparison with past years, other libraries & norms developed over the years

4. Gap Rating System [Perceived – Minimum = Service Adequacy Gap]
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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Gap Rating System [Perceived – Minimum = Service Adequacy Gap]
Desired level of service, or Value
Perceived level of service
Minimum Expected level of service
LibQUAL measures: value placed on a service by users; expected level of service; gap score, or how well the library has performed in meeting user expectations of a service.

5. LibQUAL+ Survey in Canada
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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LibQUAL+ Survey in Canada
Queen’s participant in 2007 LibQUAL Canada Consortium, 54 libraries across Canada:
Opportunity to benchmark results with a group of comparable peer institutions: e.g. research-intensive institutions across Canada and universities across Ontario.

6. LibQUAL+ Winter 2007 Survey
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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LibQUAL+ Winter 2007 Survey
22 service quality survey questions
5 optional “local” questions
Demographic & usage questions
One open comments box

7. Service Quality “Dimensions” Library Service Quality
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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Service Quality “Dimensions”
Library Service Quality
Affect of Service
Library as Place
Empathy
Utilitarian Space
Responsiveness
Symbol
Assurance
Refuge
Reliability
Information Control
Scope of collections
Ease of Navigation
Convenience
Timeliness
Modern Equipment

8. Survey - Sample Section
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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Survey - Sample Section
When it comes to…
My Minimum Service Level Is
low …… high
My Desired Service Level Is
Perceived Service Performance Is
N/A 1
Employees who instill confidence in users
N/A  2
Easy-to-use access tools that allow me to find things on my own 3
Print and/or electronic journal collections I require for my work

9. LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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LibQUAL Results
LibQUAL results are a measure of perceived service quality in relation to user expectations

10. Detailed Report
This report compares the Queen’s results against those in & against the 2007 Canadian Consortial results
Highlights of report:
ongoing trends (most & least valued service areas)
Library performance (strengths & areas for potential enhancements)
assess effectiveness of changes to library facilities and services implemented since 2004.

11. Issues & Actions Report
This document summarizes
issues for potential attention arising the from survey
action plans to enhance these services & facilities

12. Issues & Action plans to enhance services & facilities
2007 Findings Actions
Issues & Action plans to enhance services & facilities
Example from Library Web Site:

13. LibQUAL Report Highlights
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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LibQUAL Report Highlights
Higher Scores
Higher expectations
Queen’s 2007 results showed improvements across all service dimensions in comparison to the 2004 survey. However, with the rise in the Library’s performance scores, came higher service expectations in A major challenge is managing expectations.

14. Overall 2007 Performance Ratings
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Overall 2007 Performance Ratings
Among the top Canadian Library Participants
Strongest:
Library as Place
Affect of Service or client services
Area for improvement:
Information Control (Collections & access to information)
Our overall 2007 results are well above the ARL mean scores, among the highest in the 2007 Canadian LibQUAL Consortium.

15. LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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Value vs Performance
Information Control Highest value/lowest rating or “Gap” score
Affect of Service Lower value/higher rating
Library as Place Lowest value/highest rating
Queen’s results followed the continuing trend among all academic library participants. Information Control (collections and access to resources) continues be the service area with the highest value rankings and the area with the lowest performance scores. While Queen’s continues to rate very highly in the other two dimension – most notably Library as Place, these areas continued to rank notably lower in importance compared to Information Control. In the example on this slide, you don’t need to know the actual numbers to see the relate values and performance ratings among the service dimensions.
15##

16. Queen’s among highest performance ratings in Canadian Consortium
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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Affect of Service
Tends to generate lower value ratings & relatively high performance ratings compared to other service areas.
Queen’s among highest performance ratings in Canadian Consortium
Giving users individual attention
Employees who instill confidence in users
Employees who deal with users in a caring fashion
Availability of subject specialist assistance
The Library maintained its strong overall ratings in this area, despite higher expectation in 2007 particularly among graduate students and faculty. The strong performance scores are supported by the many laudatory comments praising customer service throughout the system. The lower value ratings in this area and the respondent comments continue to reflect the desire among users for unmediated electronic services.

17. Affect of Service Challenges to Libraries:
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Affect of Service
Challenges to Libraries:
Promote the value of research & instructional services to the community
Reaching out to users who don’t/won’t come to training sessions or the reference desk
The relatively low value ratings for client services, particularly among undergraduates, present an ongoing challenge in increasing user awareness of the benefits offered by the Library’s instructional and research services in helping them work more effectively.

18. LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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Information Control
Tends to generate highest value ratings & relatively low performance ratings compared to other service areas.
Queen’s in top 10 among Canadian Participants in 2007; improved overall performance since survey
Making electronic resources accessible from my home or office
Print and/or electronic journal collections I require for my work
The electronic information resources I need
A library Web site enabling me to locate information on my own
Ability to navigate library Web pages easily
Easy-to-use access tools that allow me to find things on my own
While the Library has shown marked overall improvement in this service area between 2004 and 2007, this continues to be the area of greatest opportunity for enhanced service to our users (particularly among graduate students and faculty). Not surprisingly, undergrads whose resource demands are not as specialized are the most satisfied group of users.
The scores and respondent comments reflect rising expectations for more and better access to full-text electronic resources and the expectations that library resources should be easy to use. The Library’s catalogue, web site and proxy service were common areas of complaint. Graduate students and faculty in the humanities, social sciences and health sciences generated the lowest scores in this service area and most of the comments about collection deficiencies in their disciplines.

19. Information Control Challenges:
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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Information Control
Challenges:
More & better discovery resources (e.g. databases) have raised expectations about timely availability of full-text resources, incl. ILL/Doc Del
More effective access to library resources & services from the Library web site; maximize existing resources
Improve electronic & print collections
Continuing need to market available services and collections effectively
With the Library’s success in acquiring more and better discovery resources, have come increased expectations about availability – hence “Get Queen’s” frustrations and concerns with speed of ILL and costs – among grad students. The survey scores and respondent comments reflect rising expectations for more and better access to full-text electronic resources and the expectations that library resources should be easy to use. The Library’s catalogue, web site and proxy service were identified as areas for greater enhancement. Graduate students and faculty in the humanities, social sciences and health sciences generated the lowest scores in this service area, among Queen’s respondents, and most of the comments about collection deficiencies in their disciplines.
Several steps have already been taken or are ongoing to enhance access to collections. A new proxy service went into production in September A search for a replacement to the QCAT search interface is currently underway; in the meantime, the existing interface has been revised and streamlined, with new features implemented over the summer. A number of improvements to the Library website have also been made in response to LibQUAL feedback, with a review of website navigation and organization currently in progress.

20. A comfortable and inviting location
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Library as Place
Improved on already strong overall 2004 performance
Most Queen’s campus libraries continue to be highly rated as:
A comfortable and inviting location
Most important to undergrads
Ongoing development of the campus library facilities, notably CHEER in Bracken and The Learning Commons in Stauffer, contributed to maintaining Library as Place as Queen’s highest rated service dimension in The Library improved on its very high overall 2004 gap scores, ranking highest among the 40 Canadian University LibQUAL participants. These rankings reflect in part the Library’s continual responsiveness to potentially problematic areas. The Library as Place dimension receives higher value scores from undergraduates, who are the heaviest users of campus libraries, but remains relatively lower in importance than the other two service dimensions for other user groups. Students lauded extended library hours and services, particularly access to 24-hour facilities during exam periods, as well as availability and access to group study space. Graduate students and some faculty, however, commented on the lack of quiet, clean spaces dedicated to individual research and study. Stauffer library patrons, in particular, expressed some concern about the study environment in this heavily used space, citing excessive noise, cell phone use, untidy washrooms and inadequate maintenance. Students across the Library system continue to express a desire for increased study space and workstations during busy periods.

21. Library as Place Challenges:
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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Library as Place
Challenges:
Lack of sufficient quiet spaces for individual study & research
Insufficient seating during exams,
Expensive copying/printing charges,
Request for longer hours all term & all libraries,
In Stauffer: dirty washrooms and a general lack of adequate maintenance;
Controversy over food & drink policy
Campus libraries continue to monitor use of library collections and spaces to establish optimal opening hours. Work with Physical Plant Services to ensure cleanliness standards are maintained. Develop a promotional campaign to engage students in observing food and drink policies and helping to keep library spaces clean and tidy. Promote awareness of underutilised study spaces; ongoing space planning to address areas of high demand for additional quiet and/or group space. Work with Physical Plant Services and Campus Planning & Development to consider acoustics issues and potential solutions in various locations in Stauffer Library.
Space and budget restrictions mitigate against increasing the number of library computers above the current number of approximately 400 units across the library system. Active Directory NetID login has been implemented to facilitate better use and sharing of workstations, restricting full functionality access to members of the Queen’s community. Review of current laptop loan policy is ongoing, with plans to increase the number available.

22. Frequency of Use At least once a week, respondents used:
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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Frequency of Use
At least once a week, respondents used:
Google & other search engines: >90%
Library resources sites: >80%
Library premises: 60%
While the internet remains the overwhelming choice for information resources for 90+% of all user groups, the Library web site continues to be heavily used with 80% of respondents consulting the site daily or weekly. On-site use remains strong with more than half of the respondents visiting the Library at least once a week with higher numbers in the humanities and social sciences.

23. Internal Consultation Process
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Internal Consultation Process
Report discussed at Management Team; consultation plan developed
Report and plan distributed to all staff
All-Staff information session
Units and functional teams
Meetings of individual units and functional teams identify the issues in their areas of responsibilities and recommend appropriate actions.
Management Team
Reviewed the compilation of issues and objectives in developing the 2005/06 Budget Report. Compiled and approved action items prepared by the functional teams and units.

24. Roll Out to Public Articles for The Gazette & The Journal
LibQUAL+ at Queen's*
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Roll Out to Public
Articles for The Gazette & The Journal
Survey results & action plans published on the Library’s LibQUAL+ web site: