1. LibQUAL+TM : A Total Market Survey
26-27 January 2003
Philadelphia, Pa
Project web site

2. The Association of Research Libraries
Mission: Shaping and influencing forces affecting the
future of research libraries in the process of
scholarly communication.
Members: 124 major research libraries in North America.
Ratios: 4% of the higher education institutions
providing 40% of the information resources.
Users: 3 million students and faculty served.
Expenditures: $2.35 billion annually, $727 million for
acquisitions of which 16% is invested in access
to electronic resources.
ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH LIBRARIES

3. The Problem of Assessment in Academic Libraries
Traditional statistics emphasize inputs, expenditures, acquisitions, holdings, etc.
National Rankings are often misleading
No demonstrable relationship between expenditures and service quality
The lack of metrics describing outcomes: success from the user’s point of view

4. ARL New Measures Initiative
Collaboration among member leaders with strong interest in this area
Specific projects developed with different models for exploration
Intent to make resulting tools and methodologies available to full membership and wider community

5. ARL New Measures Projects
Demonstration project for service effectiveness measures (LibQUAL+)
Project to define usage measures for electronic information resources (E-Metrics Project)
Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS): a joint development effort led by Kent State with IMLS funding
Investigation of role libraries play in support of the research process
Investigation of role libraries can play in campus learning outcomes activities
Identification of cost-drivers and development of cost-benefit studies

6. LibQUAL+™ Project Goals
Improvement of mechanisms and protocols for evaluating libraries
Development of web-based tools for assessing library service quality
Identification of best practices in providing library service
Establishment of a Service Assessment Capability at ARL

7. LibQUAL+ Outcomes
Securing information that contributes meaningfully to planning and improvement efforts at a local level
Providing analytical frameworks that institutional staff can apply without extensive training or assistance
Helping decision-makers understand success of investments
Finding useful inter-institutional comparisons

8. LibQUAL+ Resources
• An ARL/Texas A&M University joint developmental effort based on SERVQUAL.
• LibQUAL+  initially supported by a 3-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE)
• Initial project established a expert team, re-grounded SERVQUAL concepts, and designed survey methodology
• Survey conducted at over 200 libraries resulting in a data base of over 78,000 user responses
• NSF funded project to refocus LibQUAL+ on the National Science Digital Library (NSDL)

9. LibQUAL+TM Team ARL TAMU Duane Webster Fred Heath Martha Kyrillidou
Consuella Askew Waller
Jonathan Sousa
Amy Hoseth
Julia Blixrud
Dru Mogge
TAMU
Fred Heath
Colleen Cook
Bruce Thompson
Yvonna Lincoln
Trey Thompson
Julie Guidry

10. LibQUAL+TM Participants
316
Participants
Year 3
Year 2
164
Participants
Year 1 43
Participants
Year 0 12
Participants
Spring
2000
Spring
2001
Spring
2002
Spring
2003
For More Information about Participants:
Visit old.libqual.org

11. Closure
LibQUAL+ methodology focuses on success from the users point of view (outcomes)
LibQUAL+ demonstrates web based survey can handle large numbers; users are willing to fill it out; and survey can be executed quickly with minimal expense
LibQUAL+ requires limited local survey expertise and resources
Analysis available at local and inter-institutional levels
Lots of opportunities for using demographics to discern user behaviors

12. Relationships: perceptions, service quality and satisfaction
….only customers judge quality;
all other judgments are essentially
irrelevant”
Zeithaml, Parasuraman, Berry. (1999).
Delivering quality service. NY: The Free Press.