1. An Introduction to LibQUAL+™ New Ways of Listening to Users Washington, DC November 5, 2005 Martha Kyrillidou Amy Hoseth Jonathan Sousa old.libqual.org

2. Total Circulation Note. M. Kyrillidou and M. Young. (2003). ARL Statistics 2002-03. Washington, D.C.: ARL, p.8.

3. old.libqual.org Reference Transactions Note. M. Kyrillidou and M. Young. (2003). ARL Statistics 2002-03. Washington, D.C.: ARL, p.8.

4. old.libqual.org Assessment “The difficulty lies in trying to find a single model or set of simple indicators that can be used by different institutions, and that will compare something across large groups that is by definition only locally applicable—i.e., how well a library meets the needs of its institution. Librarians have either made do with oversimplified national data or have undertaken customized local evaluations of effectiveness, but there has not been devised an effective way to link the two.” Sarah Pritchard, Library Trends, 1996

5. old.libqual.org 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

6. old.libqual.org LibQUAL+ ™ Goals Improve mechanisms and protocols for evaluating libraries Develop Web-based tools for assessing library service quality Identify best practices in providing library service Support libraries seeking to understand changes in user behavior Assist libraries seeking to re-position library services in today’s new environment

7. old.libqual.org LibQUAL+™ Process SERVQUAL dimensions served as a priori theoretical starting point SERVQUAL originally created for use in the business sector

8. old.libqual.org Multiple Methods of Listening to Customers 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 A. Parasuraman. The SERVQUAL Model: Its Evolution And Current Status. (2000). Paper presented at ARL Symposium on Measuring Service Quality, Washington, D.C.

9. old.libqual.org PERCEPTIONS SERVICE “….only customers judge quality; all other judgments are essentially irrelevant” Zeithaml, Parasuraman, Berry. (1999). Delivering quality service. NY: The Free Press. The LibQUAL+ ™ Premise

10. old.libqual.org The Survey Over Time 2000200120022003-2006 41 items56 items25 items22 items Affect of Service Service Affect Library as Place Reliability Personal Control Information Control Provision of Physical Collections Self-Reliance Information Access Access to Information

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14. 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 E-mail 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 2000 2004 315 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

15. old.libqual.org 76 Interviews Conducted 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

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18. Reliability “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

19. old.libqual.org Affect of Service “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

20. old.libqual.org Ubiquity of Access “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

21. old.libqual.org Comprehensive Collections “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

22. old.libqual.org Library as Place “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

23. old.libqual.org 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

24. old.libqual.org 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

25. old.libqual.org Self-Reliance “…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

26. old.libqual.org 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

27. old.libqual.org Dimensions of Library Service Quality

28. old.libqual.org Survey Structure – Page 2 (Detail View)

29. old.libqual.org alpha by Language By Language ServiceInfo.Lib as Group n AffectControlPlaceTOTAL American (all)59,318.95.91.88.96 British (all) 6,773.93.87.81.94 French (all) 172.95.90.89.95

30. old.libqual.org alpha by University Type By University Type ServiceInfo.Lib as Group n AffectControlPlaceTOTAL Comm Colleges 4,189.96.92.89.97 4 yr Not ARL36,430.95.91.88.96 4 yr, ARL14,080.95.90.87.96 Acad Health 3,263.95.92.90.96

31. old.libqual.org Service Affect (n = 71,170 English) SA20APER.80541.22199.27521 SA07APER.80338.27236.20993 SA17APER.79655.20844.22793 SA04APER.77062.29258.17694 SA15APER.73437.34646.24299 SA23APER.73391.34359.27896 SA01APER.71589.29773.16972 SA12APER.71541.32229.25528 SA10APER.68825.35941.28090 Service Affect

32. old.libqual.org Library as Place Library as Place (n = 71,170 English) LP13APER.26213.25710.80013 LP05APER.20412.15920.73601 LP09APER.27765.24869.72631 LP24APER.26672.34873.72148 LP19APER.19630.28102.70295

33. old.libqual.org Information Control Information Control (n = 71,170 English) IA18APER.29824.73480.28164 PC11APER.29045.71111.19999 IA03APER.24482.70341.18989 PC25APER.21770.68760.22736 PC21APER.41572.65615.30096 PC02APER.37847.63860.16559 PC16APER.33439.61598.36448 IA14APER.28759.58521.39295

34. old.libqual.org Key to Radar Charts

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38. Key to Bar Charts

39. old.libqual.org LibQUAL+™ 2004 Summary Colleges or Universities American English (n = 69,449)

40. old.libqual.org The Box Why the box is so important –About 40% of participants provide open- ended comments, and these are linked to demographics and quantitative data –Users elaborate the details of their concerns –Users feel the need to be constructive in their criticisms, and offer specific suggestions for action

41. old.libqual.org Rapid Growth Languages –American English –British English –French –Dutch –Swedish Consortia –Each may create 5 local questions to add to their survey Types of Institutions –Academic Health Sciences –Academic Law –Academic Military –College or University –Community College –European Business –Hospital –Public –State Countries –U.S., U.K., Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, South Africa, Egypt, Australia

42. old.libqual.org LibQUAL+ ™ Participants

43. old.libqual.org Participating Libraries World LibQUAL+™ Survey

44. old.libqual.org In Closing LibQUAL+™ methodology focuses on success from the user’s point of view (outcomes) Demonstrates that a 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 Many opportunities for using demographics to discern user behaviors

45. old.libqual.org LibQUAL+ ™ Resources LibQUAL+™ Website: http://www.libqual.org http://www.libqual.org Publications: http://www.libqual.org/publications http://www.libqual.org/publications Events and Training: http://www.libqual.org/events http://www.libqual.org/events LibQUAL+™ Online Tutorial: http://www.libqual.org/Information/Tools/index.cfm LibQUAL+™ Procedures Manual: http://www.libqual.org/Information/Manual/index.cfm http://www.libqual.org/Information/Manual/index.cfm

46. old.libqual.org Appreciative Inquiry (AI) A positive revolution in change.

47. old.libqual.org What is Appreciative Inquiry? AI is a methodology that allows leaders to focus on the positive instead of the negative. Rather than focusing on problems, AI elicits solutions.

48. old.libqual.org What is Appreciative Inquiry? Change Management theory - What problems are we having? Appreciative Inquiry theory - What is working around here?

49. old.libqual.org Problem Solving Model Identify problem Analyze causes Brainstorm solutions and analyze Develop action plans Assumption: An organization is a problem to be solved.

50. old.libqual.org Appreciative Inquiry Appreciating and valuing - What is Envisioning - What might be Discussing - What should be Innovating - What will be Assumption: An organization is a mystery to be embraced.

51. old.libqual.org Appreciative Inquiry Model

52. old.libqual.org How To Do It Begin with the topic. –If what we focus on is magnified by our attention, be sure we are magnifying something worthy. Create the questions to explore the topic. –Focus on questions that will find out what works.

53. old.libqual.org The Art of the Question What’s the biggest problem around here? Rather ….. What possibilities exist that we haven’t thought about yet? What’s the smallest change that could make the biggest impact?

54. old.libqual.org Basic Elements of the AI Question Positive introduction to the topic. Then questions such as: –Describe peak experience or high point –Things valued most about the experience –Image of desired future

55. old.libqual.org What Makes AI Questions Important? Positive language used Focus attention Create energy to answer Opportunity to think creatively Break automatic thinking about problems Alter internal dialogue and storytelling Specific positive future envisioned

56. old.libqual.org How To Do It Conduct the inquiry or interview. What to do with the information generated. –Share with larger group to discover common themes of success. –An iterative process that takes time.

57. old.libqual.org Next Steps Provocative proposition –Does it stretch, challenge, innovate? –Grounded in examples? –Does it bridge the best of “what is” and “what might be”? –Is it stated in affirmative, bold terms? Provocative proposition moves from individual will to group will, which achieves more than the sum of the individuals.

58. old.libqual.org Remember … Appreciative Inquiry does not work as a technique within the problem-solving model. Appreciative Inquiry is a transformative process because it helps us derive the future from reality.

59. old.libqual.org The Transforming Nature of AI We can see it, we know what it feels like, and we move to a collective, collaborative view of where we are going. Unlike other methodologies that can be recipes, the results are invented with experience that lead to innovation and to action.

60. old.libqual.org Resources The Appreciative Inquiry Commons (http://www.appreciativeinquiry.org/)http://www.appreciativeinquiry.org/ Cooperrider, David L., et al. 2003. Appreciative Inquiry Handbook. Bedford Heights, OH: Lakeshore Communications, Inc. Hammond, Sue Annis. 1998. The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry. Bend, OR: Thin Book Publishing Co. Whitney, Diana, et al. 2002. Encyclopedia of Positive Questions. Euclid, OH: Lakeshore Communications, Inc.