LibQUAL

What is LibQUAL+®?

LibQUAL+® is a suite of services that libraries use to solicit, track, understand, and act upon users' opinions of service quality. These services are offered to the library community by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). The program's centerpiece is a rigorously tested Web-based survey bundled with training that helps libraries assess and improve library services, change organizational culture, and market the library. The goals of LibQUAL+® are to:

• Foster a culture of excellence in providing library service
• Help libraries better understand user perceptions of library service quality
• Collect and interpret library user feedback systematically over time
• Provide libraries with comparable assessment information from peer institutions
• Identify best practices in library service
• Enhance library staff members' analytical skills for interpreting and acting on data

More than 1,000 libraries have participated in LibQUAL+®, including colleges and university libraries, community college libraries, health sciences libraries, academic law libraries, and public libraries -- some through various consortia, others as independent participants. LibQUAL+® has expanded internationally, with participating institutions in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe. The growing LibQUAL+® community of participants and its extensive dataset are rich resources for improving library services.

How will LibQUAL+® Benefit your Library?

Library administrators have successfully used LibQUAL+® survey data to identify best practices, analyze deficits, and effectively allocate resources. Benefits to participating institutions include:

• Institutional data and reports that enable you to assess whether your library services are meeting user expectations
• Aggregate data and reports that allow you to compare your library's performance with that of peer institutions
• Workshops designed specifically for LibQUAL+® participants
• Access to an online library of LibQUAL+® research articles
• The opportunity to become part of a community interested in developing excellence in library services

How Does LibQUAL+® Benefit Your Library Users?

LibQUAL+® gives your library users a chance to tell you where your services need improvement so you can respond to and better manage their expectations. You can develop services that better meet your users' expectations by comparing your library's data with that of peer institutions and examining the practices of those libraries that are evaluated highly by their users.

How Is the LibQUAL+® Survey Conducted?

Conducting the LibQUAL+® survey requires little technical expertise on your part. Use our online Management Center to set up and track the progress of your survey. You invite your users to take the survey, distributing the URL for your library's Web form via e-mail or posting a link on the library's Web site. Respondents complete the survey form and their answers are sent to the LibQUAL+® database. The data are analyzed and presented to you in reports describing your users' desired, perceived, and minimum expectations of service.

What Are the Origins of the LibQUAL+® Survey?

The LibQUAL+® survey evolved from a conceptual model based on the SERVQUAL instrument, a popular tool for assessing service quality in the private sector. The Texas A&M University Libraries and other libraries used modified SERVQUAL instruments for several years; those applications revealed the need for a newly adapted tool that would serve the particular requirements of libraries. ARL, representing the largest research libraries in North America, partnered with Texas A&M University Libraries to develop, test, and refine LibQUAL+® . This effort was supported in part by a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE).

Dalhousie Libraries Survey January 28 - February 18, 2005

What Is the LibQUAL Survey? LibQUAL is the first total market survey developed specifically for academic research libraries. From January 28th til February 18th, the Dalhousie Libraries will be running the LibQUAL survey campus-wide to determine how Dal faculty, students and staff feel about the quality of the resources and services we offer. We need your feedback, and we welcome your comments and suggestions! How Does the Survey Work? The LibQUAL survey will be available online to the entire Dalhousie community. It features questions which cover three vital facets of academic libraries: �Affect of Service,� �Library As Place,� and �Information Control.� The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. LibQUAL+ Survey 2010 In 2010, the University of Toronto Libraries will again participate in the LibQUAL+ survey, a national initiative designed to measure library service quality and identify best practices on an ongoing basis, led by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries. The survey is important because it will: Help us better understand how our students rate library services Allow us to benchmark our results against other libraries to determine best practices Let us know where we can concentrate space and service improvements for University of Toronto Libraries users This year’s survey marks the second time the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) will be participating. In March of 2007, UTL implemented the LibQUAL+ survey as part of a consortium of 62 Canadian institutions and 217 institutions worldwide, including college and university libraries, health sciences libraries, community college libraries and law libraries. Survey respondents will be asked about their perceptions and expectations of library service quality on three dimensions: Affect of Service: Customer services provided by library staff Information Control: Library resources, collections and access to resources Library as Place: Library spaces, facilities and amenities (for study, meeting, etc.) We are pleased to report that the feedback we received from our community of students, faculty and staff through the 2007 survey helped us to identify and act on a number of priority areas for improvement. Here is a sample of what you have helped us to accomplish as a result of the 2007 survey: AFFECT OF SERVICE: Planned Action Details Implement staff training sessions focused on courteous, responsive service. Customer service training completed by all frontline UTL staff between Spring 2008 and Spring 2009. Focus on knowledge-based training and developing improved communication mechanisms for transferring knowledge. Ongoing INFORMATION CONTROL: Planned Action Details Implement changes to the UTL website, including a new resource discovery system (catalogue) to provide a uniform and powerful search engine for catalogue, licensed and open access content and library webpages.  New library website and catalogue launched January 2009, including a more powerful and user-friendly search engine for print and electronic library materials. Conduct an e-book survey to determine user needs regarding electronic books.     E-book survey completed during the winter 2008 term. Install a new e-books platform to provide improved access to licensed materials and links to digital copies of books in the libraries’ collections.   New Scholar’s Portal e-books platform launched in January 2010 allows users to search and access electronic books from commercial and open access publishers, as well as digitized historical material. Users can also save citations to RefWorks and other bibliographic management software. Launch information kiosk on the 1st floor of Robarts Library to communicate to users about library resources.   “Research Help Express” kiosk implemented in the 2008 & 2009 winter terms, to broaden access to library research assistance provided by UTL reference librarians. Develop a “knowledge base” to provide answers to frequently asked questions about the UTOR suite of services.   Searchable Knowledge Base, including a dynamically updated list of answers to the top ten most frequently asked questions, launched by the Information Commons in 2008 and continues to grow. Continue transfer of low-use collections to UTL at Downsview to improve the ability to shelve new acquisitions and the turnaround time for re-shelving of circulating materials.   1.3 million low-use items transferred to UTL at Downsview as of Fall, 2009. Users can request items housed at Downsview online, for delivery within 1-2 days. Launch information literacy initiatives in conjunction with the Faculty of Arts & Science, Health Sciences programmes, the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering and OISE.   Information literacy is deeply embedded in the curricula across the Faculty of Arts & Science, Health Sciences programs, the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering and OISE.  For further details on individual faculty initiatives, see the Report on Information Literacy Activities since the 2007 LIBQual+ Survey. Form Health Users Group (HUGG) to review student library needs.   HUGG group implemented in 2007 meets regularly to provide ongoing feedback about students’ library needs LIBRARY AS PLACE: Planned Action Details Implement enhancements to the 2nd floor of Robarts Library to provide wireless, coffee-friendly study space. New coffee and wireless-friendly study space implemented on the 2nd floor of Robarts Library in the winter 2007 term has become a popular study and social space.   Retrofit lighting throughout Robarts Library. Lighting replaced throughout Robarts Library in the summer of 2007. Install power outlets and task lighting in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor reading rooms at Robarts Library. New power outlets and task lighting installed in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor reading rooms in the Fall of 2007. Submit funding proposal to the Student Experience Fund for improved wireless access in Robarts and Gerstein Libraries. Additional wireless access points installed at Robarts and Gerstein Libraries and subject to ongoing monitoring. Submit proposal for funding from the Student Experience Fund for refurbishment of the Engineering and Computer Science Library. Renovations completed in early 2009 included new furniture, carpeting and paint, as well as improved wireless connectivity and study space. Construct and open the Canada Hong Kong Library on the 8th floor of Robarts Library.   The Canada Hong Kong Library opened in the Fall of 2007 and has generated a lot of interest from community users through its exhibitions in addition to being well-used by the U of T community.   In accordance with the Robarts Library master plan for renewal developed by the Users’ Committee in the fall of 2007 and approved by Governing Council in January 2008: Implement a complete renovation of the Data, Map and Government Publications service area on the 5th floor of Robarts Library to expand student space. Renew the apex study areas on the 9th and 11th floors of Robarts Library. Renew and expand the Media Commons on the 3rd floor of Robarts Library. Build a major 5-storey addition on the west side of the Robarts Library building.     Renovations to the 5th, 9th and 11th floors of Robarts Library were completed in the fall of 2009. The renovations modernized the space and added 600 new study spots, 20 small group study rooms and a new 20 seat computer lab. Renovations to the Media Commons on the 3rd floor of Robarts Library will be completed in spring 2010. Fundraising is underway for a 5-storey addition to the Robarts Library building. Beginning in Spring 2010, the 2nd floor porticos will be renovated, and the same treatment as has already occurred on 9 and 11 will happen on floors 10, 12 and 13 over the Summer of 2010. In addition to the study space in the apexes, six small group study rooms will be added to each of the 5 stack floors and the Library will ensure robust wireless connectivity to all of these refurbished areas. Renew and restore the Gerstein Science Information Centre’s heritage reading room to expand study space and renovate the 2nd floor heritage wing to expand graduate student space and group facilities.    Renovations completed in the fall of 2008. The Gerstein Reading Room at the Gerstein Science Information Centre received honourable mention in a recent competition for renovation excellence, which takes into consideration quality of craftsmanship, the use of sound conservation principles and how well the project meets current needs while maintaining the integrity of the original design vision. Implement a complete renovation of the public washrooms on the 1st and 3rd floors of Robarts Library.   Renovations to the 1st floor washrooms were completed in the summer of 2009. Renovations to the 3rd floor washrooms were completed in the fall of 2009. * To view the U of T Mississauga Library's LibQUAL+ Survey Action Plan Update Report, click here. Input from our community does make a difference and we are hoping for a good response rate to the survey again this year to help identify future service priorities. For questions about this year’s LibQUAL+ survey, please view our FAQ or contact Lari Langford at lari.langford@utoronto.ca with any additional questions not addressed in the FAQ.