Assessment with LibQUAL+ ™

at the University of VermontVermont Library Association

College and Special Libraries Section Conference

April 7, 2006

Selene Colburn

Asst. to Dean for External Relations

University of Vermont Libraries

What is LibQUAL+?

A “rigorously tested Web-based survey…that helps libraries assess and improve library services.”

Developed by Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and based on SERVQUAL, a business-sector tool.

Over 200 institutions signed up last spring.

The Philosophy

“…only customers judge quality, all other judgments are essentially irrelevant.”

Zeithaml, Parasuraman, Berry. (1999).Delivering quality service. NY: The Free

Press

The Instrument

LibQUAL+ survey contains 22 standardized questions and a comment box.

An additional 5 questions can be selected from a list of 100+.

Questions are grounded in the language and concerns of users.

Service Dimensions

Questions fall into one of three categories:

• Affect of service.• Library as place.• Information control (formerly Access to

Information & Personal Control).

The Measurements

For each question, respondents are asked to list their minimum, desired, and perceived levels of service.

This creates:• The zone of tolerance.• The adequacy gap.

The Results:The Radar Chart

The Results: The Bar Chart

The Products

Results notebook (PDF file) and Excel raw data.

SPSS files. User comments. Interactive website.

UVM Summary Results: Library Use

UVM Summary Results:Bar Chart

UVM Summary Results:Radar Chart

UVM Graduate Student Results

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