Clemson University Libraries was one of 43 Research Libraries in North America to participate in LibQUAL+, a research and development pilot project to define and measure library service quality across institutions and to create useful quality-assessment tools for libraries. Participants conducted a web-based survey to record users' perceptions of their libraries' service quality and identify gaps between perceived and desired service levels. Students, faculty, and staff were randomly contacted to complete the survey. Of the 1200 users contacted, 266 completed the survey.

Not only was the survey conducted to determine satisfaction of Library users, but it was also designed to test the LibQUAL+ instrument, which was adapted from an assessment tool called SERVQUAL used by the marketing research community since the late 1980s. Many users called attention to the excessive length of the survey, and the redundancy of many of the questions. Based on this feedback, future versions of the survey will be much shorter, and will be more oriented toward services that survey respondents rated as most important.

Summary of Survey Results

• Results from Clemson University Libraries are in line with national averages.
• Most users (particularly faculty members) consider Library staff to be helpful and knowledable, and appear to enjoy what they do.
• Our users rate us highest in library instruction, both in teaching research skills for specific projects and for future research needs.
• Many of you told us that our facilities are visually appealing, and that our business hours are convenient.
• Our print collections are not adequate to meet the research needs of graduate students and faculty. We've known this for a long time and we are committed to improving our collection of books and journals.
• Although we do provide a variety of electronic resources and services, many users would like to have more materials delivered to their desktops.
• We need to improve the ways that we offer information and services to graduate students and faculty in order to allow them to be more self-reliant.

More Complete Results

All libraries that participated in the LibQUAL+ project were provided with a notebook containing detailed analaysis and graphic representations of the survey results. Because the survey is not designed for libraries to compare their level of quality against other libraries, only aggregate data is available for the entire survey population. Detailed results at the individual library level were only provided to that library. Rather than simply re-publish these results, an effort was made to provide a little background to make the data more meaningful.

The LibQUAL+ Survey consists of 56 questions in designed to measure quality service in 5 different categories:

• Tangibles - the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials
• Reliabiligy - the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately
• Responsiveness - the willingness to help patrons and provide prompt service
• Assurance - knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence
• Empathy - the caring, individualized attention that a library provides its patrons

The survey measured the "service quality gap", which is the differences between the level of service the patron expected, and the level of service that they perceived.

Results are summarized in the following EXCEL file:
(If you have trouble accessing this file, please see Jan Comfort, or Gordon Cochrane)

LibQUAL+ Summary Statistics Clemson University
This file contains a comparison of the service gaps for Clemson, by type of patron: Faculty, Staff, Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student, and a total for All. The largest positive gaps (where patron's expectations were exceeded) are highlighted in green, and all negative gaps (where patrons perceive deficiencies) are highlighted in red.

It should be noted that the Librarian who put together this spreadsheet is not a statistician. For further information and/or explanation, please contact Jan Comfort.

Clemson University Libraries would like to thank everyone who responded to the LibQUAL+ Survey, and we assure you that we value your feedback. We will continue to analyze the results of the 2001 Survey as a part of ongoing assessment activities, and will incorporate findings into improvement of facilities and services. LibQUAL+ will expand to include 167 Universities nationwide in Spring 2002. We will again randomly select users to participate in a web-based survey, using a shorter, more focused survey instrument. If you are contacted, we encourage you to respond.