LIBQUAL+&153; 2003 NATIONAL SERVICE QUALITY SURVEY RESULTS
Summary of UH Manoa Results
In March and April 2003 the University of Hawaii Library was one of over 300 academic and research libraries throughout the U.S. participating in the online web survey: LIBQUAL+. The survey instrument was developed at Texas A & M based on the commercial sector ServQual survey. A random sample of faculty, graduate students and undergraduates was pulled and emails were sent inviting them to respond to a web survey. Responses were as follows:| Category | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate Students |
69 | 27% |
| Graduate Students | 116 | 46% |
| Faculty | 63 | 25% |
| Staff | 7 | 2% |
Undergraduate students under-responded, while both graduate students and faculty over-responded relative to their population at the University.
The LibQual+ survey had 25 questions categorized into four dimensions of library service: Access to Information (Covered questions about availability of library books, journals and electronic resources, service hours and timely interlibrary loan/document delivery).
Affect of Service (Included questions about library employee's helpfulness and response to users).
Library as Place (Included questions about the physical library.)
Personal Control (Asked questions related to the ability of the respondent to use library resources and services independently without assistance from library employees).
Summary of Core Survey Questions for UHM
Summary of Core Survey Questions for all Participating ARL Libraries
Summary of Mean Scores for Each Survey Question for UHM
Kudos and Areas of Concern of Respondents
The library's "score" was best in terms of Affect of Service and Library as Place. Both undergraduate and graduate respondents appreciated that employees gave users individual attention. Faculty praised employees who are consistently courteous. Though rated "too cold" by many, the Library was seen as a comfortable place for individual activities and as a getaway for study, learning or research.In the areas of Access to Information and Personal Control, there is a lot of room for improvement. Both the graduate student and faculty respondents perceived the library's ability to provide printed and electronic material needed for their research as less than minimally expected. Of most concern was the ability of the library to provide the journals (print OR electronic) that they needed for their research. Similarly, both groups rated their ability to access material (either in the library or remotely) as less than minimally expected. Other concerns related to ease of use of the library's web page and convenient access to collections.
Undergraduates as a whole were most satisfied with the Library as a comfortable and inviting location (though there were comments about the chilly temperatures) and reported high satisfaction with library employees who give users individual attention. Undergraduates were also concerned somewhat with the ability to get materials they needed for their work and also indicated difficulty in using library tools and the website to locate material or services on their own.
Graduate students echoed the feelings of undergraduates with regard to the library as place, and with regard to library employees. Graduate students were harshly critical of the library with regard to access to collections (hours of opening) and felt that the library does not provide the journals (print and electronic) needed for their research.
Faculty respondents also felt that the library does not provide the journals needed for their research.
Library Use and Non-Library Internet Gateway Use
The survey also queried respondents about their library use both on the premises and remotely as well as their use of non-library gateways, such as Yahoo or Google to obtain information.| Daily | Weekly | Monthly | Quarterly | Never | No. % |
|
| How often do you use resources on library premises? |
36 14.12% |
123 48.24% |
69 27.06% |
22 8.63% |
5 1.96% |
255 100.00% |
| How often do you access library resources through a library Web page? | 64 25.10% | 121 47.45% | 42 16.47% | 18 7.06% | 10 3.92% | 255 100.00% |
| How often do you use Yahoo&153;, Google&153;, or non-library gateways for information? | 172 67.45% | 50 19.61% | 20 7.84% | 6 2.35% | 7 2.75% | 255 100.00% |
General Satisfaction and Information Literacy Measures
(Scale of 1-9)
| Satisfaction Questions: | Overall | UHM |
| In general, I am satisfied with the way in which I am treated at the library | 7.26 | 7.07 |
| In general, I am satisfied with library support for my learning, research and/or teaching needs: | 6.83 | 6.18 |
| How would you rate the overall quality of the service provided by the library? | 7.05 | 6.54 |
| Information Literacy Outcomes Questions: | ||
| The library helps me stay abreast of developments in my field(s) of interest | 6.07 | 5.84 |
| The library aids my advancement in my academic discipline | 6.70 | 6.45 |
| The library enables me to be more efficient in my academic pursuits | 6.79 | 6.36 |
| The library helps me distinguish between trustworthy and untrustworthy information | 5.56 | 5.31 |
| The library provides me with the information skills I need in my work or study | 6.14 | 5.84 |
A hardcopy of the LibQual+ National Service Quality Survey is also available in the Hawaiian Collection, 5th floor of Hamilton Library. Please request call number HAWN Z678.85 .L52 2003.
Follow-up
In Fall of 2003 the Library conducted several focus groups of graduate students. The results of those groups echoed the concerns expressed in the LibQual+ TM survey. There was concern about insufficient hours of access to the library collections, particularly during interim periods. Requests for extended service hours in the Hawaiian Collection were common.The Library's 24/3 experiment during spring semester 2004 is partially a result of the concerns expressed in LibQual+&153; and the focus groups. A campaign to "calm" the library environment, reduce noise, food, and inappropriate behavior is underway as well.
Improving collections of books and journals remains a high priority. However, because of budget constraints, efforts to improve the holdings of scholarly journals will be made in terms of reorienting and refocusing existing funds to provide the most appropriate subscriptions to fulfill the needs of today's researchers and instructors. A journal review and cancellation project is underway to meet the requirements to curtail costs in the face of ever rising price inflation and the need to deal with "flat" institutional budgets.