About the Libraries:
LibQUAL+™:
LibQUAL+™ Executive Summary
Spring 2005
RUL was one of 255 libraries internationally to participate in LibQUAL+™, which measures service
quality including affect of service, information control, and library as place as well as general
satisfaction.
Affect of Service -- direct service quality
- Our overall strengths fall in this category.
- Our users value, desire and expect the library staff to exhibit courteous behavior and readily respond to their questions.
- Users rated employees who are consistently courteous as the most desirable attribute in this area.
Information Control -- finding information independently
- This category is rated highest overall in importance to users.
- Rated lowest overall in performance.
- All users perceive that the library does not have adequate print and electronic resources required for their work.
Library as Place -- physical library environment
- Undergraduate and graduate students want quiet, comfortable spaces for studying and research
- Students consider this category more important than faculty and staff.
- This category ranked lowest overall in what our users desired.
General Satisfaction with Library Services
- Faculty expressed the greatest satisfaction with our overall services.
- Graduate students were the least satisfied group.
Information Literacy Outcomes
- Students learn how to seek and assess information effectively.
- The library facilitates faculty efficiencies in their information needs.
Frequency of Library Use
Over 69% of all respondent use the library in person or electronically.
Over 89% of all respondents use the Internet to find information.
Quick Snapshot of Findings
The top five most important areas for our users are:
- Making electronic resources available from my home or office
- Print and/or electronic journal collections I require for my work
- The electronic information resources I need
- A library web-site enabling me to locate information on my own
- Easy-to-use access tools that allow me to find things on my own
The top five things we do best are:
- Employees who instill confidence in users
- Librarians providing help that assists in finding information now while improving my research skills
- Giving users individual attention
- Employees who deal with users in a caring fashion
- Willingness to help users
The top five weakest areas are:
- Print or electronic journal collections I need for my work
- The printed library materials I need for my work
- A library web-site enabling me to locate information on my own
- Easy to use access tools that allow me to find things on my own
- The electronic information resources I need
