Spring Survey Results: Here's What You Said |
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January 2007 — During March and April 2006 Raynor Memorial Libraries administered a broad survey of users. The survey, called LibQUAL+™, used a rigorously-tested instrument developed in 2000 by the Association of Research Libraries. The goal of LibQUAL is to provide libraries with a means to understand and act upon users' opinions of service quality. The MU Libraries participated in 2002 and now more than 200 libraries conduct LibQUAL surveys each year. In 2006, MU administered the survey jointly with 21 other Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) libraries in order to compare results with peer institutions and enhance LibQUAL's benchmarking value. LibQUAL consists of user scoring on 22 standard questions, 3 general use questions, 5 questions supplied by the AJCU participants, and an open-ended opportunity for comments. This report presents highlights of survey data, including specific needs and satisfaction expressed by the Marquette community, breakdowns of responses by user group, general satisfaction and library use patterns. |
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Executive Summary: We're Glad You're Happy Compared to other AJCU and universities overall, the Marquette community is more satisfied with library services. Marquette users showed ... highest expectations in the strength and accessibility of the collection
… most satisfaction with
… least satisfaction with
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Survey Demographics A random sample of undergraduate students, graduate students, all full time tenured or tenure track faculty and all library staff received invitations to take the survey. Students were offered incentive prizes of an iPod and MarquetteCash gift cards to encourage participation. The following chart outlines sample size, number, and response rate for the four population groups.
Core questions The major portion of LibQUAL consists of 22 core questions, standard for all libraries conducting the survey, that measure service in 3 categories: Affect of Service (AS, staff and assistance), Information Control (IC, collection and access to it), and Library as Place (LP, the buildings). For each question the respondents were asked to rate library service on three values: Minimum Acceptable Level of Service, Desired Level of Service, and Perceived Actual Level of Service. Results from the survey are provided in terms of mean scores for all respondents and for each of three demographic groups (staff are excluded in this report) surveyed. Initial review of the results for the 22 core questions indicates Raynor Memorial Library users are fairly satisfied with service, collection and building issues and somewhat more satisfied than users at other institutions. The following charts provide a snapshot of Marquette’s overall responses compared to those of the combined AJCU Libraries and all College and University libraries participating in spring of 2006. Reading Radar Charts Radar charts (also called "spider charts" or "polar charts") are useful in looking at several different factors all related to one item. Variations in the data are shown by distance from the center of the chart. In LibQUAL data, each axis represents one of the 22 core questions. The blue area illustrates the gap from Minimum Service Level to Perceived Service Level and the yellow area shows the gap from Perceived to Desired. A higher blue to yellow ratio indicates greater user satisfaction.
Radius key: Blue=Affect of Service (AS); Orange=Information Control (IC); Violet=Library as Place (LP) Dimensions of Service The 22 core questions measure 3 aspects of libraries: Affect of Service (AS), Information Control (IC), and Library as Place (LP). The aggregate mean scores in each of these gives a general picture of user expectations in the three areas of library service. Marquette users as a whole rated Information Control (IC) highest in Minimum, Desired and Perceived scores. Library as Place (LP) followed closely and Aspects of Service (AS) falling somewhat below the other two. In terms of how well the Library services are meeting the expectations of our users, we come closest in Affect of Service (AS) with a Perceived to Desired gap of -0.48 with Library as Place (LP) and Information Control (IC) following at -0.54 and -0.67 respectively.
This picture changes, sometimes significantly, by user group. Each user group rated Information Control (IC) highest but the differences between IC and the other Aspects varied greatly. Undergraduates rated Library as Place (LP) equal to IC, Affect of service somewhat lower and each of these had a slightly larger service gap than the overall scores. Graduates rated all three aspects higher on Minimum and Desired with Information Control (IC) significantly higher. Information Control (IC) also had a significantly larger gap between Desired and Perceived (-0.83). Faculty rated Information Control (IC) and Affect of Service (AS) significantly higher than Library as Place. Faculty were the only group to rate Perceived higher than Desired and this was for Library as Place (LP) where the gap was +0.35. Aspects of Service (AS) came very close to meeting Desired with a -0.15 gap and Information Control lagged behind with a -0.58 gap. Core questions Looking more closely at the scores on individual questions identifies specific highs and lows of expectations/needs and performance. User expectations/needs can be determined by where their Minimum and Desired levels of service fall. How well the libraries meet those expectations is best determined by the gap between Perceived and Desired levels of service. All User Groups The highest expectation/need scores centered on items in Information Control (IC) while lowest concentrated in Aspects of Service (AS). Users are most satisfied with library performance in specific areas of all three dimensions and are least satisfied with several areas of Information Control (IC).
Highest expectations/needs In the case of overall user scores, the three highest Minimum and Desired scores were given to 4 items in Information Control (IC):
Highest satisfaction The libraries came closest to meeting the Desired needs of the users:
Lowest satisfaction
Responses by demographic group showed some significant differences among users. Undergraduates Undergraduates have the highest expectation/need scores for items in Information Control (IC) and Library as Place (LP). Their lowest expectations concentrated in Aspects of Service (AS). Undergraduates are most satisfied with library performance in specific areas of all three dimensions and are least satisfied with two areas of Library as place and one area of Information Control (IC).
Highest expectations/needs Undergraduates highest ratings were somewhat more scattered; however, the highest Desired scores were evenly divided between IC and LP.
Highest satisfaction
Lowest satisfaction LP1: Library space that inspires study and learning
Graduate Students Graduate students' highest expectations concentrate on Information Control (IC) and their lowest are in Aspects of Service. Graduate students are most satisfied in the areas of Aspects of Service (AS) and Library as Place (LP) and least satisfied within Information Control (IC).
Highest expectations/needs Highest Minimum and Desired ratings focus on Information Control (IC)
Highest satisfaction
Lowest satisfaction
Faculty Faculty have highest expectations for specific areas in Information Control (IC) and Aspects of Service (AS) and lowest for Library as Place (LP). Faculty see Library as Place (LP) outperforming desired service levels and are least satisfied with Information control items.
Highest expectations/needs Faculty’s highest Minimum and Desired rating scattered among questions in Information Control (IC) and Aspects of service (AS). The highest Desired ratings were:
Highest satisfaction In Library as Place questions, Perceived exceeded Desired on four questions:
Lowest satisfaction
General Satisfaction and Usage For the three general satisfaction and usage questions, respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction on a single 1-9 scale. General Satisfaction  Information Literacy Outcomes  Usage of Library Resources Participants were asked to estimate how often they used the library premises, library electronic resources, and other Web search engines.
Comparison to 2002 Survey Results Results from this year’s survey show a trend of rising needs and expectations among users across the spectrum, especially in the area of Information Control. Satisfaction with library services is keeping pace with rising expectations and has improved on many issues since 2002, most significantly on the Library as Place items, but also on the item of highest desire and least satisfaction, IC1: Making electronic sources accessible from home or office. Comments Respondents were given an opportunity to write comments and 248 respondents (33%) did so, including 142 undergrads, 65 grad students, and 27 faculty. 305 separate comments/statements were analyzed in broad categories. Staff and library administration alike were pleased with the many comments of high praise--for the buildings, about staff and collections, and pure pats on the back for the entire library. The comment section, however, remains the most problematic for staff analysis as many were unclear, lacking specificity, requesting services already available, or difficult to act upon. Comments will continue to be studied for further probing using other means, such as the Library Board, focus groups, and Talk Back sessions with students. Following is a brief overview of comments: Affect of Service (53 comments), 34 positive and 13 negative about staff or student workers. Three specific comments of praise for Interlibrary Loan. Comments about the library staff show that users deem staff important for a good experience at the library. Information Control (50 comments), at least 12 of praise. Requests included more copies of books, more journals in certain disciplines, engineering software. All eight comments about the Web site were negative -- difficulty navigating Web site and difficulty finding online journals and databases. Only four reported access problems from off campus, relating to question IC-1, which had the largest gap between Desired and Perceived means. Library as Place (131 comments), 12 glowing comments; people expressed appreciation for the library and how it enriches the whole campus. The most negative comments in this area (58) were about noise, primarily made by undergrads, and at least 9 focused on cell phones. 10 commented on the need for more group study space, especially late night. Of 16 comments about hours, four were very happy with present hours and 6 specifically recommended longer hours for Memorial. 13 commented on PrintWise, wanting more credit, better printers or more PrintWise stations. Overall, Marquette loves the new library and nowhere else on the survey does the Perceived come as close as the Desired. Where do we go from here? First, the Libraries will continue to engage in assessments that help inform planning. We will participate in LibQual again in 2010. The Libraries will continue to review the survey results and their implications for service and resource allocation. As the Libraries engage in strategic planning, LibQUAL data is being used to focus on communication and promotion of certain services, such as Research Consultations. The majority of the Libraries' users indicate that Raynor and Memorial are comfortable and inviting, but we need to maintain the Libraries in excellent physical condition. User's expectations continue to rise as fast if not faster than the Libraries' capacity to provide access to journals; while it is likely that more e-journals will become available in the future, expectations for access will also rise. Graduate student responses indicate they are least satisfied with the collections and access to the electronic resources, leading to plans for greater promotional activities with this constituency. Perceptions that the Libraries are too noisy concern library administrators, who are looking for ways to guide users to quieter areas in Memorial, as well as architectural means of reducing or buffering noise. The complete 2006 LibQUAL results (pdf, 90 pages) are also available. Marquette's LibQUAL survey was administered by the Resources and Services Assessment Committee: Pat Berge, Chair, Tom Doyle, Jay Kirk, and Michelle Sweetser. For questions, please contact Pat Berge, 414-288-5314 or pat.berge@marquette.edu |
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