LibQUAL+™ at UT Arlington FAQS

LibQUAL+™ Survey Overview

1. What is the LibQUAL+ survey?
2. What does the survey measure?
3. How will this information benefit the UT Arlington community?
4. How will the survey be conducted?
5. Are responses confidential?
6. How was the LibQUAL+™ survey developed?
7. What kinds of questions are you asking?
8. What libraries are participating in LibQUAL+™ this year?

Completing the survey

1. How long will the survey take?
2. Can I skip questions?
3. Will there be any special incentives for participating?
4. Is the survey exclusively web-based, or can I obtain a paper version?
5. What web browsers are supported for the survey?
6. Is the survey compatible with text-to-speech web browsers?
7. Why isn't the survey at a UT Arlington web address?
8. Why does the survey seem to repeat the same question(s)?
9. What discipline category should I choose for my major or area of research?
10. How can I get more information about LibQUAL+™?

Results

1. What will be done with the survey results?
2. What information is shared with other institutions?
3. What do the survey results look like?
4. When and where will the results be posted?

Questions and comments

LibQUAL+™ Survey Overview

1. What is the LibQUAL+ survey?
   
   LibQUAL+™ is a standardized web-based survey intended to define and measure library service quality across multiple academic and research libraries and to provide useful information for local planning. It measures library users' perceptions of their libraries' service quality and identifies gaps between minimal, desired and perceived levels of service. This survey has been administered internationally at 1,000 different libraries and in twelve languages.
   
   
2. What does the survey measure?
   
   The instrument addresses three service quality dimensions: Affect of Service, Library as Place and Information Control. Each question has three parts that ask respondents to indicate (1) the minimum service level they will accept, (2) the desired service level they expect, and (3) the perceived level of service currently provided. This design reveals the possible gaps between expectations, perception, and minimum acceptance level of service.
   
   
3. How will this information benefit the UT Arlington community?
   
   The information received from the survey allows us to identify where our services need improvement, according to our users. We also can compare our service quality with peer institutions to develop benchmarks and discover best practices in library service across institutions. The information we receive will allow us to be more responsive to users' needs and provide services better aligned to users' expectations.
   
   
4. How will the survey be conducted?
   
   Students, faculty and staff in the UT Arlington Library community are all invited to participate in the survey. A link to the survey will be available at the Library web-site from October 1, 2007 through November 16, 2007.
   
   Data for all LibQUAL+™ participating institutions will be collected on secure servers at Texas A&M University. Each response will be stored separately as it reaches the server, and survey results will ultimately be reported back to participating institutions as aggregate mean score data.
   
   The UT Arlington Library will receive initial results in December and will share final results with the campus community by Spring 2008 on the Library web site.
   
   
5. Are responses confidential?
   
   Yes. The LibQUAL+™ survey was developed with the ethical standards of the American Psychological Association (see section 5). Although some information is captured from respondents, such as network and email addresses, privacy is protected in two ways. First, only very indirect information is captured which would be difficult to trace back to an individual. Second, everything possible is done to separate personal information from survey responses. Email addresses are not saved with the responses, and once they are saved there is no way to link an individual's responses to their email address, assuring confidentiality when entering the incentive drawing at the send of the survey. After the draw for the prizes, the email addresses are discarded.
   
   
6. How was the LibQUAL+™ survey developed?
   
   LibQUAL+™ is based on the SERVQUAL instrument, a popular tool for assessing service quality in the private sector and grounded in "Gap Theory of Service Quality." It was developed by Leonard L. Berry, A. Paramuraman, and Valarie A. Zeithaml. ARL partnered with Texas A&M University Libraries to develop, test and refine LibQUAL+™. This effort was supported in part by a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE).
   
   The questionnaire is straightforward and involves no deception or coercion. Potential respondents may elect not to proceed with the survey after reading the guarantees of confidentiality and privacy.
   
   
7. What kinds of questions are you asking?
   
   There are five types of questions in the survey:
   
   1. 27 general statements asking you to rate a series of library services by clicking buttons on a 9-point scale to indicate:
   • the minimum level of service that you would find acceptable
   • the desired level of service that you personally want
   • the perceived or actual level of service that you believe our library currently provides
   2. Eight general satisfaction questions
   3. Three library use questions
   4. Demographic data such as age, sex, discipline and position at UT Arlington. This will enable us to analyze the results by category and to assess if the replies are representative of the university population as a whole.
   5. An open-ended text box where you can write in specific comments in your own words.
      
      
8. What libraries are participating in LibQUAL+™ this spring?
   
   The 2007 survey involves over 260 libraries in North America and Europe. See a complete list of participating libraries
   
   Participating libraries at Texas institutions:
   • Baylor University
   • Rice University
   • Texas A&M University-College Station
   • Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
   • Texas A&M University-Kingsville
   • Texas State University-San Marcos
   • University of Houston
   • University of North Texas
   • University of Houston
   • University of Texas at Arlington
   • University of Texas at Austin
   • University of Texas at Dallas
   • University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Completing the survey

1. How long will the survey take?
   
   The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete.
   
   
2. Can I skip questions?
   
   Please do not skip questions. If you do not wish to answer a question, please select NA (not applicable) on the far right of the answer options. Surveys in which core questions are not completely filled out are not counted in the aggregate scores.  You may exit the survey at any time.  Responses from incomplete surveys are not kept
   
   
3. Will there be any special incentives for participating?
   
   There is no compensation. However, at the end of the survey respondents may elect to include an email address which will enter them into a drawing for one of nine gift cards from Best Buy. Five $50.00 gift cards, three $100.00 gift cards and one $250.00 gift card will be given away.  Only fully completed student surveys with valid e-mail addresses in question 45 are eligible for the drawing. Winners will be notified by email message to the email address provided.
   
   
4. Is the survey exclusively web-based, or can I obtain a paper version?
   
   

   Print copies of the survey will be available in the Library Administrative Office on the 6th floor of the Central Library, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm during the survey period, or by sending an email message to libqual@uta.edu.

5. What web browsers are supported for the survey?
   
   

   Any browser should work so long as it is not too old.  The survey does not rely on erratically supported browser features such as Java or cookies.

6. Is the survey compatible with text-to-speech web browsers?
   
   Yes, the survey is compatible with the JAWS screen reader software.
   
   
7. Why isn't the survey at a UT Arlington web address?
   
   The survey is administered through the Association of Research Libraries and Texas A&M University, and the survey and data are housed on secure Texas A&M servers.
   
   
8. Why does the survey seem to repeat the same question(s)?
   
   The survey examines a variety of dimensions of library services, each represented by multiple similar questions. Repetition or redundancy in questions allows the survey designers to analyze the validity of each service dimension through statistical methods.  Over time questions that are not as effective as others in measuring specific dimensions of service quality identified in this survey may be discarded or revised.
   
   
9. What discipline category should I choose for my major or area of research?
   
   Because this survey is taken by students at many colleges and universities, discipline categories have been standardized for ease of comparison. This will assist with future benchmarking activities. Please check the Table of Disciplines to verify which LibQUAL+™ discipline matches your UT Arlington major or program of study.
   
   
10. How can I get more information about LibQUAL+™?
    
    For more information see the LibQUAL+™ homepage at www.libqual.org.
    

Results

1. What will be done with the survey results?
   
   Survey data are transmitted directly from the LibQUAL+™ server to a database. The data are then analyzed and reports are generated for individual libraries that provide information on how users perceive the quality of their service. Participating institutions will have access to summary results for each institution, allowing for comparisons among peer institutions and all participating academic institutions. This will aid in developing benchmarks and understanding best practices across institutions, and will help the UT Arlington Library to align services with user expectations.
   
   
2. What information is shared with other institutions?
   
   Summary statistics only are shared with other institutions. The survey results will be made available to participants through a password-protected web site. UT Arlington users' comments (from the comments section) will be made available from the UT Arlington Library webpage.
   
   
3. What do the survey results look like?
   
   Survey results will include aggregate summaries, demographics by library, item summaries, dimension summaries, and dimensions measured for survey implementation.  Go here to see the results from the 2005 LibQUAL+™ Survey.
   
   
4. When and where will the results be posted?
   
   Results will be compiled in a report that will be posted at this web site, announced in the Shorthorn, and summarized in other Library publications.
   

Send questions or comments to libqual@uta.edu
Before beginning the survey, please check the Table of Disciplines to verify which LibQUAL+™ discipline matches your UT Arlington major or program of study.