WSU Libraries want to know how students, staff and faculty perceive the quality of library services.
On March 27, the libraries administered an online survey to about 5,000 randomly selected faculty, staff and undergraduate and graduate students to determine their views on the value of academic library service.
“We really want to know what people think,” said Sarah McCord, electronic resources librarian for the WSU Health Sciences Library and a primary investigator for the survey project.
The survey, called LibQUAL+™, was developed by Texas A&M University and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). It was funded by a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Because the survey is standardized, it allows WSU to compare its results to those of other research universities.
WSU participated in a LibQUAL+™ pilot survey in 2001, and administered it again in both 2002 and 2003. Consistent surveying will allow the WSU Libraries to track improvements in service quality over time.
After administering the survey in 2003, the libraries learned that WSU staff members did not give library service quality high scores. The libraries realized they did not have any educational outreach programs designed for staff. In response, the libraries designed several Introduction to the Libraries classes especially for staff. Human Resource Services handles registration for the classes, and there is no fee to attend.
While the ARL has collected statistics on academic libraries since 1962, the focus has been quantitative, asking questions such as how many books are in a library collection and how many employees work at the library. The questions concentrate on library issues that could easily improve with increased funding, but did not gather data on service quality.
“It didn’t ask what users think of what we do,” McCord said.
Not only is McCord hopeful that many library users will respond to the survey, she hopes a representative sample can be collected — meaning the libraries will receive feedback from all different types of library users.
“We are interested in hearing from all faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students,” McCord said. To gain a representative sample, the libraries will send surveys to about 2,000 undergraduates, 900 graduate and professional students, and 900 staff and faculty.
In the past, there have been low response rates from lower-division undergraduates, she said, but she hopes that will not be the case for this survey.
“I’d be delighted if we got a nice, healthy response,” McCord said. “(Undergraduates) are the window to the future. They’ll be here for a long time.”
Additionally, McCord said it is important to gain feedback from faculty and staff.
“They are the constant, the life-blood of the university,” she said.
