 | Horn Library
LibQUAL+ ™ Survey |
| We want to thank all of you who participated in our Spring 2007 LibQUAL survey. The results are in and we are analyzing the questionnaire results as well as the written comments. There were 491 respondents: 208 Undergraduate students, 155 Graduate students, 69 Faculty members, and 59 Staff. The four prize winners are enjoying their Video iPod and Ticketmaster Gift Cards. People who completed the survey know that it is more than just a satisfaction survey. For each of its 27 questions it asks the survey taker to characterize (on a nine point scale): the minimum expectation of service; the desired level of service; and where the Babson College Horn Library is performing in relation to those two measures. The questions are analyzed using the three categories listed below. In addition they provided ratings on their overall satisfaction level and on information literacy. We are already using the results to plan for the future. The library is the big winner, however, with the information and comments you have given us. We are analyzing the survey responses, and when completed, we will post them on this website and let you know they are available. For those of you interested in studying the data, we are making it available to you:
[ Front Matter | Results]. While the full survey provides all the details, here is a brief description of how we interpreted the results. We are using the results to plan for the future. Please let us know if our conclusions ring true, and please tell us about things we might do to improve. - Do we provide the information that people want and need, as they wish to receive it?(Information Control)
- People have higher expectations for this category than the other two.
- Among the top priorities, we see the theme of “finding information on my own” and are working on initiatives to foster self sufficiency.
- A large number of electronic resources are already accessible to home and offices through authentication. We need to raise awareness of what is available from home or office and will do so through instruction and communication.
- We need to identify what is truly missing in this area and plan to do so by working with the Faculty Library Committee, hosting focus groups, and/or surveys.
- How responsive is the library staff to people’s needs? (Affect of Service)
- Expectations for this category are in between the other two categories.
- The library met the minimum expectations for all of the questions in this category and for all categories of users, except library staff – that’s just us being self-critical.
- For 5 of the 9 questions the Faculty rated that staff responsiveness exceeded expectations. This praise means a lot to the library staff.
- Is the library building the best that it can be? (Library as Place)
- People have lower expectations for this category than for the other two.
- Students (graduate and undergraduate) are not satisfied with “quiet space for individual activities” and “library space that inspires study and learning.”
How do we compare to other college & university libraries worldwide? Comparisons to other colleges & universities which completed survey in Spring 2007, show Babson having slightly lower minimum requirements, slightly lower desired requirements, and except for library as place, slightly higher perceptions of quality of service overall. It is very clear that the library facility has room for improvement. At this web page we will continue to provide updates on the results of our study and changes we plan based on the survey results. Thank you,
Hope Tillman, Director, Libraries, x4259, tillman@babson.edu |
