For immediate release:
February 15, 2010

For more information, contact:
Martha Kyrillidou
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
martha@arl.org

LibQUAL+® Awards In-Kind Grants to Three Libraries for 2010 Survey

Washington DC—LibQUAL+® is pleased to announce that three libraries have been selected to receive in-kind grants to facilitate their participation in the 2010 LibQUAL+® survey. The selection of grantees was based on financial need, contribution to the growth of LibQUAL+®, and potential for surfacing best practices in the area of library service improvements. The 2010 LibQUAL+® grant recipients are:

Elizabeth City State University, G.R. Little Library

Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) is northeastern North Carolina’s four-year institution of higher learning. It is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. ECSU ranked second among Top Public Baccalaureate Colleges in the South and eleventh among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the 2010 "America's Best Colleges" by US News & World Report.

The G.R. Little Library believes LibQUAL+® survey results will carry a great deal of weight with university administration and assist in raising the priority of the library’s budget requests. Conversely, the data gathered from an unbiased, comprehensive, methodically analyzed survey of G. R. Little Library users will offer a unique perspective and contribute data that would not otherwise be part of the community knowledge base. Because of ECSU’s unique position as a pioneer in advanced education in this semi-remote area of North Carolina, and because of the rapidly changing and expanding demographics of its students and curriculum, this university will provide valuable information demonstrating how academic libraries fare and transform themselves during transitional periods.

Castleton State College Library

Castleton State College is a small (approximately 1,800 FTE) state college in a rural area of Vermont. Founded in 1787, Castleton is the largest and oldest of the state’s four-year colleges. Enrollments have increased during the past few years, new initiatives are being thoughtfully launched, and improvements in infrastructure are ongoing.

During the past few years, library statistics have indicated steady increases in numbers of students using the library building and in book circulation. In an era of easy remote access and convenient e-resources, Castleton State College would like to understand their success. To help guide budgets in the right direction and to build the elements of their service that are most important to their students’ success, the results of a LibQUAL+® survey would be an important element.

Capital Community College Library

Capital Community College (Hartford, CT) is an associate degree– and certificate-granting public institution located at a single campus in Hartford’s central business and cultural district. Founded in 1967 as Greater Hartford Community College, Capital merged with Hartford State Technical College in 1992.

The Capital Community College Library hopes to use the data generated from the LibQUAL+® survey to drive change in the library. The library already has an assessment program designed to measure the learning that takes place after students are instructed in information literacy skills. The data from the LibQUAL+® survey would be added to existing assessment data to enable the library staff to better measure student and faculty satisfaction, library services to distance learning students, and patrons’ use of and satisfaction with the library Web page and with the virtual reference service.

Information about applying for a 2011 LibQUAL+® grant will be available in March. There are two deadlines for submitting a grant application: June 15 and December 14, 2010.

LibQUAL+® is a suite of services that libraries use to solicit, track, understand, and act upon users’ opinions of service quality. These services are offered to the library community by the Association of Research Libraries. The program’s centerpiece is a rigorously tested Web-based survey bundled with training that helps libraries assess and improve library services, change organizational culture, and market the library. LibQUAL+® is on the Web at http://www.libqual.org/.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 124 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.