For immediate release:
March 7, 2012

For more information, contact:
David Green
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
libqual@arl.org

LibQUAL+® Seeks Applicants for In-Kind Grant Program 2013

Apply by June 17, 2012 or December 16, 2012*

Washington DC—LibQUAL+® will award up to five institutions in-kind grants to participate in the 2013 LibQUAL+® survey, with a goal of offering one grant for every 50 libraries registered. This will be the eighth year LibQUAL+® has sponsored an in-kind grant program. There are two application deadlines for the 2013 grant program: June 17, 2012, and December 16, 2012.

Selection of grant recipients will be based on the following criteria:

1. Financial need. The ability of the institution to pay the 2013** fee for participation in LibQUAL+® will be considered. Applicants with the greatest financial need, who also meet the other criteria, will be given priority.

2. Contribution to the growth of LibQUAL+®. The LibQUAL+® Team continues to have strong interest in expanding the reach and scope of the survey in terms of how the survey is applied in different environments. Institutions whose participation would represent a new library type, a new language translation, a new country, or would otherwise increase the diversity of the LibQUAL+® project are particularly encouraged to apply. The team is seeking institutions whose participation will provide the team with the best opportunity to further its understanding of library service quality.

3. Improvements in local service and quality. The ability of the participating library to both improve overall services and contribute to the quality of service provided to students and faculty at the institution will be considered.

*The early deadline allows us to plan for translations in new languages with an adequate planning cycle.

**The 2013 fee is $3,200. For institutions participating on an annual or biennial basis the fees are discounted. For more details, see: http://www.libqual.org/about/about_lq/fee_schedule.

Applications will be reviewed and evaluated by an advisory committee consisting of:

• Colleen Cook, Dean, McGill University Library, Canada
• Brinley Franklin, Vice Provost, University of Connecticut Libraries, USA
• Fred Heath, Vice Provost and Director, University of Texas Libraries, USA
• Martha Kyrillidou, Senior Director, Statistics and Service Quality Programs, Association of Research Libraries
• Charles Lowry, Executive Director, Association of Research Libraries
• Bruce Thompson, Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology and CEHD Distinguished Research Fellow, and Distinguished Professor of Library Science, Texas A&M University, and Adjunct Professor of Allied Health Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine (Houston), and Executive Director, Southwest Educational Research Association, USA
• Stephen Town, Director of Information, University of York, UK

How to Apply

Interested applicants must submit the following materials for consideration:

• A three- to five-page narrative explaining their unique situation and how they meet the criteria above (approximately 1,500 to 2,500 words)
• A brief paragraph describing their institution (less than 500 words)
• The name, phone number, e-mail address, and mailing address of the contact person for the application
• A short biography of the person applying on behalf of the institution

Applications will be accepted via e-mail to libqual@arl.org, by fax to (202) 872-0884, or by mail to:

LibQUAL+® Grant Award
Association of Research Libraries
21 Dupont Circle, Suite 800
Washington DC 20036-1543
USA

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 international 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. This assessment protocol has been used by more than 1,200 libraries across the globe since 2000. LibQUAL+® is located on the Web at http://www.libqual.org/.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 126 research libraries in the US and Canada. 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/.