For immediate release:
January 26, 2009

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

LibQUAL+® Awards In-Kind Grants to Two Libraries for 2009 Survey

Washington DC—LibQUAL+® is pleased to announce that two libraries have been selected to receive in-kind grants to facilitate their participation in the 2009 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 2009 LibQUAL+® grant recipients are:

Sistema CETYS Universidad, Biblioteca y Centro de Información "Luis Fimbres Moreno"

Founded in 1961, Sistema CETYS Universidad is located in Baja California, Mexico, with campuses in Mexicali, Tijuana, and Inlet. Since its founding, CETYS grew from an institution to a university, and has been designated an “institution of excellence” by the state government.

Since 2005, CETYS Universidad has been undergoing an accreditation process by the Western Association of School and Colleges (WASC). CETYS Universidad is WASC’s first international candidate and first Mexican institution of higher education, private or public, to be accepted and submitted to this rigorous process. One of the major recommendations cited in WASC’s report concerns the library, specifically that the library needs to support faculty in inculcating a culture of library usage, which in turn promotes a research culture. The main areas singled out to improve are: human and information resources, space distribution, information literacy and learning outcomes, and assessment and evaluation.

North Carolina Central University, James E. Shepard Memorial Library

North Carolina Central University (NCCU), which opened in 1910 and became publicly funded in 1923, is the first state-supported liberal arts institution for African Americans in the United States. NCCU is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina. Current enrollment is approximately 8,500 FTE.

NCCU’s new chancellor recently initiated a program of enhancing customer service in all university units. In addition, NCCU has seen a 35% increase in enrollment over the last 10 years, and expects a similar increase over the next 10. In an effort to support this growing population and increasing number of academic programs (including new graduate programs), the Shepard Library is focusing all of its available resources toward the best possible service in the present, while also making plans for the future. The use of LibQUAL+® will mark the first formal user survey of the library’s patrons.

Information about applying for a 2010 LibQUAL+® grant will be available in February. There are two deadlines for submitting a grant application: June 15, 2009, and December 14, 2009.

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 (ARL). The program’s centerpiece is a rigorously tested Web-based survey that helps libraries assess and improve library services, change organizational culture, and market the library. Since 2000, more than 1,000 libraries have participated in LibQUAL+®, including college and university libraries, community college libraries, health sciences libraries, academic law libraries, and public libraries—some through various consortia, others as independent participants. LibQUAL+® has expanded internationally, with participating institutions in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe. LibQUAL+® is on the Web at http://www.libqual.org/.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 123 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, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.