The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) New Measures initiative grew out of a recognition that "A measure of library quality based solely on collections has become obsolete" (Nitecki 181). One of these initiatives is the LibQUAL+™ research and development project.
LibQUAL+™ is an ARL/Texas A&M University joint effort. This project is also supported, in part, by a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE).
During the 1999-2000 academic year--"phase zero" in the FIPSE grant proposal--LibQUAL+™ was completed on the Web by 4,407 participants from 12 ARL institutions. This form of the protocol involved 22 items from the well-known SERVQUAL instrument (cf. Parasuraman, Berry, and Zeithaml; and Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, "A Conceptual Model" and "Alternative Scales"). Respondents also completed 19 trial items that were developed following qualitative analysis of library user interviews at nine universities (Cook and Heath). These trial items were developed in order to measure service quality features unique to the library setting.
A series of articles was published reporting analyses of the 1999-2000 data (a bibliography of these reports may be accessed at http://www.coe.tamu.edu/~bthompson/servqbib.htm). Following these analyses, the survey instrument was further refined and revised.
In the spring of 2001, during project phase one (2000-01), a 56-item version of the LibQUAL+™ protocol was completed by 20,416 participants from 43 campuses. Of these 43 libraries, 35 are ARL members.
A series of reports associated with the LibQUAL+™ instrument used in 2000-01 (cf. Cook, Heath, and Thompson; Heath, et al.; and Thompson, Cook, and Thompson) indicate that:
Based on these promising results, during project phase two (2001-02), library users from 170 institutions will participate in the survey. Further information about the project may be accessed via URL: http://www.arl.org/libqual/.
Cook, Colleen, and Fred Heath. "Users' Perceptions of Library Service Quality: A 'LibQUAL+™' Qualitative Study." Library Trends 49.4 (2001): 541-47.
Cook, Colleen, Fred Heath, and Bruce Thompson. "Score Norms for Improving Library Service Quality: A LibQUAL+™ Study." Portal: Libraries and the Academy (2001). [manuscript submitted for review]
Heath, Fred, et al. "ARL Index and Other Validity Correlates of LibQUAL+™ Scores." Portal: Libraries and the Academy (2001). [manuscript submitted for review]
Nitecki, Danuta A. "Changing the Concept and Measure of Service Quality in Academic Libraries." The Journal of Academic Librarianship 22 (1996): 181-90.
Parasuraman, A., Leonard L. Berry, and Valerie A. Zeithaml. "Refinement and Reassessment of the SERVQUAL Scale." Journal of Retailing 67.4 (1991): 420-50.
Parasuraman, A., Valerie A. Zeithaml, and Leonard L. Berry. "A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research." Journal of Marketing 49.4 (1985): 41-50.
--- "Alternative Scales for Measuring Service Quality: A Comparative Assessment Based on Psychometric and Diagnostic Criteria." Journal of Retailing 70.3 (1994): 201-30.
Thompson, Bruce, Colleen Cook, and Russell L. Thompson. "Reliability and Structure of LibQUAL+™ Scores: Measuring Perceived Library Service Quality." Portal: Libraries and the Academy (2001). [manuscript submitted for review]
—Copyright © 2001 Fred Heath, Colleen Cook, Bruce Thompson
An initial set of norms from the spring 2001 survey is now available. The tables are based on the survey results from over 20,000 library users in 43 institutions. With this data, libraries may compare their own scores with those of peer groups or subgroups. To view the norms and for more information, visit http://www.coe.tamu.edu/~bthompson/servnorm.htm.
Fred Heath, Colleen Cook, and Bruce Thompson, "A Brief LibQUAL+™ Phase One Progress Report," ARL, no. 219 (December 2001): 7, http://www.arl.org/resources/pubs/br/br219/br219libqual.shtml.