LibQUAL+™ Process Management: Using the Web as a Management Tool

LibQUAL+™ Process Management:Using the Web as a Management Tool Amy Hoseth ALA Midwinter Meeting San Antonio, Texas January 23, 2006 old.libqual.org

Objectives • Learn about LibQUAL+™ • Identify key elements that contribute to a successful survey implementation • Learn how the LibQUAL+™ project web site can help you manage your survey old.libqual.org

What is LibQUAL+™? LibQUAL+™ is a suite of services that libraries use to solicit, track, understand, and act upon users' opinions of service quality. The program's centerpiece is a rigorously tested web-based survey bundled with training that helps libraries assess and improve library services. old.libqual.org

Step 1: DefineConsider participation in LibQUAL+™ • When deciding whether to participate, consider project requirements: people, supplies, technology • Also consider your institutional goals: what do you want to get out of the survey? old.libqual.org

Registration and Costs • 2006 participation fee: $2,500 per survey implementation • Other potential costs include: • Local marketing and promotion • Travel • Staff time spent on the project • Registration is now open for both Session I (January-June) and Session II (July-December) old.libqual.org

Survey format • 22 core items • 5 optional local questions (more on this later) • Additional questions on library use, information literacy, and general satisfaction • Demographic questions • Box for open-ended comments old.libqual.org

Survey dimensions • Information Control • Affect of Service • Library as Place old.libqual.org

Technology • Work with IT department to select e-mail addresses and compile mailing lists • Consider your hardware, software, and network connections old.libqual.org

Sample Groups • Identify your sample groups (undergraduate, graduate, faculty, staff) • Determine your sample size • Sampling guidelines provided in Procedures Manual: <http://old.libqual.org/Information/Manual/index.cfm> • Minimum recommended sample size for a large institution: 900 undergraduates, 600 graduates, 600 faculty, 600 non-library university staff (optional), and all library staff (optional) old.libqual.org

Survey Liaisons • Prepare for survey administration • Communicate with LibQUAL+™ team • Respond to user feedback • Work with local IT/academic computing contacts and ARL to resolve any local technical issues old.libqual.org

Survey Communications How will you promote your survey and communicate results? • Advertising/marketing • Survey web sites • Flyers and other handouts old.libqual.org

Success Criteria • Dependent on your local situation • General criteria: • Data analysis yields representative and useable results • Response rates, completion rates, and representativeness old.libqual.org

Step 2: PrepareComplete required steps to launch your survey • LibQUAL+™ survey Management Center as a management tool • Several required steps before your survey can go “live” • Determine whether you need IRB approval old.libqual.org

Survey Management Center old.libqual.org

Manage Your Survey old.libqual.org

Survey Preferences Participants are asked to indicate/provide: • Support e-mail address • Language • Institution logo • Whether they want SPSS data files • Whether offering local incentive prizes • Dates of survey old.libqual.org

Survey Customization • Choose five local questions (optional) • “Using Localized Survey Items to Augment Standardized Benchmarking Measures Across User Groups: A LibQUAL+(TM) Study,” Bruce Thompson and Colleen Cook • Define disciplines for your institution • Provide library branch information old.libqual.org

Preview Preview your survey, exactly as it will appear to users • Data entered in preview survey is not recorded • Clicking on “Approve” turns on your actual survey URL old.libqual.org

Representativeness Tell us about your institution: • User types (undergrad, graduate, faculty) • Number of users in each discipline • ARL statistical information (number of volumes held, etc.) • User data will be used to determine the representativeness of your sample old.libqual.org

Step 3: Implement Launch the survey on your campus • Send survey invitation and URL • Typical survey period is 3 weeks long • Send 2-3 follow-up reminders to users • Respond to user feedback old.libqual.org

Monitor the Survey Track your survey’s progress in real-time • Number of surveys completed, day-by-day • Surveys completed by user group • Average completion time • Turn off survey when finished • Can also see user comments in real-time old.libqual.org

Step 4: Wrap-upClose down your survey and receive results • Session I closes in early June; Session II in early December • Contact local incentive winners, if you offered a local prize • Provide feedback to the LibQUAL+™ team about your survey • Receive survey results data • Results notebooks (in PDF format) and Excel data files provided on a rolling basis • SPSS data files sent separately at a later date old.libqual.org

Local Incentives • Provides list of 50 randomly selected respondents for local incentive prizes • Available as soon as you turn off your survey run, or when survey closes to the public (whichever is first) old.libqual.org

Post Hoc Questionnaire Provide the ARL team with information about your survey run • Sample size • Number of e-mails sent • Incentives offered • Marketing/promotion methods old.libqual.org

Evaluation Survey Your opportunity to provide feedback to the LibQUAL+™ team and evaluate your institution’s survey experience old.libqual.org

LibQUAL+™ Resources • Project Web Site http://www.libqual.org • LibQUAL+™ Procedures Manual http://www.libqual.org/Information/Manual/index.cfm old.libqual.org

LibQUAL+™ Team at ARL • Martha Kyrillidou • Director, Statistics and Measurement Program • martha@arl.org • Amy Hoseth • LibQUAL+™ Communications Coordinator • amyh@arl.org • Jonathan D. Sousa • Technical Applications Development Manager • jonathan@arl.org • Richard Groves • Research Assistant • richard@arl.org old.libqual.org

LibQUAL+™ Process Management: Using the Web as a Management Tool