Areas of library service quality and tools for their evaluation: a literature review
Vol.15,No.2(2023)
Purpose – The article is a literature review in the field of library service quality. The aim of the overview is to identify areas of service quality that are the subject of current research in the world, the so-called dimensions of service quality. At the same time, the review summarizes and describes the approaches and tools used to measure the quality of services in libraries. The review pays attention to the significant relationship between service quality, user satisfaction and user loyalty.
Design / methodology / approach – The selection of relevant literature for the review article was based on a search in the multidisciplinary bibliographic and citation database Web of Science. From the initially searched set of publications (n=149), 14 peer-reviewed journal articles in English published between 2018–2022 were selected and critically read. The article is designed as a narrative literature review, which describes and summarizes the knowledge gained from research to date in the field of the library service quality and evaluates their conclusions.
Results – The focus of current research on the library service quality is dominated by the assessment of library employees, library collections and their accessibility, as well as library as place. The key dimension of service quality is library employees, who have a significant influence on user satisfaction and loyalty. The most frequently used tool for measuring service quality in libraries is the LibQUAL and SERVQUAL model, a total quality management approach, Net Promoter Score or a scale for evaluating the satisfaction of public library users is used. Research in this area is applied mainly in academic libraries, less so in public libraries. In terms of methodology, quantitative research design prevails.
Originality / value – The review summarizes the current knowledge in the field of measuring service quality in libraries, presents the key dimensions of service quality and methodological tools used in this area. The article contributes to the orientation in the structure of the research topic focused on the evaluation of library service quality and opens this topic to Czech readers.library service quality; academic libraries; public libraries; user satisfaction; user loyalty; research methods; literature review
Pavlína Kolínová
Ústav informačních studií a knihovnictví, Filozofická fakulta, Univerzita Karlova
Pavlína Kolínová je akademickou pracovnicí působící na Ústavu informačních studií a knihovnictví Filozofické fakulty Univerzity Karlovy. Zabývá se veřejnými knihovnami, knihovními procesy a službami. V rámci doktorského studia se věnuje vnímání a hodnocení služeb veřejných knihoven.
Alam, J. (2021). Effects of service quality on satisfaction in Eastern University Library, Bangladesh [Online]. IFLA Journal, 47(2), 209-222. https://doi.org/10.1177/0340035220959099
Association of Research Libraries. (2021). LibQUAL+ 2021 Survey. https://www.libqual.org/documents/LibQual/notebooks/287_6.pdf
Černý, P. & Šantora, R. (2010). Když se knihovna chce ptát svých čtenářů. Čtenář, 62(7/8), 243-247. ISSN 0011-2321. https://svkkl.cz/ctenar/archiv/2010
Gathoni, N. & Van der Walt, T. (2019). Evaluating library service quality at the Aga Khan University library: Application of a total quality management approach [Online]. Journal Of Librarianship And Information Science, 51(1), 123-136. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000616679725
Hernon, P., Altman, E. & Dugan, R. E. (2015). Understanding ends and means. In Assessing service quality: satisfying the expectations of library customers (3rd ed., s. 1-11). American Library Association.
Hernon, P. & Nitecki, D. A. (2001). Service quality: a concept not fully explored. Library Trends, 49(4), 687-708.
Jabbari, L., Jalali Dizaji, A., & Malekolkalami, M. (2021). Gap assessment and comparison of the quality of services between central libraries of the University of Tehran and Allameh Tabataba’i University [Online]. Performance Measurement And Metrics, 22(2), 89-105. https://doi.org/10.1108/PMM-03-2020-0013
Jan, S. U., & Ahmad, S. (2020). Professional commitment and library-users’ perceived service quality in university libraries: a survey in the Pakistani academic environment. Global Knowledge Memory And Communication, 71(8/9), 789-799. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-03-2020-0034
Juntumaa, J., Laitinen, M. A., & Kirichenko, S. (2020). The Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a tool for evaluation of the user experience at culture and library services [Online]. Qualitative And Quantitative Methods In Libraries, 9(2), 127-142. http://www.qqml.net/index.php/qqml/article/view/654
Kolínová, P. (2018). Průzkumy spokojenosti uživatelů v českých knihovnách [Online]. In M. Hořejšová (Ed.), Knihovny současnosti 2018: sborník z 26. ročníku konference, konané 11.–13. září 2018 na Pedagogické fakultě Univerzity Palackého v Olomouci (s. 386-395). Sdružení knihoven ČR. https://sdruk.cz/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Knihovny_soucasnosti_2018.pdf
Krčál, M. (2022). Měření výkonu akademických knihoven a jeho využití při zvyšování kvality služeb [dizertační práce, Univerzita Karlova]. Digitální repozitář Univerzity Karlovy. https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/178547/140105503.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Mahmood, K., Ahmad, S., Ur Rehman, S., & Ashiq, M. (2021). Evaluating library service quality of college libraries: The perspective of a developing country [Online]. Sustainability, 13(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052989
Macháčková, L. (2020). 15 let benchmarkingu v českých knihovnách. Bulletin SKIP, 29(2). ISSN 1213-5828. https://bulletinskip.skipcr.cz/vsechna-cisla/prohlizet-cisla/2020-rocnik-29-cislo-2/15-let-benchmarkingu-v-ceskych-knihovnach
Národní knihovna ČR. (2023, 13. 6.). Projekt „Benchmarking knihoven“. https://ipk.nkp.cz/odborne-cinnosti/mereni-vykonu-a-kvality-v-knihovnach-1/Benchmarking.htm
Nitecki, D. A. (1996). Changing the concept and measure of service quality in academic libraries [Online]. The Journal Of Academic Librarianship, 22(3), 181-190. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0099-1333(96)90056-7
Noh, Y. (2020). A study on measuring the relationship between the library and quality of life of local residents [Online]. Libri: International Journal Of Libraries And Information Studies, 70(2), 109-126. https://doi.org/10.1515/libri-2019-0123
Noh, Y., & Chang, R. (2020). A study on the factors of public library use by residents [Online]. Journal Of Librarianship And Information Science, 52(4), 1110–1125. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620903772
Oh, D.-G. (2020). Beyond providing information: an analysis on the perceived service quality, satisfaction, and loyalty of public library customers [Online]. Libri, 70(4), 345-359. https://doi.org/10.1515/libri-2020-0006
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A. & Berry, L. L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research [Online]. Journal Of Marketing, 49(4), 41-50. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251430
Reichheld, F. F. (2003). The one number you need to grow [Online]. Harvard Business Review, 81(12). https://hbr.org/2003/12/the-one-number-you-need-to-grow
Richter, V. (2023, 8. 6.). Měření výkonu a kvality v knihovnách. Národní knihovna ČR. https://ipk.nkp.cz/odborne-cinnosti/mereni-vykonu-a-kvality-v-knihovnach-1
Semrádová, E. (2015). Spokojenost uživatelů knihoven. U nás: knihovnicko-informační zpravodaj Královéhradeckého kraje, 25(4), 17-18. ISSN 0862-9366. http://www.svkhk.cz/SVKHK/u-nas-pdf_archiv/20150411.pdf
Singhal, M. & Kumar, V. (2022). Library service quality: comparison between SERVQUAL and LibQUAL model [Online]. Library Waves: A Biannual Peer Reviewed Journal Of Library And Information Science, 8(1), 46-52. http://www.librarywaves.com/index.php/lw/article/view/116
Singhal, M. & Kumar, V. (2023). A systematic review of library service quality studies: models, dimensions, research populations and methods [Online]. Journal Of Librarianship And Information Science, February 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006221148190
Tajedini, O., Khasseh, A. A., Afzali, M., & Sadatmoosavi, A. (2020). How to increase the loyalty of public library users?: A qualitative study [Online]. Journal Of Librarianship And Information Science, 52(2), 317-330. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000619856081
Twum, K. K., Yalley, A. A., Agyapong, G. K. -Q., & Ofori, D. (2021). The influence of public university library service quality and library brand image on user loyalty [Online]. International Review On Public And Nonprofit Marketing, 18(2), 207-227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-020-00269-w
Twum, K. K., Adams, M., Budu, S., & Budu, R. A. A. (2022). Achieving university libraries user loyalty through user satisfaction: the role of service quality. Journal Of Marketing For Higher Education, 32(1), 54-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2020.1825030
Vaidya, P., Malik, B. A. & Ali, P. M. N. (2022). Unveiling the research pattern and trends in library service quality studies: a meta-narrative review. Journal Of Librarianship And Information Science, 54(4), 719-736. https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006211042928
Xi, Q., Zhao, H., Hu, Y., Tong, Y., & Bao, P. (2018). Case studies and comparison between two models for assessing library service quality [Online]. The Electronic Library, 36(6), 1099-1113. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-11-2016-0246
Zaheer, M., Batool, S. H., Soroya, S. H., & Khalid, A. (2020). Exploring users' perceptions and expectations about library service quality: a case of Mirpur University of Science & Technology (MUST) [Online]. Qualitative And Quantitative Methods In Libraries, 9(3), 325-342. http://www.qqml.net/index.php/qqml/article/view/608
Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: a means-end model and synthesis of evidence [Online]. Journal Of Marketing, 52(3), 2-22. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251446
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2023 Pavlína Kolínová