LibQUAL

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LibQUAL Process ManagementUsing the Web as a
Management Tool
Amy Hoseth LibQUAL Communications
Coordinator ALA Annual Conference Orlando,
Florida June 28, 2004
old.libqual.org
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Objectives

• Learn about the LibQUAL survey
• Identify key elements that contribute to a
  successful survey implementation
• Learn how the LibQUAL project web site can help
  you manage your survey

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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.

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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?

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Registration and Costs

• 2005 participation fee 2,250 per survey
  implementation
• Other potential costs include
• Local marketing and promotion
• Travel
• Staff time spent on the project
• Registration begins in the fall of 2004
  (typically open between September and December)

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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

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Survey dimensions

• Information Control
• Affect of Service
• Library as Place

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Technology

• Work with IT department to select e-mail
  addresses and compile mailing lists
• Consider your hardware, software, and network
  connections
• Prepare for any local network issues that could
  affect your survey

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Sample Groups

• Identify your sample groups (undergraduate,
  graduate, faculty, staff)
• Determine your sample size
• Sampling guidelines provided in Procedures
  Manual lthttp//old.libqual.org/Information/Manual
  /index.cfmgt
• 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)

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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

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Survey Communications

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

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Success Criteria

• Dependent on your local situation
• General criteria
• Data analysis yields representative and useable
  results
• Response rates, completion rates, and
  representativeness

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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

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Survey Management Center
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Manage Your Survey
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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

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Survey Customization

• Choose five local questions (optional)
• Define disciplines for your institution
• Provide library branch information

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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

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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

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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

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Monitor the Survey

• Track your surveys 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

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Step 4 Wrap-upClose down your survey and
receive results

• Survey closes to public in May
• 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 beginning in
  late April
• SPSS data files sent during the summer

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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)

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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

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Evaluation Survey
Your opportunity to provide feedback to the
LibQUAL team and evaluate your institutions
survey experience
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Review Survey timeline
Date Task
Summer Gather information about survey Review resources and budgetary requirements
Fall Register for survey (registration runs from September to mid-December) Designate survey liaison/committee/project team
October Identify and initiate steps to obtain human subjects research approval from IRB
November/ December Identify sample groups Identify best data source to obtain valid e-mail addresses for sample groups Meet with person(s) who will be drawing e-mail addresses to determine process feasibility
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Review Survey timeline (cont.)
January Obtain IRB approval for your survey LibQUAL participants workshop at ALA Midwinter
February-May Survey opens to the public Run the survey during your institutions selected 3-week window
May Survey closes survey results (notebook PDF files and Excel data files) are provided to participants via the LibQUAL project web site
June LibQUAL participants meeting at ALA Annual Complete post hoc questionnaire
July Complete evaluation survey Interactive statistics, norms tables, SPSS data files available to participants
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LibQUAL Resources

• Project Web Site
• lthttp//www.libqual.orggt
• LibQUAL Procedures Manual
• lthttp//www.libqual.org/Information/Manual/index.
  cfmgt

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LibQUAL Team at ARL

• Martha Kyrillidou
• Director, Statistics and Measurement Program
• martha_at_arl.org
• Amy Hoseth
• LibQUAL Communications Coordinator
• amyh_at_arl.org
• Jonathan D. Sousa
• Technical Applications Development Manager
• jonathan_at_arl.org