LibQual 2009 survey of Soga Library

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 paired with training that helps libraries assess and improve library services, change organizational culture, and market the library. The survey instrument measures library users’ minimum, perceived, and desired service levels of service quality across three dimensions:
Affect of Service, Information Control, and Library as Place.
The goals of LibQUAL+® are to:
• Foster a culture of excellence in providing library service
• Help libraries better understand user perceptions of library service quality
• Facilitate the on-going collection and interpretation of library user feedback
• Provide comparable information from peer institutions
• Identify best practices in library service
• Enhance library staff members’ analytical skills for interpreting, and acting on data
More than 1,000 libraries have participated in LibQUAL+®, including Canadian government libraries, colleges and universities, community colleges, health sciences and hospital/medical libraries, law libraries, public libraries, and secondary school libraries---some through various consortia, others as independent participants. LibQUAL+® has expanded internationally, with participating institutions in Africa, Australia, Asia and Europe. It has been translated
into a number of languages, including Afrikaans, Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, and Welsh. The growing LibQUAL+® community of participants and its
extensive dataset are rich resources for improving library services.

The 2009 survey of the Jotello F. Soga Library highlighted the following areas needing attention:

Improving communication between the Library and clients regarding information sources :
- not all veterinary journals (e.g. Veterinary Technician) are as yet electronically available in full text format
- the book budget does not allow us to purchase multiple copies of text books for extended loan

Improving training sessions to enable clients to access the library website and e-journal collections more effectively

Marking quiet study areas upstairs for clients needing to study. Indicating clearly that areas near Library Counter and in Reserved Collection area are not for study, but for groups working together on projects. There is also a group area upstairs in the AudioVisual Room.

Marking journal shelves more effectively to show which titles are now only available electronically.

Marketing the use of the computers in the adjacent Computer Laboratory for student assignments and for printing. These computers are connected to the network so all databases etc on the library system can be accessed there as well.

Encouraging clients (lecturers and students) to attend training sessions offered throughout the year. This is of importance especially to students in their first year of study at the Onderstepoort Campus.

We would like to thank all clients who kindly participated in the survey, enabling us to improve our services and products.

We will be using plasma screens , posters in the Computer Lab and the cafeteria, notices on our Website, online messages to Everyone, as well as focused articles in newsletters of the Library and the Faculty to keep our clients informed.
We intend visiting clients in their offices as well to improve communication.

Erica van der Westhuizen, September 2009