Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
9-2019
Abstract
University library plays a dynamic role in accomplishing the overall goals of its parent organization by offering a range of services to fulfill needs of the academic community. Being a service institution, performance assessment of a university library is essential to determine whether the library meet its specific objectives and also to justify library spending. Library users are said to be satisfied when the quality of services match their expected level of services. This study aimed at assessing the level of service quality (SQ) offered by the central library of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, (India) from users’ viewpoints using LibQUAL survey instrument in printed format. The survey results discovered that the library users have maximum desired expectations in Library as Place (LP) dimension amongst three dimensions. The actual library performance was also reported maximum in LP dimension, followed by Information Control (IC), and Affect of Service (AS) based on mean scores 6.45, 6.41, and 6.19 respectively. The users’ overall perceived library service quality (LSQ) was found less than their desired level of LSQ. The results of this study will be helpful in improving library underperformance by reviewing the areas and items where LSQ shortfall has been observed.