1 By Fe Angela M. Verzosa Best Practices in Library Services National Conference on "Library Management in the Philippine Setting: Principles & Best Practices" Villa Caceres Hotel, Naga City, August 16-17, 2012 •What are best practices? •What is service quality? •How can Libraries as a service provider improve service quality? •What are the dimensions of service quality? •How can we apply Service Quality dimensions in formulating best practices? What do we talk about today?
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
1
By Fe Angela M. Verzosa
Best Practices in Library Services
National Conference on "Library Management in the
Philippine Setting: Principles & Best Practices"
Villa Caceres Hotel, Naga City, August 16-17, 2012
•What are best practices?
•What is service quality?
•How can Libraries as a service
provider improve service quality?
•What are the dimensions of
service quality?
•How can we apply Service
Quality dimensions in
formulating best practices?
What do we talk about today?
2
First, let’s take a quick look at libraries today and observe the many changes….
From traditional librariesTo modern libraries
Central Library in Vancouver, Canada
Library of the Faculty of Philology in Berlin, Germany
3
The Changing Environment
• Cell phones
• Texting
• Multi-tasking
• Expectation of fast delivery
• Self-service information
• Believe it’s all on the Web
• Social networking
• High transparency (Facebook etc.)
• Online photo sharing
• Less TV, more online news and blogs
• Curating contents from the Web ( Scoop.it )
Impact of ICT on library services
The global changes particularly in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have impact on the functioning of academic libraries. The developments in ICT have changed the users’ expectation from the academic libraries in different ways.
4
Changes in library services
• Online access to library catalogues, databases and the Internet •Online/offline access to digital resources• Database searching• Electronic reference• Online circulation service• Information literacy program• Public relations services• Library promotion and marketing• Epublishing
Challenges in the changing environment
• focus on accountability -increasing demand for libraries to demonstrate outcomes/impacts in areas of importance to institution
• emphasis on assessment of student performance
• financial pressures - increasing pressure to maximize use of resources
• expectation for rapid document delivery
• user education in new technologies• migration to online full-text sources
• greater need for staff training• need for Best Practices
5
What are best practices?
Terms and Concepts
best practices
In the application of theory to real-life situations,
procedures that, when properly applied,
consistently yield superior results and are therefore
used as reference points in evaluating the
effectiveness of alternative methods of
accomplishing the same task. Best practices are
identified by examining empirical evidence of
success. See, for example, the guideline of the
Association of College and Research Libraries
(ACRL) on Characteristics of Programs of
Information Literacy that Illustrate Best Practices
“Libraries are in the service business. The most important product they have is service. Without service, libraries are indistinguishable from museums or … they are a combination of a maze and morgue for books. Service is a pervasive ethic of the profession of librarianship.”
(Gorman, 1999)
In the user-centered library, quality service and user satisfaction are our primary goals …
7
Key Library 2.0 Concepts
• The library is everywhere*
• The library has no barriers*
• The library invites participation
• The library uses flexible, best-of-breed, component-based systems
• The library is a human-centered organization
* Also stated as the concept of the library
as a place of unrestricted access to information (McDonald, 2006)
Features of Library 2.0
• library services are frequently evaluated and updated to meet the changing needs of library users.
• Library 2.0 calls for libraries to encourage users’ participation and feedback in the development and maintenance of library services.
• This model requires active empowerment of library users.
• Information and ideas flow in both directions from library to the user and from user to the library,
• Library services have the ability to evolve and improve on a constant and rapid basis.
• The user is participant, co-creator, builder and consultant, whether the product is virtual or physical.
8
Service Quality• Demands understanding, appreciating and responding to user perceptions
• Commits to continuous evaluation and improve-ment
• Learns from good and bad services outside the library• Acknowledges the interdependence of content, technology, facilities and (human) service
• Requires a staff knowledgeable of content, savvy with technology, and committed to listening to and valuing user input
• Encourages advice and suggestions for service innovation
What is service quality?
• Service quality focuses on the needs and expectations of customers to improve products and/or services.
• Service quality measures the gap between the customer’s level of expectation (from minimal to desired, to perceived) and how well they rated the service(s).
• Measuring service quality in libraries can be both a specific project as well as a continuous process to enhance and improve services.
9
Why measure service quality?
• to identify where services need improvement from users point of view
• to provide services that are more closely aligned with the expectations of your users
• to compare our service quality with otherinstitutions in an effort to developbenchmarks or best practices
What to measure?
• decide if you want to measure a specific aspect of your library and information service (e.g. the provision of information literacy program) or the service as a whole?
• If the whole service, decide all needed indicators from each aspect of the service: e.g. inter-library loans, literature searching, inquiry handling, library orientation, etc.
• First, know who your customers are – present and potential
• Next, find out what they want, what they need
• Formulate a plan, brainstorm for ideas to adopt for working toward services that can be called Library 2.0
• Look to other libraries and outside organizations that can help you come up with ideas for new or improved service offerings that will better serve your current users and better reach potential users
• Be flexible and willing to adjust whenever necessary
• Hernon, Peter and Nitecki, Danuta A. (21 April 2011). Service Quality: A Concept Not Fully Explored. Library Trends. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1387/is_4_49/ai_77811351/
• Kyrillidou, M. Heath, F.H. (2001). Measuring Service Quality. Library Trends: 49 (4): 541-799.http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?RQT=572&TS=1250603063&clientId=109526&VType=PQD&VName=PQD&VInst=PROD&PMID=23866&PCID=1436580&SrtM=0&SrchMode=3&aid=1
• Measuring Service Quality by M Kyrillidou - 2001 – powerpointpresentationhttp://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDAQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffoliozmsq.pbworks.com%2Ff%2Fmeasuring.ppt&rct=j&q=library%20service%20quality%20ppt&ei=FhSgTfGhBsODcNzofEB&usg=AFQjCNEH8tLMCO9Tl3xCOc1GjDcpHSQijQ&sig2=ut9o9XQ2qOLIA8rujAwrnA&cad=rjt
References/Further Readings
• Parasuraman, A. University of Miami. Library Assessment and Benchmarking Institute (LAB 2002). Monterey, CA. September 13, 2002http://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sla.org%2FPresentations%2Fsldc%2Fparsu_LAB2002pp.ppt&rct=j&q=Parasuraman%20Lab%202002&ei=JfGvTYbBBoyWvAOA9JSfBw&usg=AFQjCNFiiWyRvAZhXOFiSoFMlHi3n0AaOQ&sig2=W0_biZmQW4WUh3CU2QYI1g&cad=rjt
• Bertot, John Carlo. Measuring Service Quality in the Networked Environment: Approaches and Considerations. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1387/is_4_49/ai_77811355/?tag=mantle_skin;content
• Phipps, Shelley. Beyond Measuring Service Quality: Learning from the Voices of the Customers, the Staff, the Processes, and the Organization. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1387/is_4_49/ai_77811349/?tag=mantle_skin;content
29
Please Remix/Reuse/Share!
This presentation may be used for your library or
organization without further request from the author. Please
feel free to use it in whole or in part, incorporate it into
another presentation, quote from it, snag the images, etc. A
citation to this presentation with a nod to the original author,
Fe Angela M. Verzosa, would be greatly appreciated.