The University of Delaware Library participated in the LibQUAL+ Survey during a four-week period in spring 2016 from February 22 through March 18.

The purpose of the LibQUAL+ Survey is for the University of Delaware Library to gather information for library strategic planning to assess and improve library services, collections and facilities. LibQUAL+ is a national survey created by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL).

LibQUAL+ measures user perception of the quality of the library in three dimensions:  

• Affect of service (services)
• Information control (collections and access)
• Library as place (library facilities)

The email announcement inviting participation in the survey was sent on Feb. 22 to all current University of Delaware students, faculty and staff.

The survey included questions to which users responded on a scale of one to nine. There were questions about general satisfaction, frequency of use and other topics, and an open comment box at the end in which any comment could be made.

LibQUAL+ Survey report

A total of 2,981 UD students, faculty and staff responded to the survey. Of those responding, 1,079 included comments.

As part of the LibQUAL+ participation, the Association of Research Libraries provided a 99-page statistical report of results of the survey questions and a file of all comments received verbatim.

Survey results showed much appreciation of services provided by the University of Delaware Library. The strongest desires of faculty related to the library collection. Many comments from undergraduate students related to the library building.

The library is now in the process of reviewing all comments and suggestions to analyze what steps can be taken to respond to needs and how best to communicate answers to common themes.

The LibQUAL+ Survey Report and infographic are available to all University of Delaware students, faculty and staff on the Library Assessment web page.

The LibQUAL+ Survey Report includes the following components:

1. Introductory memorandum
2. LibQUAL+ Executive Summary
3. LibQUAL+ Statistical Report of survey question results as provided by the Association of Research Libraries
4. LibQUAL+ Comments from undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty/staff. All comments are listed exactly as reported with all typos, spelling, etc. No comments have been removed or altered except those parts of the comments with personal names and/or physical descriptions of staff. Information that identifies specific individuals has been redacted.

The University of Delaware Library Assessment Committee was responsible for LibQUAL+ planning, marketing, implementation and communication of results. The committee includes:

• Julie Brewer (co-chair), librarian and manager, Library Human Resources and Administrative Services;

• Erin Daix (co-chair), associate librarian, electronic resources librarian, and UDLib/SEARCH training coordinator;

• Megan Gaffney, associate librarian and coordinator, Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services;

• Michael Gutiérrez, librarian, Reference and Instructional Services Department;

• Judy Hamm, assistant director, Library Operations;

• Sarah Katz, senior assistant librarian and UDLib/SEARCH training coordinator;

• Shelly McCoy, librarian and interim associate University librarian for services, outreach and assessment;

• Molly Olney-Zide, senior assistant librarian and Discovery Services librarian; and

• Curtis Small Jr., assistant librarian and coordinator, Public Services.

Further comments about the survey are welcome and can be sent to Sandra Millard at skm@udel.edu.