User perceptions of service quality and the level of user satisfaction at the Mangosuthu University of technology library, Umlazi, Durban.
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Date
2009
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Abstract
This study examined the quality of service provided by the Mangosuthu
University of Technology (MUT) Library from the perspective of the users of
the library. It determined the gaps between users’ expectations and
perceptions of service quality and it indicated the level of user satisfaction at
the library.
The identification of the gaps in the library services and the assessment
results can improve service delivery. The intention of the study was to
measure the users’ perceptions of the quality of the collections, personal
services and facilities. The results will be used for service improvements and
to make informed decisions concerning the quality of service that is offered at
the MUT Library.
The LibQUAL+™ instrument is being used by many libraries all over the
world and is currently being used in South African libraries too. It helps
librarians assess and improve library services, change organisational
structure and market the library. The questionnaire is used to measure the
gap between customer expectations for excellence and their perceptions of
the actual services delivered by the library.
The LibQUAL+™ instrument in this study was modified and simplified to
identify these gaps. The instrument consisted of both open-ended and closed
questions although the latter predominated. The three dimensions of service
quality, that is, access to information, staff service and library facilities formed
the core of the instrument. The research method used for this study was the descriptive survey. The population of the study consisted of both undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as academic and administrative staff. All faculties were represented. The stratified proportional sampling method was used and a sample of 1823 respondents were surveyed. Results were analysed using SPSS to determine the frequency of responses. The results are displayed
using tables and graphs. The study yielded a return rate of 70.8% for
students and 52.9% return rate for staff. An overall response rate of 69.5%
was sufficient for data analysis.
The results from this study indicate that there is definitely a huge gap
between users’ expectations and perceptions of service quality at MUT
Library. The extent of the gap varies depending on the individual services. All
user categories had higher expectations than perceptions for most library
services. The users’ expectations were not in keeping with their actual
experiences at the library. Further, the findings of the survey indicated that
the most problematic to users were library space, library facilities (for
example, printing, photocopying and Internet access) and the inadequate
and outdated book collection. Several insights gained from this study showed
that users’ expectations were not met and many users had low perceptions
of certain library services. The level of satisfaction varied among the different
user categories. The staff affirmed that the overall quality of services were
good while the majority of students affirmed that their satisfaction with the
overall quality of library services was poor.
Based on the findings, recommendations are presented to improve service
quality and increase the level of user satisfaction at the MUT Library.
Description
Thesis (MIS)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.
Keywords
Library use studies., Libraries--Evaluation., Libraries--KwaZulu-Natal--Evaluation., Theses--Library and information science.