Improving Library Service Quality to Graduate Students: LibQual+ TM Survey Results in a Practical Setting

The LibQUAL+TM survey was conducted to determine user satisfaction and expectations concerning library service quality. The results of the "22 items and a box" constituted a rich source of information for the University of Idaho (UI) Library's strategic planning process. Focusing on graduate students, this study used three methodologies to analyze survey results. The first method, internal benchmarking, compared UI graduate students to UI faculty, staff, and undergraduates. Secondly, external benchmarking using score norms evaluated UI graduate student results against their peers from other non-ARL libraries participating in the 2004 LibQUAL+TM survey. Lastly, categorizing and carefully considering survey comments enriched the quantitative data by adding context to the numbers.