LibQUAL+®: Survey Introduction

The LibQUAL+® Introduction session provides both future prospective participants and those new to the LibQUAL+® survey administration with information on the project's development and origins, as well as basic practical information for getting started with the survey at your library.

Audience: Those interested in LibQUAL+® and first time survey administrators. [Attendance at this session prior to conducting the survey is highly recommended for all first time survey administrators; repeat survey administrators do not need to attend.].

• History of LibQUAL+®: From a research project to an ongoing ARL service and expansion of the survey
• Research foundations: Qualitative and quantitative grounding for LibQUAL+® and development of the survey instrument
• www.LibQUAL.org: Resources, including the online tutorial, "Learn to Read Radar Charts"
• Registration: Step by step
• Overview of survey administration steps

Pre-assignment: Survey registration is not a prerequisite

  LibQUAL+®: Survey Administration

The LibQUAL+® Administration session provides all participants registered for LibQUAL+® survey administration with practical information for administering the survey at your library.

Audience: All survey administrators and members of assessment groups/teams. [Attendance at this session prior to conducting the survey is highly recommended for both first time and repeat survey administrators.].

• Articulating survey objectives/desired outcomes
• Obtaining Institutional Review Board approval
• Sampling: Determining whom to survey; obtaining population data for representativeness of user groups and disciplines; developing the sampling plan
• Creating an assessment group or team
• Preparing the organization
• Marketing your survey
• Online system:
  • Preferences: Setting basic survey preferences
  • Customizing your survey; discipline customization
  • Approving and running the survey
  • Closing your survey, completing the representativeness questionnaire, completing the post hoc and evaluation questionnaires
• Obtaining results: Online, notebook, SPSS files

Pre-assignment: Review online tutorial "Learn to Read Radar Charts"; Survey registration

  LibQUAL+®: Survey Results

The LibQUAL+® Results session is aimed at library staff who participated in the survey and will (a) provide an overview of recent LibQUAL+® participation, (b) report the latest research, (c) help participants to begin to interpret their institutional notebooks, and (d) share best practices in using the results. Note: this session does not include data analysis techniques.

Audience: All survey administrators and members of assessment groups/teams. [Attendance at this session immediately after conducting the survey is highly recommended for first time survey administrators; repeat survey administrators are also encouraged to attend.].

• Survey highlights for the current survey
• The latest LibQUAL+® research and development
• Using the Results notebook
• Interpreting radar charts and bar charts
• Understanding gap analysis
• Identifying differences among different user groups
• Using the LibQUAL+® Analytics
• Best practices in using the results: Stories from the field

Pre-assignment: Review online tutorial "Learn to Read Radar Charts"; Bring results notebook to session

  Using LibQUAL+® Effectively

The administration of a user survey is a significant investment for any library and it raises expectations among members of the user community and among staff. Many aspects of the LibQUAL+® survey administration process have been streamlined and there is rapid access to data and results. But some libraries indicate that they are not well-prepared to work effectively with and act upon the results, once received. This workshop will enable staff responsible for administering the LibQUAL+® survey to develop work plans that they can apply in their libraries in order to: perform some simple analyses of the quantitative and qualitative results data, present the results visually, make comparisons, identify what is actionable, organize their colleagues and committees to work with LibQUAL+®, present the results effectively to different stakeholders, utilize data to target areas for improvement, and develop a process of continuous assessment.

Audience: Survey administrators and members of assessment groups/teams.

• Calculating statistics
• Determining representativeness
• Preparing customized charts & graphs
• Using norms tables
• Making peer comparisons
• Doing longitudinal analysis
• Identifying what is actionable
• Identifying roles & responsibilities
• Presenting results to stakeholders
• Engaging others in understanding & utilizing the results
• Targeting incremental improvements
• Applying data in decision-making
• Identifying & using best practices
• Integrating w/other assessments
• Planning next steps

Pre-assignment: Review online tutorial "Learn to Read Radar Charts"; Bring results notebook to session