Demand-Driven Dissatisfaction

A Mixed Methods Analysis of Academic Library Quality using LibQUAL

Abstract

As academic library leaders continue to grapple with accreditation and demonstrating their impact, validated assessment scales such as LibQUAL provide a useful framework for identifying service gaps and benchmarking excellence. LibQUAL studies frequently identify unmet needs in study spaces and collections. However, a critical gap remains in the literature regarding users’ positive and negative attitudes expressed in the open comments box of LibQUAL. An analysis of attitudinal scores revealed that users had equally strong positive and negative attitudes towards the services they prioritized the most. These attitudinal scores converged with similar service gap findings in the LibQUAL data. Considered together, these integrated results suggest users enjoy these resources so much; they want more of them. This presents a new understanding of service gaps, as highly desired priorities, instead of failure to meet demand.