We want to know the good, the bad and the ugly about the University Libraries from faculty members and students*. Every three years we undertake a survey called LibQual+, one of our two most important user surveys**, and the 2010 edition is now “open for business”.
Following is an invitation to participate from Brinley Franklin, UConn’s Vice Provost for Libraries:
“The University of Connecticut Libraries needs your help and participation in the Fall 2010 LibQUAL+TM Survey.
The LibQual+TM Survey has been used by more than 1,200 libraries internationally to periodically and consistently track, understand, and act upon their users’ opinions of library service quality.
As in the past, the LibQual+TM Survey results will inform our Libraries’ planning on how to best provide library services to the UConn community. This survey process has been reviewed by UConn’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and all responses are confidential and will not be associated with a respondent’s e-mail address or other personal information.”
The link to the survey can be found in your e-mail. If you missed the e-mail (reminders also containing the link will be sent later), have questions, or need assistance in any way, please contact librarysurveys@uconn.edu
Please complete the survey by: December 10, 2010
Thanks for participating!
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*SPECIAL NOTE TO STUDENTS:
One participating eligible student (grad or undergrad) will win a $500 GIFT CARD from the UConn Co-op! Please note the “Fine Print” following for the contest rules.
Fine Print: Participation in the drawing is optional. Eligible students must be registered to take classes at the University of Connecticut during the Fall, 2010 semester; have completed no more than one online survey; have entered an optional “uconn.edu” e-mail address at the time the online survey form is completed; not be an employee of the State of Connecticut, including student employees of the University, or of the UConn Co-op; permit the University of Connecticut to make public a photograph, name, home town, academic year and major of the winning entrant; agree to any rules and restrictions placed upon the use of the gift certificate by the UConn Co-op.
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**And now, “the rest of the story”:
The University Libraries strives to be user centered and we have discovered through the years that surveys are an important way, if not the most important way, for us to receive information for planning at every level of the organization. Results from earlier versions of this particular survey, when combined with data from our local surveys, fed planning activities which led to the recent upgrades of facilities and equipment at the Trecker Library as well as large scale improvements to the University Libraries collection of digital resources among other significant advances.
The University Libraries conducts two comprehensive surveys on a three year cycle (the third year is devoted to internal organizational assessments). This survey, LibQual+, is a product of the Association of Research Libraries and, because it is largely standardized, provides needed local information but also allows the University Libraries to compare itself to peer institutions utilizing the same instrument. Peer to peer comparisons provide a useful perspective in determining our strengths and weaknesses.
The other comprehensive assessment is the User Survey, an entirely homegrown survey process. The User Survey is tailored much more closely to the UConn environment than LibQual+ and so allows our questions to be more specific to our operations. We lose the capability to do peer comparisons but we have found that the two surveys complement each other very nicely.
Common to both surveys is an overall satisfaction question, which we use to chart general progress, and also an optional open ended question which affords survey takers an opportunity to provide comments — often the most interesting outcome of any survey activity.
So, please take our survey — it is truly the best way to help us help you.
Bill Uricchio — Library Director