Developing a service performance assessment system to improve service quality of academic libraries

This article proposes an assessment model for the evaluation and improvement of the service performance of academic libraries. It presents a Service Performance Control Matrix (SPCM), an instrument to report the level of service performance and to simultaneously provide strategic directions to sustain, improve or recover service quality. SPCM also provides a guideline for determining the order of improvement for service. The model is applied to five public university libraries in Bangladesh, using a modified version of the SERVQUAL questionnaire. This questionnaire asks students to indicate their opinions on desired, minimum, and actual service performance by the university library on a 7-point Likert scale. The results of this study indicate the applicability of the SPCM model in determining the service quality of academic libraries. With more research effort, we expect this model to be evolved as a practical solution to assessing library service performance worldwide.

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