The new library user in Sweden: A LibQUAL+™ study at Lund University

Purpose – To examine how the library user emerges in the context of the LibQUAL+™ application in Sweden in 2004.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the following aspects: how the information control dimension is depicted in the results of the Swedish participants; how the information control dimension compares between the Swedish implementation and other libraries; the ”new user” as he emerges from the comments that support the notion of the self‐sufficient, independent, and autonomous information seeker at Lund University; and the new users as reflected in the linguistic translation issues of the LibQUAL+™ survey instrument in Swedish.Findings – Library users in Sweden have indicated that the information control dimension is an important one to them and this is the one dimension where libraries are not faring well. This finding is replicated in other non‐Swedish libraries. In terms of the comments provided, 372 LibQUAL+™ comments (most of them in Swedish) were analyzed and they all show the ...