Library and Information Research Group

The author

Sebastian Mundt (37) is currently Head of Acquisitions at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg, Germany. At the time of the survey, he worked as Assistant to the Librarian at Münster University and Regional Library, one of the libraries participating in the survey. He can be contacted at
sebastian.mundt@unibw-hamburg.de.

Abstract

Customer satisfaction and service quality have so far been evaluated mostly from a local perspective although the quality element has been firmly established in academic library management for at least a decade. Critics of inter-institutional comparisons often object that different preconditions are not considered adequately. Examples from a joint user satisfaction survey conducted by 15 German university libraries in 2001 suggest that comparative data are a suitable means to identify cases of “best practice” and can effectively initialize processes of customer-focussed improvement. Furthermore, if compared with corresponding statistical data or performance measures, satisfaction ratings can reveal possible structural strengths and deficits relative to other libraries. On the other hand, follow-up telephone interviews with participating libraries showed that the survey results substantially challenged the institutions’ internal communication and public relations organisation, and underlined that even in a well-developed culture of assessment the need for professional mediation and coordination of comparative analyses may not be underestimated.