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The dimensions that construct the evaluation of service quality in academic libraries

Haruki Nagata (Professor at the Research Center for Knowledge Community, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan)
Yoshinori Satoh (Associate Professor at the Social and Information Science Department, Yonezawa Women's Junior College, Yonezawa, Japan)
Sarah Gerrard (Librarian and Deputy Director of Information Services at the Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK)
Päivi Kytömäki (Director at the Library, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland)

Performance Measurement and Metrics

ISSN: 1467-8047

Article publication date: 1 August 2004

4004

Abstract

The objective of this study is to identify the dimensions that determine the customers' evaluation of service quality in academic libraries. One university library each in England and Finland and two in Japan were selected to conduct a questionnaire survey based on the GAP theory of SERVQUAL that has led discussions on the assessment of service quality in marketing theory and practice. Since the actual delivery of information as a service outcome is as important as the service process in libraries, attributes inherent to libraries were incorporated into the survey. Subjecting data obtained to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that library service quality consists of four dimensions: effect of service (personal), library as ba (place), collections and access, and effect of service (organizational), which are different from the five SERVQUAL dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy.

Keywords

Citation

Nagata, H., Satoh, Y., Gerrard, S. and Kytömäki, P. (2004), "The dimensions that construct the evaluation of service quality in academic libraries", Performance Measurement and Metrics, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 53-65. https://doi.org/10.1108/14678040410546073

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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