The study investigated the service quality of the Aga Khan University (AKU) library as an example of an academic library in Kenya using SERVQUAL, a user based assessment tool. Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy formed the basis of the study; a philosophy that is customer oriented and lays great emphasis on enhancing customer satisfaction. The study adopted a survey design and data was collected using a structured selfadministered questionnaire by the name of SERVQUAL. The study sample consisted of nursing and medical faculty; nursing and medical students. A total of 78 (63%) respondents responded to the questionnaire. The data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 17.0. Descriptive statistics was provided and univariate analysis was applied to examine the characteristics of the 2 main variables; perceptions and expectations. The findings of the study established that the expectations of AKU library users are higher than their perceptions. It is also evident from the findings that there are service quality gaps in a number of library services offered by AKU library. This is demonstrated through the gap analysis between the AKU library users‟ perceptions and the users‟ expectations of AKU library. The study recommends that AKU library as well as other academic libraries in Kenya adopt user based assessment tools such as SERVQUAL in the evaluation of library service quality. The study further recommends that AKU library needs to address gaps between the library users‟ perception and the users‟ expectation in order to enhance customer satisfaction through the provision of quality services. The study also recommends that AKU library needs to address the gaps in service attributes such as those relating to AKU library staff, reliability and efficiency of AKU library service delivery. In line with the findings the study further recommends more training for AKU library staff in areas such as customer service skills as well as the need for AKU library to invest more in its physical facility and equipment. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjama Šiaulių universiteto bibliotekos paslaugų kokybė. Bibliotekos teikiamų paslaugų kokybė buvo tiriama taikant standartizuotos apklausos raštu (anketavimo) ir grupinio interviu metodus. Tyrimo problema apibrėžiama tokiais probleminiais klausimais: kodėl svarbi bibliotekos paslaugų kokybė studentams? Kaip išskirti svarbiausius elementus, į kuriuos kreipia dėmesį studentai, vertindami ŠU bibliotekos paslaugų kokybę? Į kokias sritis reikia sutelkti didžiausią dėmesį, tobulinant bibliotekos paslaugų kokybę? Pirmoje bakalauro baigiamojo darbo dalyje pristatoma atlikta mokslo šaltinių analizė. Remiantis jos rezultatais apibūdinama paslauga, svarbiausios jos savybės, bendroji paslaugos kokybės samprata, paslaugos kokybės valdymo bei vertinimo modeliai. Taip pat analizuojama akademinės bibliotekos bendroji paskirtis, universiteto bibliotekos teikiamos paslaugos, išskiriami moderniosios bibliotekos bruožai. Tiriamojoje darbo dalyje pristatomas atliktas tyrimas, kurį sudaro dvi dalys – formalizuotas grupinis interviu ir standartizuota anketinė apklausa raštu. Remiantis tyrimo rezultatais, teigiama, kad ŠU bibliotekos paslaugos kokybė yra aukšto lygio, o tobulintinos sritys, remiantis vartotojų nuomone, yra susijusios su bibliotekos fondo turtinimu (leidinių kiekis, naujumas, įvairiapusiškumas) ir aptarnaujančio personalo bendravimo kompetencijomis. / The quality of services at the library of Siauliai University is analyzed in the bachelor final papework. The quality of services at library was analyzed applying the method of written standardized questioning (questionnare) and the method of sectional interview. The problem of the research was defined with that problematic questions like: why are the quality of library services relevant to students? How identify the most imortant elements, where students pay more attention valuating quality of library services? Where should be paid attention to improve library work? Final bachelor papework represented research analize of litarature sources in the first part. According to her results, describig the definition of services, basics services charakteristics, also common service quality conception, control and measurement models of service quality. Futhermore there is analyzed academical library the main purpose, university library services and identifies the modern library features. Also, final bachelor papework represented formalize group interview research and standardize questionnaire research in the practical part. Results of research shows, that the service quality at library of Siauliai University is in high level and sustaining client opinion the improvement parts are conected with library funds and service personnel communication.

The purpose of this study was to explore students' perceptions of library services offered at Walters State Community College. This research involved LibQUAL+™, a nationally known academic library assessment instrument that measures three dimensions on a scale of approximately 22 aspects of service, divided into 6 groups (Heath, Kyrillidou, & Askew, 2004, p.264). These 3 dimensions are the following: Affect of Service (AS), Information Control (IC), and Library as a Place (LP). Responses of 666 students at Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee, indicated the students' perceptions of acceptable minimum level of service, perceived levels of service, and desired levels of service. Each dimension was assessed by mean scores and p values to determine students' level of satisfaction with the library. Independent samples t tests were conducted to analyze the association between perceived means of the 3 service quality dimensions for the following: (1) Walters State Community College compared to 4 other community colleges, (2) male and female students at Walters State Community College, (3) traditional students 22 years old and younger and nontraditional students over age 22 at Walters State Community College. Pearson's correlation was conducted to analyze the relationship between library budgets and library services. Based on the findings of this study, Walters State Community College Library's mean scores were higher than the other 4 community college's in the 3 service quality dimensions. However, Walters State Community College's results indicated substantial room for improvement in the Affect of Service dimension. The mean scores between male and female students at Walters State College showed no differences among the 3 service quality dimensions. The findings also indicated that nontraditional students over age 22 rated Affect of Service and Information Control higher than did traditional students age 22 and younger. In addition, findings indicated a fairly strong relationship between library budget and the Information Control dimension for the 5 community colleges studied. The data offered in this study provided useful information for library self-study and ideas for improving the college's library services.

The study investigated the service quality of the Aga Khan University (AKU) library as an example of an academic library in Kenya using SERVQUAL, a user based assessment tool. Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy formed the basis of the study; a philosophy that is customer oriented and lays great emphasis on enhancing customer satisfaction. The study adopted a survey design and data was collected using a structured selfadministered questionnaire by the name of SERVQUAL. The study sample consisted of nursing and medical faculty; nursing and medical students. A total of 78 (63%) respondents responded to the questionnaire. The data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 17.0. Descriptive statistics was provided and univariate analysis was applied to examine the characteristics of the 2 main variables; perceptions and expectations. The findings of the study established that the expectations of AKU library users are higher than their perceptions. It is also evident from the findings that there are service quality gaps in a number of library services offered by AKU library. This is demonstrated through the gap analysis between the AKU library users‟ perceptions and the users‟ expectations of AKU library. The study recommends that AKU library as well as other academic libraries in Kenya adopt user based assessment tools such as SERVQUAL in the evaluation of library service quality. The study further recommends that AKU library needs to address gaps between the library users‟ perception and the users‟ expectation in order to enhance customer satisfaction through the provision of quality services. The study also recommends that AKU library needs to address the gaps in service attributes such as those relating to AKU library staff, reliability and efficiency of AKU library service delivery. In line with the findings the study further recommends more training for AKU library staff in areas such as customer service skills as well as the need for AKU library to invest more in its physical facility and equipment. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

The diploma thesis deals with library service quality in relation to the development of library budgets. In the introductory chapter, the teoretical knowledge of service quality is gathered and summarized. The next chapter is focused on the PLIS standard. Attention is paid to its history and current form. The next chapter present an integrated view of the librarianship in the Plzeň region, its financing and regional function. In the next chapter is a detailed analysis of three libraries focussed on their financing, performance indicators and filling PLIS standard. The next chapter looks ahead to autors subjective evaluation of quality of library services in analysed libraries.

Educational Digital Libraries (DLs) are complex information systems which are designed to support individuals' information needs and information seeking behavior. To have a broad impact on the communities in education and to serve for a long period, DLs need to structure and organize the resources in a way that facilitates the dissemination and the reuse of resources. Such a digital library should meet defined quality dimensions in the 5S (Societies, Scenarios, Spaces, Structures, Streams) framework - including completeness, consistency, efficiency, extensibility, and reliability - to ensure that a good quality DL is built. In this research, we addressed both external and internal quality aspects of DLs. For internal qualities, we focused on completeness and consistency of the collection, catalog, and repository. We developed an application pipeline to acquire user-generated computing-related resources from YouTube and SlideShare for an educational DL. We applied machine learning techniques to transfer what we learned from the ACM Digital Library dataset. We built classifiers to catalog resources according to the ACM Computing Classification System from the two new domains that were evaluated using Amazon Mechanical Turk. For external qualities, we focused on efficiency, scalability, and reliability in DL services. We proposed cloud-based designs and applications to ensure and improve these qualities in DL services using cloud computing. The experimental results show that our proposed methods are promising for enhancing and enriching an educational digital library. This work received support from ACM, as well as the National Science Foundation under Grant Numbers DUE-0836940, DUE-0937863, and DUE-0840719, and IMLS LG-71-16-0037-16. / Ph. D. / Educational Digital Libraries (DLs) are designed to serve users finding educational materials. To have a broad impact on the communities in education for a long period, DLs need to structure and organize the resources in a way that facilitates their dissemination and reuse. Such a digital library should be built on a well-defined framework to ensure that the services it provides are of good quality. In this research, we focused on the quality aspects of DLs. We developed an application pipeline to acquire resources contributed by the users from YouTube and SlideShare for an educational DL. We applied machine learning techniques to build classifiers in order to catalog DL collections using a uniform classification system: the ACM Computing Classification System. We also used Amazon Mechanical Turk to evaluate the classifier’s prediction result and used the outcome to improve classifier performance. To ensure efficiency, scalability, and reliability in DL services, we proposed cloud-based designs and applications to enhance DL services. The experimental results show that our proposed methods are promising for enhancing and enriching an educational digital library.