Demonstrating the value of “library as place” with the MISO Survey

Library's quality impact on satisfaction and improvement priorities

Purpose

This study aims to identify library service dimensions at the Suranaree University of Technology (SUT), Thailand, examine the effect of perceived quality on overall satisfaction and determine the library service's improvement priorities.

Design/methodology/approach

The modified service quality (SERVQUAL) questionnaire was administered to SUT faculty and students. The perceived quality of service attributes was determined by comparing the perception of the actual service received with the expectation. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was utilized to classify the service dimensions, and proportional odds ordinal logistic regression was employed to examine the impact of perceived quality on overall satisfaction. The improvement priorities were determined using the importance–performance analysis (IPA).

Findings

EFA suggested four service dimensions of the SUT library services: collection and access, organizational service, service delivery by staff and library as a place. The perceived quality of all dimensions positively affected overall satisfaction. However, the “library as a place” had a nonsignificant effect on faculty satisfaction, while the “collection and access” had a nonsignificant effect on student satisfaction.

Originality/value

In the context of library services, few studies have examined the effect of perceived quality on satisfaction and investigated improvement priorities using IPA. This study addresses these research gaps and provides deeper insights into the faculty and student perspectives on the university library services.