Evaluation of a Resource Discovery Service: FindIt@Bham

In autumn 2012, the University of Birmingham launched FindIt@Bham, a Primo-based Resource Discovery Service, after a series of focus groups with students and staff to help determine its initial configuration and customization. This article presents the results from a large-scale online survey and focus groups that were conducted to poll users’ attitudes to the service over twelve months later, adding to a small body of research on user satisfaction with established resource discovery services. From the survey the overall level of appreciation was high with 71.13% rating FindIt@Bham to be “Good” or “Very Good.” The level of appreciation was compared across undergraduates, postgraduates (taught and research), and academic staff which revealed that undergraduates are the group of users most happy with the service with academic staff being least satisfied. The reasons for this discrepancy are considered, along with users’ behavior and a discussion of their perceptions of individual functional areas. The survey results led to focus group activities tailored to extract deeper information on system usage and satisfaction. From these combined activities, future customizations and developments to FindIt@Bham such as tuning of result relevancy, improved online help, and additional functionality can be prioritized.     

A Study of the Causes of User Dissatisfaction in Academic Libraries: A Case of University Students in a Developing Country

ABSTRACT

This article investigates students’ perceptions and expectations of service quality to understand the causes of dissatisfaction with the services delivered by the university libraries in Bangladesh. A total of 623 usable responses were collected from ten public and private university libraries in the country. The survey data were collected using a modified five dimensional SERVQUAL-based questionnaire, consisting of 26 service items. To determine the level of user satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the service items, the study used the disconfirmation theory with slight modification. It was found that users’ unrealistically high expectation for quality services is one of the key sources of their dissatisfaction. The other causes of dissatisfaction include lack of user-employee relationships, lack of attention to users’ needs, an external communication gap between library and users, lack of attention to enhance staffs’ performance, etc. Based on the service deficiencies identified, the study offers some measures that could be used as a way to improve service quality, and thereby user satisfaction.     

Listening to Students: Customer Journey Mapping at Birmingham City University Library and Learning Resources

Birmingham City University's Library and Learning Resources’ strategic aim is to improve student satisfaction. A key element is the achievement of the Customer Excellence Standard. An important component of the standard is the mapping of services to improve quality. Library and Learning Resources has developed a methodology to map these “customer journeys” with students. The article considers themes in the published literature and provides an overview of a pilot project and its outcomes. The project's aims are evaluated including an assessment of the effectiveness of the mapping methodology in engaging students, the staff resource implications, and the identification of service improvements.     

“Packaged” Information: How are new Means of Delivering Information Affecting Students’ Information-Seeking Behavior?

This article explores two methods of “packaging” information for students: custom textbooks and web-based discovery services. It examines the implementation of each of these initiatives at the University of Reading, using the institution as a case study to explore the implications on students’ information-seeking behavior. This is combined with a review of the relevant literature surrounding each service. Custom textbooks were used by the University's History department to support one of its first-year undergraduate modules, with the aim of providing a source of essential reading. The University Library released its web-based discovery service to students in October 2011. Various effects on information-seeking behavior are observed, including the potential decline of critical thinking in order to evaluate sources and the danger of sidelining search skills in favor of easy information solutions. The article concludes that librarians have an important role to play in helping students to understand the complexity of information searching. Whilst custom textbooks and discovery services are in some ways beneficial to students, they still require guidance from expert library staff to help them navigate these resources as independent learners. Finally, topics for further research are presented.     

Communication,Collaboration, and Enhancing the Learning Experience: Developing a Collaborative Virtual Enquiry Service in University Libraries in the North of England

ABSTRACT

This article uses the case study of developing a collaborative “out-of-hours” virtual enquiry service by members of the Northern Collaboration Group of academic libraries in the north of England to explore the importance of communication and collaboration between academic library services in enhancing student learning. Set within the context of a rapidly changing UK higher education sector the article considers the benefits and challenges of collaboration and the contribution of library services to the student experience. The project demonstrated clear benefits to student learning and evidence of value for money to individual institutions as well as showing commitment to national shared services agendas. Effective communication with students, with colleagues and stakeholders in our own and other Northern Collaboration member institutions, and with OCLC, our partner organization, was a critical success factor in the development, promotion, and uptake of the new service.     

Affective Experiences of International and Home Students During the Information Search Process

An increasing number of students are studying abroad requiring that they interact with information in languages other than their mother tongue. The UK in particular has seen a large growth in international students within Higher Education. These nonnative English speaking students present a distinct user group for university information services, such as university libraries. This article presents the findings from an in-depth study to understand differences between the search processes of home and international students. Data were collected using an online survey and diary-interview to capture thoughts and feelings in a more naturalistic way. International students are found to have similar information search processes to those of home students, but sometimes face additional difficulties in assessing search results such as confusion when dealing with differing cultural perspectives. The potential implications for information service providers, particularly university libraries, are discussed, such as providing assistance to students for identifying appropriate English sources.     

Effectiveness of fieldwork at an information desk: A prototype for academic library-library school collaboration

This article presents a model of how academnic libraries and schools of library and information studies (LIS) may collaborate to provide useful educational experiences to LIS students and reliable reference service to library users. LIS students staff an information desk for s fieldwork component of a basic reference course. Research shows that the students provide accurate services at the desk.     

COBRA framework to evaluate e-government services: A citizen-centric perspective

E-government services involve many stakeholders who have different objectives that can have an impact on success. Among these stakeholders, citizens are the primary stakeholders of government activities. Accordingly, their satisfaction plays an important role in e-government success. Although several models have been proposed to assess the success of e-government services through measuring users' satisfaction levels, they fail to provide a comprehensive evaluation model. This study provides an insight and critical analysis of the extant literature to identify the most critical factors and their manifested variables for user satisfaction in the provision of e-government services. The various manifested variables are then grouped into a new quantitative analysis framework consisting of four main constructs: cost; benefit; risk and opportunity (COBRA) by analogy to the well-known SWOT qualitative analysis framework. The COBRA measurement scale is developed, tested, refined and validated on a sample group of e-government service users in Turkey. A structured equation model is used to establish relationships among the identified constructs, associated variables and users' satisfaction. The results confirm that COBRA framework is a useful approach for evaluating the success of e-government services from citizens' perspective and it can be generalised to other perspectives and measurement contexts.     

独立学院图书馆读者满意度研究——以苏州大学应用技术学院图书馆为例

文章以公有民办独立二级学院图书馆读者满意度为例,利用问卷调查结合因子分析的方法研究独立学院图书馆读者满意度,得出结论:独立学院图书馆读者满意度主要受图书馆员的服务效果、图书馆的设施条件、信息资源获取、环境因素以及获取资料方便程度五个方面的影响,其中服务态度和效果对读者满意度影响最大,同时独立学院学生对学生助理的满意度高于其他正式图书馆员的满意度。     

基于卷积神经网络的物流服务业顾客满意度评价方法研究

[目的/意义]本文提出了基于卷积神经网络的物流服务业顾客满意度评价方法,为人们科学客观地了解物流实际运行情况,改善物流服务有重要的参考价值。[方法/过程]文章运用网络爬虫技术、词频统计和特征提取得出五个物流服务特征,然后构建卷积神经网络文本分类模型,对物流评论信息进行分类,最后对物流服务满意度进行赋值评分。[结果/结论]实验结果表明,在网络生鲜产品物流服务特征中,便利性、可靠性、及时性、完整性和友好性是消费者关注的服务特征,而消费者最关注完整性,最不关注及时性,并最终得到了物流服务业顾客满意度分值。本文最终选择了生鲜物流作为案例进行顾客满意度评价,以期推广到更多物流服务业评价应用中。     

How They Search,How They Feel,and How to Serve Them? Information Needs and Seeking Behaviors of Chinese Students Using Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

America has become a choice for international students to study abroad because of its advanced education system and environment. Libraries become a way for international students to access resources and experience campus life, while Chinese students are increasing gradually as the biggest component of international students. This article investigates how Chinese students use American academic libraries and their information needs and seeking behaviors, as well as Chinese students' satisfaction with library facilities, resources, and services, and their expectation for other services. The article aims to better understand Chinese students, analyze their search strategies, and better provide relevant library services for them.     

Lessons learned from single service point implementations

Interest in consolidating service points within health sciences libraries continues. This article proposes a definition of a library single service point and mentions some notable examples in academic health sciences libraries. The experiences of two of these libraries are summarized and compared, and the advice culled from those experiences is shared. The advice is in the form of sharing lessons learned, answering six frequently asked questions about combining services and staff under a single service umbrella. The article offers insights for other library staff considering this type of service reorganization.     

An Investigation of Service Expectations: Developing and Validating an Alternative Scale for Service Quality Assessment in Academic Libraries

The article provides an overview of the expectations and perceptions of library service quality from university students in Bangladesh. A modified version of the five dimensional SERVQUAL instrument was used to collect data from the universities. Respondents were asked to indicate their opinion on three columns, i.e., desired, minimum, and perception of service performance using 28 service items. It was found that the students’ desired expectation for services is unreasonably high. The study, therefore, made an effort to examine the sources of their expectation to develop and validate an alternative item-scale for service quality assessment. The results indicate that the students’ expectation sources had a significant impact on their opinion on service quality. A large proportion of students felt that their expectation for quality services is their right. This led them to rate higher desired expectation score for services. It suggests that user's desired service expectation is unrealistic and is not reliable for quality measurement. Based on this, the study argues that the prior scales of service quality assessment, particularly the calculation of the gap difference between perception of service performance and desired service expectation cannot produce a realistic result. An alternative item-scale, called real service expectation, was developed to calculate the gap score between perception of service performance and real service expectations. The computation of real service expectation, and the corresponding gap analysis could provide a new strategic direction for service quality assessment in academic libraries.     

Multimedia Technology and the Changing Nature of Research in the School Library

Multimedia technology provides new methods for the presentation of information from which people may gain knowledge. As simultaneous access to large amounts of information in a variety of formats presets new challenges to students who use multimedia resources for research and learning, school library media specialists must help students develop the informaiton skills required to meet these challenges. This article presents an exploration of the ways in which students use a multimedia resource to achieve a research task, the similarities to and differences with using a print-based resource and their implications for school library instructional programs and services.     

Investigating the Development of the “Mobile Museum” from the Perspective of Service

During economic development, modern museums face competition from various leisure activities and entertainment sites, and to achieve sustainable development, museums should reflect on providing high‐quality service to satisfy visitors’ expectations. Based on service design‐related theories, this research team conducted a case study to explore the planning, implementation, and meaning of Mobile Museums. It investigated design development from the perspective of public service design and summarized the policy, design, and service satisfaction results for Mobile Museums. Finally, the similarities in service processes are discussed between Mobile Museums and the general service industry. According to this study, attracting more visitors is the biggest issue facing museums today, as are the ways in which museums must actively provide service and become recognized to compete with others. This study identifies the onstage and backstage support of museums as well as their cultural features and non‐profit services.     

Hybrid gatekeeping framework for value-added information services

Information control processes designed to prioritize the most relevant information are important for enhancing the service experience of users. Gatekeeping is the process of filtering and disseminating information in online information services. This study investigates the effects of gatekeeping activities on information services and the resulting impact on the value of such services from a user's perspective in an information service environment characterized by online and offline transactions. Various hybrid gatekeeping activities are derived through focus group interviews with information services planners. A survey of information service users reveals values that could be obtained from the information services. The results of these two data gathering tools suggest an information service framework for hybrid environments. The findings enable the development of value-added information services for users through efficient information control in hybrid online and offline environments.     

E-Mail Reference as Substitute for Library Receptionist

SUMMARY

The authors explore the historical development of e-mail reference services in general, and report on the evolution of this service in their own library. Based on evidence from their own service and from reports in the literature, they propose a connection between e-mail reference service and broader library services including circulation, interlibrary loan, and even acquisitions, through which the reference librarian receives questions traditionally directed elsewhere. The e-ref button presents an unexpected avenue of librarian-to-librarian communication, both within and beyond one's home institution. Implications are discussed.     

Requirements engineering for e-Government services: A citizen-centric approach and case study

Throughout the last decade, user involvement in e-Government service design has been virtually non-existent. Over time, e-Government experts began to realize that these services would benefit from a citizen-centric requirements engineering approach which has led to a demand for such an approach for this particular field. This article presents a citizen-centric approach towards user requirements engineering for e-Government services. It utilizes interviews and citizen walkthroughs of low-fidelity prototypes. A case study of a social support portal illustrates the approach and shows the need for repeated citizen inquiry, as the implementation of user requirements in low-fidelity prototype design is not always accepted by prospective end-users.     

基于用户满意度的数字档案信息服务评价探究

文章从档案用户满意度视角将数字档案信息服务划分为资源内容、信息服务和系统平台3个维度和15个要素。通过层次分析法计算各维度要素的重要性分配,构建数字档案信息服务评价指标体系,并进一步运用模糊综合法对选取案例实施评价,提出用户满意度视角的数字档案信息服务优化策略。     

对我国档案利用服务工作的思考——基于大学生档案利用行为特点的调查研究

文章通过研究大学生的档案利用行为特点来反思我国的档案利用服务工作。根据对大学生档案利用行为特点的调查研究,发现他们对档案理解比较狭隘,档案主动利用意识和动机比较薄弱,档案利用行为比较被动。根据档案接受理论,要改变大学生现有的档案接受模式,就需要重塑大学生的档案情感和档案利用行为模式。正确的档案情感和良性的档案利用行为模式,来自于频繁和稳定的档案利用活动,来自于档案利用活动与日常工作学习和生活的多层面和深度的交互关系,以及生动和轻松灵活的档案信息服务方式。