A gap analysis to measure service quality of university libraries through user perspectives: a case study at the University of Colombo

Abstract

User expectations and perceptions are important measures of service quality in academic libraries and service quality is frequently defined in terms of reducing the gap between user expectations and the service provided. The assessment of service quality through user perspectives provides an important feedback for libraries. The aim of this research was to determine the gap between user desired service expectations and actual service perceptions of the University of Colombo Library System to provide a better service to satisfy their expectations. This study conducted as a user survey covered 614 users of the Colombo University Library system. A modified version of a SERVQUAL model was used to ascertain the views of library users about service level. They were asked to assess the actual service delivered by the library; to establish the importance of the service to them as users; and, to identify to what extent the service met their expectations. The largest service quality gap among all the attributes applied to the Colombo University Library System was “Access to electronic journals”. The author’s fervent hope is that this research would provide insights for further research in this field which in turn would eventually help decision makers to improve service quality in our academic libraries.