Does size matter? The effect of resource base size on faculty service quality perceptions in academic libraries

1. Does size matter?The effect of resource base size on faculty service quality perceptions in academic libraries Damon Jaggars, Shanna Smith & Fred Heath University of Texas at Austin Library Assessment Conference 2008 Building Effective, Sustainable, Practical Assessment Seattle, Washington August 5, 2008

2. Variance across user groups and library types in LibQUAL+ Cook identified some variance across user groups • Small but significant differences among user groups at ARL and non-ARL institutions • Differing patterns of variance: at ARLs LP was largest variance and at non-ARL AS was largest variance Cook, Carol Colleen. A mixed-methods approach to the identification and measurement of academic library service quality constructs: LibQUAL+™. Texas A&M University, 2001, pgs. 230-244.

3. Faculty adequacy gap scores UT Austin, 2006

4. Study Sample • 2006 LibQUAL+ survey administration • Research = Carnegie RU/VH and RU/H • 56 libraries • 8215 faculty surveyed • Examples: Columbia University, Clemson University, University of Texas at Austin • Masters = Carnegie Masters L and Masters M • 65 libraries • 5664 faculty surveyed • Examples: Humboldt State University, Gonzaga University, University of Texas at San Antonio

5. Analyses performed on summary data from each school Repeated-measures ANOVAs used to control for non-independence of ratings within school Four ANOVAs: one for each type of rating (minimum, desired, perceived, and adequacy gap) Between-subject factor was school type (Master’s or Research); within-subject factors were dimension of service (AS, IC, or LP) and status (faculty, graduate, or undergraduate) Analysis

6. Minimum Masters Research

7. Desired Masters Research

8. Perceived Masters Research

9. Adequacy Gap Masters Research

10. Conclusions • Some variation across research and masters-level institutions types • There are no statistically significant differences in adequacy means among faculty respondents from research and masters-level institutions • Resource base size has no discernable effect on meeting faculty expectations of library service quality across these two academic library types

11. Discussion • No evidence that faculty members bring their service expectations to employing institutions from institutions where they are trained • Faculty expectations possibly influenced by the context at employing institution • Large research libraries spread resources across a broader range of programs and larger populations

12. Contact Information Damon Jaggars University of Texas Libraries jaggars@austin.utexas.edu (512) 495-4321 Shanna Smith Division of Statistics and Scientific Computation University of Texas at Austin sesmith@austin.utexas.edu (512) 475-9425 Fred Heath University of Texas Libraries fheath@austin.utexas.edu (512) 495-4346