An Investigation into Determinants of Service Quality (Servqual) of the Colegio De San Juan de Letran Library

Researcher: CAROLYN P. RULONA

Course: Master of Arts in Library Science

School: University of Santo Tomas, Philippines

Subject Area: Library Services - Quality

Year of Graduation: 2005

Introduction

Library is frequently referred to as "the heart of the institution" or "the mind of the society." In carrying out its responsibility in the academic program effectively, the library performs certain activities and offers certain services. Because libraries are services, they exist to provide service to people who need it. Library service is an effort to improve the quality of services open to library users such as the means to derive customer input and satisfaction and organizational response mechanisms. It is a common practice for any type of library concerned with services to support the educational and research objectives of its parent organization. The library, however, does not function alone. A library, above all, is a human enterprise and it depends ultimately upon the skilled minds and talents of librarians to perform its proper role in our changing society. Libraries must retain the timeless service of equity of access, personal service, and services tailored to the needs of individuals while exploring new values. As the "heart" of the academe, the library is expected to give quality rather than quantity library services to the internal and external customers of educational institutions that are considered best judges of quality service.

Statement of the Problem

The study aims to assess the library clients' expectations and perceptions of library service quality as actually experienced at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran using the service quality (SERVQUAL) instrument designed to measure total quality service. The focus of this study is on the efficiency and quality of library services provided by the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Library. The study is limited to the findings of a descriptive, quantitative and qualitative method.

Findings

Findings revealed that there is a significant difference among the five (5) SERVQUAL dimensions. Of the five dimensions, Assurance ranks first, followed sequentially by Empathy, Tangibles, Reliability and Responsiveness. Using the CRBANOVA and Turkey's Honestly Significant Difference (HSD), Assurance differs significantly with other variables such as Tangibles, Reliability and Responsiveness. Findings also reveal that the Colegio de San Juan de Letran library conformed with all the five (5) SERVQUAL dimensions such as Responsiveness, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy and Reliability. But, although, the library customers are satisfied there remains a need for periodic evaluation to achieve total quality service.

Recommendation

The adoption of the five (5) dimensions of SERVQUAL as a survey instrument is likewise recommended for future evaluation since it has proven to be effective in the assessment of quality service.