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16 views3 pages

Chapter 1

Uploaded by

antohmuuo3822
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Introduction

Attention to public services in academic libraries has grown to a considerable degree over the
last few decades. There are many reasons for this increased attention. In part, it relates to
changing expectations of the college and university experience on the part of both students
and parents. As higher education becomes increasingly expensive, consumers are
increasingly asking exactly what they are getting for their money. Students, who are the
primary recipients of academic library services, have become more vocal in expressing their
expectations and requirements for the academic experience. Another related factor in the
increased attention to academic library service is the growing influence from the broader field
of marketing and management theory on academic administration. College and university
administrators, feeling the pinch from cutbacks in state support and facing a more
competitive climate for private research dollars and qualified students, are looking to the
business world for guidance. Finally, it is increasingly recognized in academic libraries that
good service can be a deciding factor in the competition for both user and staff. User surveys
and other forms of marketing research have become common as academic libraries seek ways
to differentiate themselves from competitors. High quality user-centered service can also help
build a library staff’s sense of professional identity and boost morale. Given these factors, it
is no surprise that both practitioners and researchers in Library and Information Science have
given increased attention of late to investigating the determinants of academic library service
quality and the outcomes of providing high quality service.

1.1. Background of the Study


Background to the study Quality service delivery is a primary goal of many organizations,
including academic institutions, since having satisfied customers helps to sustain the
organization and provide a platform for survival in today's highly competitive environment.
Going a step further, it is said that service excellence is more important for academic
institutions since students are their lifeblood and providing a quality service can result in
student retention and satisfaction (Parasuraman et al., 1985). An academic library is an on-
campus entity that offers pivotal services to students in particular, and academics. The quality
of such services is of great importance to those involved, as previously mentioned, and a
focus on service quality in Malaysian universities has been implemented since the early
1990s (McCain and Bell, 1993). During that time, the government phased in The National
Accreditation Plan, which was done with the purpose of not only improving but standardizing
the quality of higher education in Malaysia in terms of global expectations. This was to
ensure that graduates produced from such institutions were of international caliber, and today,
the Ministry of Higher Education is placing a high priority on human capital development in
Malaysia (Global Higher Education Forum, 2008). In light of this, it can be seen that the
importance of service quality has not declined but instead increased as it is trying to mold a
more educated generation to further develop the country. In the course of having personally
worked in the higher education sector in Malaysia as academic librarians, it is deemed a
necessity to consider factors that may affect the quality of service that we provide. Such
factors may originate internally from within the organization and/or externally from those
that are beyond our control. When analyzing problems that exist within organizations, the
cause of such problems usually stems from a deviation of what should be occurring on what
is actually occurring (Meyer, W. and Gupta, N.D., 1994). This will be the deductive approach
that we will utilize to study factors affecting service delivery in academic libraries, using the
ideal model of service delivery as a benchmark to identify areas that need improvement.
1.2. Problem Statement
Goals and approaches for improving service quality and users' satisfaction need to be
supported by strong organizational and managerial commitment to reorient the libraries' focus
from the collections to the users and to change the organizational culture. In order to make a
long-lasting and effective changes, library managers and administrators must understand
employees' behaviour on how they perform their works and deliver service to the users.
Failure to understand the behaviour may led to change initiatives that are impractical or
impossible to implement. This situation will create a conflicts between the desired changes
and employees actual practices. In worst situation, this may also lead to a high turnover of
employees. Understanding the behaviour and attitude of the employees requires an in depth
knowledge of working environment and the study of factors that may affect their work.

Emphasizing the importance of service quality has been the main concern of higher education
in recent years. Quality is the primary factor that will drive the library users' satisfaction. It is
also the main reasons for higher education to compete in providing the best service. In an
academic library context, it is highly impossible to separate the image of an institution and
the service provided by its library. However, the measurement of service quality and users'
satisfaction are critical for library to achieve this mission and to become the supporting unit
in the higher education organization.

Problem statement is a briefing that describes the underlying issue or problem of the research.
It also explains the background of the problem, its importance, where the research problem is
happened, the scope of the problem and also problem limitations. This research is attempting
to study about the factors that affect service delivery in university libraries in Klang Valley.

1.3. Objectives
The main objectives of this study are to determine the impact of user education on resource
utilization and to evaluate the level of understanding of services among library patrons. User
education takes place through formal and informal orientations and instructional sessions by
library staff. The result of user education is an informed user who can smoothly and
effectively navigate the array of services offered by the library. It is suspected that users who
are unaware of certain services will be more likely to avoid them. If information is found to
be unknown because it is a poorly publicized service, then it may be a delivery related issue.
Understanding level can be evaluated by examining the reference/research behaviour of
various users. Behaviour can be observed in levels of confidence when using different
resource types, resource preferences, and resource choice. Reference/research behaviour can
be compared to the labelled behaviour of the resource in question. If users are not using
resources that accurately match their needs, then it can be assumed that they do not
understand the resource selections available to them. An informed user who knows their
options and how to choose will often be a heavy user of reference services. LIS theory
reminds us that information problems are often related to unknown, or known poorly. The
solution to such problems may be an enhancement of information resources, but quite often it
is an enhancement of user knowledge concerning resources already available to them. This is
when an improvement of services process can become an improvement of resources process.
This study aims to steer results in the direction of service implications and avoid resource
implications.
1.4. Significance of the Study
This study will provide a comprehensive understanding about the nature and complexity of
the library and information services in the Malaysian academic libraries from the perspective
of the librarians, and filling up the research gap in this area. It is hoped that the findings will
be useful not only to the academic libraries involved in this study, but to other academic
libraries in Malaysia. The study will add to the existing body of knowledge on academic
library services in Malaysia, and contribute to the improvement and betterment of academic
library and information services in the country. The findings will provide beneficial insights
and valuable information regarding the similarity, varied complexity, problems and future
implications among the academic libraries involved in this study. Any future comparative
studies on academic library services in Malaysia can refer to the findings of this study, and
could possibly identify a trend in the provision of library services among the academic
libraries in the country.

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