Assessing Service Quality Satisfying the expectations of library customers

Technological progress has meant that the old measures of service quality no longer apply. If libraries are to succeed, they must see themselves in competition with other institutions and sources of information, especially the Web, and make customers feel welcome and valued. This classic book is brought fully up to date as Peter Hernon and Ellen Altman integrate the use of technology into the customer experience. They offer solid, practical ideas for developing a customer service plan that meets the library's customer-focused mission, vision, and goals, challenging librarians to think about customer service in new ways, including: Distance educationUse of library Web sitesPartnerships and consortia for electronic collectionsWays to effectively embrace change for continuous improvement. Readership: Senior librarians, library directors, and trustees will learn how to see the library as the customer does with the aid of dozens of tools to measure service quality - from mystery shoppers and benchmarking to surveys and group interviews.

1. Understanding ends and means 2. A look in the library mirror 3. “Your mission, should you choose to accept it...” 4. Measuring and evaluating the components of high-quality service 5. What can go wrong with numbers? 6. Different ways of listening to customers 7. Managing the three Cs (comments, complaints, and compliments) 8. Listening through surveys 9. Listening through focus group interviews 10. Customer-related metrics and requirements 11. Satisfaction and service quality: separate but intertwined 12. Interpreting findings to improve customer service 13. Embracing change - continuous improvement