Title: SERVQUAL to measure perceptions and expectations of library users: a case study of a public university library of Pakistan

Authors: Shahab Alam Malik; Shujah Alam Malik

Addresses: COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), Park Road, Chak Shahzad, Islamabad, Pakistan ' Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Abstract: The study aims to determine the gap between perceived and expected service quality of COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) library. Data were obtained from faculty members, graduate students and undergraduate students of Business Administration about the service quality of CIIT library. A final sample of 281 respondents was used for data analysis. The obtained data were analysed by comparing mean and standard deviation of perceived and expected service quality. Gap analysis of expected and perceived service quality was also conducted and ANOVA test was used to observe the significant mean differences of expectations and perceptions among faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students. Findings of this survey reveal a disparity between the expectations and perceptions of respondents and thus require that the library should enhance its services, especially staff oriented. The results will be beneficial and act as guidelines for the library management in identifying their strengths and weaknesses.

Keywords: SERVQUAL; academic libraries; CIIT; Pakistan; library management; user perceptions; user expectations; library users; case study; university libraries; expected quality; perceived quality; service quality; higher education.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2015.070124

International Journal of Management in Education, 2015 Vol.9 No.3, pp.303 - 322

Published online: 27 Jun 2015 *

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