International Students Assesment of Service Quality In Academic Libraries

Service quality assessment is a key and significant issue in library management since it gives criticism to libraries to enhance on services delivery to their users. This study presents LibQUAL+TM tool and SERVQUAL gap analysis by measuring the perception and expectation of the quality services provided by academic libraries from the point of view and experiences of international students in Jiangsu University. The 22-item LibQUAL+TM instrument, measuring the three service dimensions of Affect of Service, Information Control and Library as Place, was administered to the international students, with 201 respondents based on simple random sampling. The researchers used analysis method like descriptive statistics, reliability analysis and exploratory factor analysis. The study revealed that international students who are users of the Jiangsu University Library have high expectations of service quality at Jiangsu University Library whiles perception of services delivered by Jiangsu University Library was a mixture of both low and high across the three dimension of service quality based on the LibQUAL+ TM instrument. In addition, the results show that there is negative gap for Affect of Serve (-0.62) and Information Control (-0.54) dimension and a positive gap for Library as Place (0.07) service dimension. Even though, the library has high perception for one of the dimensions, the overall level of service quality (-0.44) is low and negative. This study therefore fills in as a guide for various libraries to utilize while leading service quality appraisal for their users and furthermore makes recommendation for libraries to consider in the provision of services for their users particularly international students.