Service quality assessment model for academic libraries

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop a service quality assessment model for academic libraries using SERVQUAL and validate the model surveying teachers, students and researchers. Design/methodology/approach - A model was developed, including 28 statements of five dimensions using the SERVQUAL instrument. It incorporated three segments, i.e. minimum service expectation, desired service expectation and actual service performance with a seven-point Likert scale. The minimum service expectation and desired service expectation appear at both ends of the tolerance zone, which represents the range of satisfactory service performance. A performance level upper tolerance zone could delight users, or service performance below the tolerance zone would cause dissatisfaction. A survey was conducted among 552 respondents from ten private university libraries of Bangladesh to validate the model. Findings - Several statistical methods like Cronbach's alpha (0.986), Bartlett's test (0.001), rotation sums of squared loadings (74.26) in factor analysis, item loading (0.671-0.839), commonalities (0.579-0.859), Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value (0.971), construct reliability (0.862-0.910) and AVE value (0.510-0.660) supported reliability and validity of the model. The actual service performance of all dimensions existed within the tolerance zone of the respective dimensions. Besides, the overall service performance (5.11) resided within the tolerance zone (4.73-5.84), indicating the users were satisfied with the service provided by their libraries. Originality/value - The model was developed in the current context of university libraries, which produced appropriate results. It will prompt further research on service quality assessment in academic libraries globally.