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Quality measurement of Croatian public and academic libraries: methodology. Kornelija Petr, Osijek University, Croatia kpetr@ffos.hr. Outline. Project description (objectives, hypothesis, outcomes) Public and academic libraries in Croatia vs quality – general considerations
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Quality measurement of Croatian public and academic libraries: methodology Kornelija Petr, Osijek University, Croatia kpetr@ffos.hr
Outline • Project description (objectives, hypothesis, outcomes) • Public and academic libraries in Croatia vs quality – general considerations • Project methodology Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Project description (objectives, hypothesis, outcomes) Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Project • project • Evaluation of library and information services: academic and public libraries • funded and approved by Croatian Ministry of Science, Education, and Sport (www.mzos.hr) • PI: Kornelija Petr • 5-(e.g. 3-)-year project • builds on: • K. Petr’s doctoral thesis on Croatian academic library quality Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Project’s objectives • look into the views and ability of Croatian public and academic library staff to measure library performance; • single out dimensions of their effectiveness; • identify measures of quality for public and academic libraries • manual Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Hypothesis • Croatian libraries do not give enough attention to processes of quality measurement; • librarians unprepared to conduct any sort of evaluation at their library; • insufficient attention to service quality affects all library processes. Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Planned outcomes • collection of statistical data on state-of-the-art in libraries; • defined dimensions of effectiveness (academic vs public libraries); • demonstrate the evidence of differences in views between library management and staff; • encourage more positive attitude of library staff toward evaluation activities; useful tools (e.g. Workshops, manual). Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Public and academiclibraries in Croatia vs quality – general considerations Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Library scene in Croatia* • Public libraries (2004) • 256 libraries • staff: 1062 • Academic (+ national and university) libraries • Libraries: HE – 131, national – 1, university – 2 • staff: HE – 239, national – 193, university – 53 (TOTAL: 485) *Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia, 2006 Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Geographic distribution of libraries Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Quality assurance in Croatia • academic library environment • Bologna process • CARDS* 2003 (MZOS) – project (EU): quality assurance in the area of HE (2006) • promotion of quality at the level of Universities (Osijek, Rijeka) • public library environment • reform of local governments (new standards that promote quality e.g. HUKON’s Professional Standards, 2006) • more competitive environment *(Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation) Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Methodology Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Methodology • Questionnaire • Interviews • Analysis of library documentation Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Questionnaire 1/1 • based on questionnaire created by McDonald-Micikas (1994); Petr (2004) • two versions: • public libraries • academic libraries • subversions • library staff • library directors Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Questionnaire 1/2 • Topics: • general information on library, • elements important for library environment, • library vs faculty/University management/founder, • library and new managerialism, • library vs users Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Questionnaire 1/3 • additional topics for library directors: • related to education, CPD, attitudes toward work and quality issues of co-workers • Anonimous (!) • Mailed survey Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Questionnaire 1/4 • 1547 librarians • response rate: • 50% - 774 questionnaires • (expected) between 70%-80% (1100-1200 questionnaires) Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Interviews 1/1 • semi-structured • 20-30 interviews • 20 – public library directors • 10 – academic, national and university library directors Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Interviews 1/2 • tentative topics: • satisfaction with library services, • 'strong' and 'weak' sides of the library, • the feeling of being privileged to work in a particular library, • familiarization with user perspective of library and librarians, • user expectations, • competition, Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Interviews 1/3 • … • relationship with management (college/University administration) or founder (local community), • satisfaction with status (academic libraries!), • monitoring of user expectations and opinions, monitoring of performance quality, • dedication to continuous quality improvement, etc. Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Library documentation • collection of statistical and annual reports • analysis Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Time table 1/1 • Months 1-7: • literature review, defining the sample, questionnaire design and testing, interview question design • Months 8-9: • copying and mailing of the questionnaire, making arrangements for the interviews • Months 10-12: • Questionnaire distribution, reminding letters to libraries, collection of library documentation Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Time table 1/2 • Months 13-18: • interviews, collection of library documentation • Months 19-20: • input and data processing (data collected through questionnaires), interpretation of results • Months 21-24: • interview transcription Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Time table 1/3 • Months 25-27: • semantic analysis of the interviews, intepretation of results • Months 28-29: • analysis of library documentation, interpretation of results • Months 30-31: • defining dimensions of effectiveness for academic and public libraries Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Time table 1/4 • Months 32-34: • benchmarking of the results with other relevant similar research projects in the world; work on manual • Months 35-37: • taxonomy of views and opinions of Croatian librarians; work on manual Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Problematic areas • low response rate • assessment = fear • insincere responses • misunderstanding of concepts (e.g. mission statement, benchmarking, etc.) • 3 years instead of planned 5 years • modification (objectives, results, time-table) • insufficient funds (MZOS) Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007
Suggestions?Questions?Thank you! Cape Town, 13-16 August 2007