Quality Management in Special

Libraries
1-Golnessa GALYANI MOGHADDAM
Shahed University
Dept. of Library and Information Science, Shahed
University, Persian Gulf Highway, Tehran, IRAN,
Postal code: 3319118651, E-mail:
g_galyani@yahoo.com

2-Mostafa MOBALLEGHI
Islamic Azad University Karaj Branch
Dept. of Industrial Management, Islamic Azad
University (IAU) - Karaj Branch, P.O. Box 31485313, Karaj, Iran, E-mail:
m_moballeghi@yahoo.com

Purpose of the Paper

This paper sets out to review quality
management and its complexities, and
later review the quality approaches in
especial libraries.
A number of different approaches such as
TQM, EFQM, SERVQUAL, and LibQUAL to
the introduction of quality management in
special libraries were reviewed.

Quality Management
Quality management is focused not only on
product/service quality, but also the means to
achieve it. Quality management therefore
uses quality assurance and control of
processes as well as products to achieve more
consistent quality.
The distinction between quality assurance and
quality improvement/enhancement is not
easy to recognize.

Three main components of Quality

Management
Quality Control,
Quality Assurance , and
Quality Improvement/Enhancement.

Differentiation between Quality

Assurance and Quality Enhancement
Quality assurance is a widely used term that refers to the
processes associated with ensuring that quality adheres to
some externally or internally set standard. Through quality
assurance, the organisation and external stakeholders can
be assured that the performance of the organisation is of
an appropriate standard. The processes whereby the
organisation collects the data to demonstrate that these
targets have been met are quality assurance.
Quality assurance requires standards of performance to
which organisations must aspire, often, but not always
articulated as quantitative performance measures. Such
performance measures are often based on the collection of
benchmarking data from across a sector.

Differentiation between Quality

Assurance and Quality Enhancement
Quality enhancement focuses attention on those
processes associated with enhancing or improving
quality. Again performance measures are a necessary
representation of quality; organisations will not only
seek to make improvements, but also will want to be
able to monitor that improvements have been made.
Quality enhancement programmes may also
embrace standards and targets and the various other
elements of quality assurance, but improvements are
not constrained by, or restricted to achievement of
these targets. In addition, the focus is on the
processes that lead to quality enhancement.

Dimension

Focus
Measures
Primary
audience/stakeho
lder
Level of staff
ownership
Consequences

Quality
assurance
Output
standards
Performance
measures

Quality
enhancement
Internal
processes
Assessment of
processes

Funding body

Customer/emplo
yees

Low

High

Funding/accredi
tation,
achievement of
quality marks
and branding

Quality service
delivery

Quality Approaches in Special

Libraries
TQM (Total Quality Management)
EFQM (European Foundation for Quality
Management)
SERVQUAL
LibQUAL

TQM (Total Quality Management)

The concept of quality management originated in
Japan and later moved into the USA and the UK,
initially in the manufacturing sector. Since then,
the theory of quality management has been
growing fast. The philosophy is increasingly being
applied in the service sectors, including libraries.
Use of TQM in the library sector started in the
late 1980s, though early studies show that the
TQM approach was not successful in some
libraries.

Reasons for Implementing TQM Models

TQM in Special Libraries

Literature review shows that some special libraries applied
TQM in their libraries and found interesting results. For
instance, a study by Wang in 2006 showed that teamwork is
important for the successful implementation of TQM. Every
step of the process depends on the constant support of top
management. Their role determines how far the
implementation can go. Therefore, once a decision is made
to apply TQM, strong leadership is required. TQM provides
a model and a benchmark as guidelines in making new
strategies in libraries facing todays great changes. It is
arguable whether it is feasible to apply the principles
without reservation, but it is reasonable to adopt the
techniques with adaptations suitable to the library
environment.

EFQM (European Foundation for Quality

Management)
Following the idea of TQM, libraries have witnessed the
emergence of EFQM. The European Foundation for Quality
Management (EFQM) has developed a widely used
framework for quality enhancement, the EFQM Business
Excellence Model, that not only embeds the principles of
TQM, but also provides a mechanism for accreditation of an
organisations quality processes. The model is based on nine
criteria for excellence:
five Enabler criteria relating to what the organisation does,
and how it runs, including leadership, policy and strategy,
people, partnerships and resources and processes; and
four Results criteria relating to what the organisation is
actually achieving, in the eye of its stakeholders, (i.e.
customers, employees or people, society and funders).

The EFQM Model

SERVQUAL
As an instrument or service quality
framework, the SERVQUAL instrument
measures the gap between customers
expectations for excellence and their
perceptions of actual service delivered, so
service providers can understand both
customer expectations and their perceptions
of specific services. A review of literature
shows that SERVQUAL has been vastly used in
library studies.

What does SERVQUAL measure?

1) reliability;
(2) responsiveness;
(3) competence;
(4) access;
(5) courtesy;
(6) communication;
(7) credibility;
(8) security;
(9) understanding or knowing the customer; and
(10) tangibles.

SERVQUAL in Libraries
A case study in Iran by using SERVQUAL model
in an academic library showed that, there is no
equal importance between library service
quality indicators. After prioritizing indicators it
was found that having the ability to find
information 24 hours a day has the most
importance and a secure and safe place is the
least important indicator for making a high
quality library (Jamali and Sayyadi, 2009).

LibQUAL
LibQUAL derives from the Gap Theory of Service
Quality, and the SERVQUAL instrument. LibQUAL
has been attracted by many libraries around the
world and many studies have been conducted by
means of this emerging quality-service model.
LibQUAL measures the following four dimensions:
(1) affect of service;
(2) library as place;
(3) personal control; and
(4) access to information

LibQUAL in Iranian Libraries

A study by Hariri and Afnani in Iran was conducted
using a LibQUAL+ survey at the central library of Iran
University of Medical Sciences and Health Services. The
results did not show significant differences between
mean values of gap scores for female and male users.
The library exceeded female users minimum
acceptable level of service quality in 16 aspects of
LibQUAL+ survey, while that library fulfilled the
minimum level of acceptable quality in just nine
aspects for male users; however, according to statistical
analysis, female and male users held similar opinions in
relation to the quality of the library services.

Conclusion
Quality Management System (QMS) provides a
management framework that gives libraries the
necessary controls to address risks and monitor and
measure performance in their business. It can also help
libraries to enhance their image and reputation inside
their parent organizations.
Quality Management is considered more formally as
part of organizational and departmental policy and
planning. This has required the setting up of a variety
of quality-related procedures and performance
measures. However, quality management is not a
simple but a complex process.

Conclusion
Literature review showed that most quality studies were
reported form academic libraries, but TQM and EFQM are two
quality models which are used in some special libraries around
the world and librarians found enough positive results to
justify their application.
Two most used quality instruments to measure library
performance are SERVQUAL and LibQUAL. The SERVQUAL
instrument measures the gap between customers
expectations for excellence and their perceptions of actual
service delivered. LibQUAL measures library users evaluations
of service quality.
In spite of some criticisms, these two instruments have been
vastly used in library studies for measuring quality.