QUALITY ASSESSMENT INSPANISH UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Pilar Alcalá CortijoDirector of Institute of Educational SciencesUniversity of Alcalá

Purificación Moscoso CastroVice-rector (Communication and Convergence Policy)University of Alcalá

London, May 2008

WHO´S AFRAID OF NUMBERS?Quality Management in LibrariesInternational Seminar organized by EUROLIS

Need to assess university library quality

Importance of libraries for development of teaching, learning and research activities.

In view of rising costs and shrinking budgets, processes for improving management are essential.

Evolution of assessment processes in Spain

1995 National University Quality Assessment Plan (PNECU)

1999 Starts Bologna Process

2001 University Quality PLan (PCU)

2002 National Agency of Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA)

2003 Berlin Minister´s Conference ask ENQA, EUA, EURASHE y ESIB for the elaboration of Standards and guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area

Assessment Models UsedThe assessment models used in Spain are based on or derive from one of these systems:

EFQM

Council of Universities’ guide

Catalan agency (AQU)’s guide

ANECA model: at first a library assessment guide; now through the Perfil (Profile) tool.

ISO 9000 Standard

Libqual+

Assessment Methodology

Both the EFQM model and the ISO Standard use a mixed methodology combining internal and external assessment and concluding in a final report with proposals for improvement.

Role of Regional Quality Agencies

11 of the 17 Regional Communities have a Quality Agency. The rest work directly with the National Agency (ANECA)

There is a network of agencies (REACU) with the following goals:

Promotion and development of cooperation

Promotion of quality assurance culture

Promotion of development and implantation of quality assurance and accreditation systems

At present REBIUN has opted for the LibQUAL+ tool:

Based on the SERVQUAL questionnaire created for business by L. Parasuraman and B. Zeithmal in 1988

The LibQUAL+ web tool was developed by the University of Texas A&M and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)

It enables library service quality to be measured using the data supplied by users in a questionnaire with web interface.

The idea is to compare users’ prior expectations with the views they have after using the service.

UNIVERSITY LIBRARY NETWORK (REBIUN)

www.rebiun.org

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION