Washington DC—LibQUAL+® is pleased to announce that four libraries have been selected to receive in-kind grants to facilitate their participation in the 2011 LibQUAL+® survey. The selection of grantees was based on financial need, contribution to the growth of LibQUAL+®, and potential for surfacing best practices in the area of library service improvements. The 2011 LibQUAL+® grant recipients are:

Fort Valley State University

Fort Valley State University (FVSU), a public, 1890 Land Grant, Historically Black College/University (HBCU), is located in Peach County, Fort Valley, Georgia (approximately 4,000 FTE). The school was granted university status by the Georgia Board of Regents in 1996 and is a part of the 35-member University System of Georgia, a consortium of public institutions of higher education. The university’s 1,365 acre campus is the second largest (in acreage) public university in the state, second only to the state’s other land grant institution, the University of Georgia.

Due to the rapid growth at Fort Valley State University, the library believes “the implementation of the LibQUAL+® survey will allow us to learn more about our users, their needs, and how we may best serve them. While our library has administered several independent assessments to determine user satisfaction, the opportunity to administer an assessment such as LibQUAL+®, which will allow us to perform peer-analysis, is particularly attractive. Having access to peer institutional data, as well as best practices will allow us to capitalize on resources both human and financial. Additionally, peer comparisons, both in areas where the library can improve services and in areas where our services and resources meet and/or exceed user expectations, will strengthen our ability to influence stakeholders by making our assertions more valuable."

Gateway Community College

Gateway Community College is the fastest growing and second largest (approximately 4,266 FTE) community college in Connecticut. For over 40 years, the college has played a major role in the higher educational pursuits of residents including work force development in its two campus locations in New Haven and North Haven Connecticut. In 1992, South Central Community College and Greater New Haven Technical College merged and were renamed Gateway Community College.

The GCC library has noted that “during the past few years, library statistics have shown dramatic increases in the numbers and demographics of students using the GCC library, its resources, and services. In preparing and planning for our move into a state-of art new library in 2012, the results of a LibQUAL+® survey will provide the library and the college with data gathered from a well-designed and highly respected survey format. This will be useful in planning for our move, changing our organizational culture, as well as helping us to improve library services.”

Governors State University

Located approximately 35 miles south of Chicago, Governors State University is the only public university in the area, serving approximately 7,750 students. Classes are held on campus, online, and at 45 off-campus locations. GSU provides affordable and accessible undergraduate and graduate education to culturally and economically diverse students with undergraduate tuition that is the most affordable in the Chicagoland region. GSU’s mission has long embraced diversity; in 1972, GSU proclaimed its "responsibility to serve the educational needs of low-and middle-income and minority students.”

A Higher Learning Commission (HLC) report on a 2010 campus visit to GSU noted, “Academic assessment would provide measurements of quality. The GSU Library noted that “the LibQUAL+® program will enable us to see whether we are meeting user expectations and compare our performance with peer institutions, something we are currently not able to do. The implementation of LibQUAL+® will provide the data necessary to determine student need and make changes to fulfill that need. Thus, the academic quality of our institution will improve, and most importantly, the quality of student learning will improve as well.”

Texas Southern University

Texas Southern University is one of the nation’s largest HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), with more than 9,000 students. Nestled in the heart of Third Ward, Houston, Texas, TSU possesses an impressive array of undergraduate and graduate programs, a diverse faculty, 80-plus student organizations, and an impressive alumni network. TSUs mission is to provide quality instruction in a culture of innovative teaching and learning; basic and applied research and scholarship that is responsive to community issues; and opportunities for public service that benefit the community and the world.

The TSU Robert James Terry Library believes “usage of the LibQUAL+® survey tool will give TSU librarians and staff the ability to review its current practices and make adjustments or enhancements to the current Library programs (main, law, pharmacy and business). The online survey tools will make it easy for gathering direct feedback from students, faculty and other patrons, providing opportunities to engage faculty in conversations about a wide range of scholarly communications issues. The LibQUAL+® survey will add more value and accountability to services already provided while assisting RJT Library with improving its quality of customer service.”

Information about applying for a 2012 LibQUAL+® grant will be available in March. There are two deadlines for submitting a grant application: June 15, 2011, and December 14, 2011.

LibQUAL+® is a suite of services that libraries use to solicit, track, understand, and act upon users’ opinions of service quality. These services are offered to the library community by the Association of Research Libraries. The program’s centerpiece is a rigorously tested Web-based survey bundled with training that helps libraries assess and improve library services, change organizational culture, and market the library. LibQUAL+® is located on the Web at http://www.libqual.org/ .

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 126 research libraries in the US and Canada. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at http://www.arl.org/ .

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