Assessment of the Quality of Servicesin Public Libraries in Sistan Regionof Sistan and Baluchestan Province Using LIBQUAL Model

The services of public libraries are divided into three dimensions. Being aware of the level of satisfaction of users about any of these dimensions can help the libraries to improve their functions. This study aims to assess library services served by public libraries located in Sistan region of Sistan and Baluchestan province and the difference between expected and perceived services by users.

This study is an applied, field study research. This is a quantitative research conducted in survey mode and includes public library users of Zabol, Zahak, Hirmand, Hamoon and Nimrooz cities. Total members are 5442 and according to the Morgan table, the sample size was at least 361. The data gathering tool was a LibQual standard questionnaire. 365 questionnaires were distributed among users which 362 were filled correctly. The analysis was performed via SPSS software and paired sample T-test.

The first aspect is the effect of service which is constructed of 7 items. In all items the difference between the minimum and maximum expected services and the perceived services were significant. In the expected services, the highest scores were given to the personnel's politeness and the lowest was for the encouraging the sense of trust among members. In the second dimension, library as place, there were 4 items used to estimate the dimension. Besides, the difference between the minimum and maximum expected services and the perceived services was significant. The highest score was for being in a comfortable place and the lowest was given to being suitable for social activity. The third dimension, control of the information was evaluated by 9 items. In this aspect, we saw that perceived services for access to electronic resources were lower than the minimum expected level. The highest score was achieved by Library as a place, and the second was the effect of service and the lowest position belongs to Information control.

Despite the problem of shortage of space in the whole province, respondents show the most problems in the dimension of Information control. In fact, the deepest gap was seen between desired expectations and perceived services in Information control dimension. So, it seems that the most important challenge for the library of this region is the enrichment of resources and to improve equipment of libraries using electronic and high-tech tools. As the function of library as a place for social activities rises, there must be more attention to physical aspects and equipment of it.