The OhioLINK LibQUAL+ 2002 Experience: A Consortium Looks at Service Quality

Are Ohio's college students and faculty satisfied with service at their campus libraries? In an effort to find out, fifty-seven OhioLINK libraries participated in the Association of Research Libraries' LibQUAL+TM 2002 survey. OhioLINK is a consortium of seventy-eight Ohio universities, colleges, community colleges, and the State Library of Ohio. When compared to the aggregate national data and aggregate ARL data, OhioLINK's service quality as measured by perceived performance above minimum expectations equals or exceeds peer group comparisons, especially on the key dimensions of "access to information" and "personal control." Examination of the data, both with national peer groups and OhioLINK-internal peer comparisons, reveals evidence of a positive OhioLINK impact on academic libraries in Ohio. The unique environment provided to academic libraries in Ohio through the OhioLINK program suggests that other consortia libraries may find peer comparisons within a consortium to be more beneficial than similar comparisons with the national LibQUAL+TM data.