Service quality at University of Tehran Central Library

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the importance of service quality aspects from the perspective of University of Tehran Central Library users. It also aims to measure how successful the library has been in meeting users' needs by providing good and reliable services. Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted among library users. In order to meet the objectives of the study, SERVPERF methodology was used. Information was gathered via questionnaires which consisted of structured questions. All the closed ended questions were designed to elicit responses on a five-point Likert scale to measure both respondent satisfaction and perception of service quality. Findings – The results show that, although University of Tehran Central Library has conducted several programs for improving its services, because of the lack of identifying the most important aspects of service quality in their customers' ideas, the efforts for providing customer satisfaction has failed to a great extent. Practical implications – This paper will be helpful to libraries planning to implement a quality management system to improve their quality service and increase customer satisfaction through continuous improvement. Originality/value – The concept of service quality assessment through SERVPERF is relatively a new concept among Iranian libraries and there is a lack of previous studies using this methodology in assessing perceived quality of academic libraries. Thus, this paper can be used as a guide for academic libraries that are interested in measuring customer satisfaction in order to excel in offering high quality services.