LibQUAL+ 2024 Survey

Have an idea for how UK Libraries can improve? Here is your chance to let us know!

Conducted every four years, the LibQUAL+ survey provides a unique opportunity for UK Libraries users to provide feedback on how well the library meets their needs and expectations across three main service areas: 

• Library Customer Service
• Resources, Collections, & Information Access
• Library Spaces & Technologies

Users will be asked to rate UK Libraries’ performance across these three categories, and to rate how significant each category is to them.  

The survey is open to all UK students, faculty, and staff, along with our community users, from Feb. 12 to March 1. The survey takes about five minutes to complete, and all responses are anonymous.

All students who complete the survey will be entered into a drawing to win one of several Stanley H2.O tumblers or Soundcore Anker Q20i noise canceling headphones!

Help us better serve you: take the LibQUAL+ 2024 survey now.

You spoke, and we listened. In the years following the last LibQUAL+ survey in 2020, UK Libraries has implemented broad changes based on your feedback. We prioritized changes that our users deemed to be the most important, improving services, resources, collections, and spaces both large and small.

Services & Resources

• Website – Users described the UK Libraries website as difficult to navigate, so we launched a total redesign of the site which went live in August 2022 (the site you’re using right now!).
• Online Learning – To further support online learning, we updated and added to our available online learning resources, all of which are available on our Instructional Tools & Resources page. 
• Graduate School Resources – Graduate students requested additional library instruction and greater access to library services and resources. We created the Graduate Student Library Resources Guide, appointed a librarian to serve as liaison to the Graduate School, and continue to promote collections and services in the Thomas D. Clark Graduate Study and other graduate-specific spaces.

Collections & Information Access

• OpenAthens – In the 2020 survey, users pointed to electronic resources access as an area in need of improvement. In response, we have transitioned to OpenAthens in order to expand access to electronic resources, create a more seamless search and discovery experience, and improve security. We have also added direct linking in the library’s discovery system, InfoKat, streamlining access for both on- and off-campus users.
• Purchase Requests – Faculty asked for an easier way to request materials for UK Libraries to purchase for our collections. In subsequent surveys, we sought input from users about purchase considerations, and added the Purchase Request Form to the website.

Spaces & Technologies

• Individual Study Spaces – Students in particular expressed a desire for more individual study spaces in William T. Young Library. We converted former copy rooms into four-person study spaces, which have become some of the most-used rooms in the library. 
• Comfortable Seating – Students also requested more comfortable seating options in Young Library. Following the relocation of our reference services to the Ask Us Desk, we added couches and other soft seating to the Atrium and East Wing on the Second Floor, with further plans to add more comfortable seating options to the North Wing. 
• Online Reservations – Another huge improvement: users asked, and we delivered online reservations for study rooms, meeting rooms, and event spaces in Young Library, and classrooms, study rooms, and gallery spaces in the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library.  
• Wifi Strength – We all need Wifi! After hearing about spotty Wifi in Young Library, we worked with UKITS to bulk up our networks and improve Wifi strength throughout the library in Spring 2022.

The LibQUAL+ Survey was developed by the Association of Research Libraries and Texas A&M University. 

UK Libraries is among over a hundred research libraries across the country that regularly administers the LibQUAL+ survey, allowing us to compare results with peer institutions and identify best practices. We have participated in the LibQUAL+ survey since 2001, allowing us to collect and interpret user feedback systematically over time.

The survey is one of the primary means by which we improve our services, spaces, and resources to meet the needs and expectations of all of our users.

For more information on UK Libraries’ assessment efforts, please contact Julene Jones, Director of Assessment and Organizational Effectiveness, at julene.jones@uky.edu, or visit our Organizational Effectiveness page.