Assessing Service Quality: Satisfying the Expectations of Library Customers

Because of technology, the old measures of service quality no longer apply. If libraries are to succeed, they must see themselves in competition with other institutions and sources of information--especially the Web--and make customers feel welcome and valued. This classic book is brought fully up to date as Peter Hernon and Ellen Altman integrate the use of technology into the customer experience. They offer solid, practical ideas for developing a customer service plan that meets the library's customer-focused mission, vision, and goals, and challenge librarians to think about customer service in new ways, including

* Distance education
* Use of library Web sites
* Partnerships and consortia for electronic collections
* Ways to effectively embrace change for continuous improvement

Senior librarians, library directors, and trustees will learn how to see the library as the customer does with the aid of dozens of tools to measure service quality--from mystery shoppers and benchmarking to surveys and group interviews.