Delivering Satisfaction And Service Quality
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\ VOYABuilding on two other ALA publications about customer service, Customer Service Excellence by Darlene E. Weingand (ALA, 1997) and Assessing Service Quality by Peter Hernon and Ellen Altman (ALA, 1998), this title discusses the separate but related concepts of customer satisfaction and service quality. It then offers procedures and tools for planning and establishing customer satisfaction and service quality documentation systems and measuring them in library settings. Much of it relates to the SERVQUAL instrument developed for the private sector that measures the gap between expectations and perceptions of service quality. It is a generic book aimed at public and academic library managers. Readers interested in how to apply the book to youth services must figure that out for themselves. One of the strengths of the book is the inclusion of tested and copyrighted customer satisfaction survey instruments as well as the overview of statistical measures for aggregating and analyzing data from such surveys. At the same time, these features are the weaknesses of the book. The authors ignore qualitative methods such as focus groups and interviews considered useful to youth services practitioners. The statistics overview is an adequate review but not necessarily a good introduction for readers who have never studied the topic or are "mathaphobic." The bibliography is superb for independent reading on the topic, as is the list of public library mission statements. School librarians could use this book only by analogy. With the admission that this reviewer wrote the introduction, Neal-Schuman's forthcoming book on customer service, Do the Right Thing! : The Best Practices for Serving YoungAdults in School and Public Libraries by Patrick Jones and Joel Shoemaker will be a better buy for young adult practitioners and teachers. 2001, American Library Association, 160p, Oversize pb. Ages Adult. Reviewer: Mary K. Chelton SOURCE: VOYA, April 2001 (Vol. 24, No.1)\ \ \ \ \ BooknewsA companion to the ALA's , this guide provides librarians with practical tools to understand what their users want and improve their services accordingly. Hernon (Simmons College) and Whitman (a customer satisfaction consultant) take their cue from business, viewing library users as customers who have increasing choices for filling their information needs. They cover strategies to help keep patrons in the library, mapping out the steps needed to develop a service plan, evaluate customer satisfaction, use computer technology to conduct surveys, analyze survey results, and spot trends. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
