UBUNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONAMireia Siles, Marga Mulet, Joana Ferrer Department of Library and Information Science

Service charts: a tool for promoting and marketing university libraries

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Services chart: essential tool for reflecting the librarys commitment to providing quality service3

Spanish university libraries of:AlicanteBurgosCarlos III (Madrid)CoruaJanLas Palmas de Gran Canaria4

The system used for evaluation was based upon services chart structures and contents as defined by Article 4 of Royal Decree 1259/1999, regulating services charts and awards for quality within governmental departments.

A comparison of the various services charts makes it possible to posit a theoretical model for an ideal university library services chart that would establish the minimal set of commitments necessary for offering quality service and effectively addressing user needs.

Characteristics of the analyzed services charts

The ideal service chart

Contents

General and legal nature

Make it clear

The office, committee or department responsible for creating the chart

Commitment to quality

Commitments made

Time frames for completing services

Further channels of communication and information

Hours and locations for user assistance

Any additional information

Quality control

Evaluation

Supplementary information

It is very useful to include the physical locations, mailing addresses, of the offices where each of the services is made available.

Content presentation and ease of use

It is important that the chart be easy to access.It should be hung directly from the primary web page of the librarys website.

Conclusions

User needsCommitment to quality service

Service charts

Tool for promoting and marketing university libraries

Services charts can thus be seen as marketing or promotional tools that facilitate continual improvement and focus on the user within the Spanish university library system.

DkujiThank youGrcies

Contents

General and legal nature

Make it clear that the document in question is a services chart The office, committee or department responsible for creating the chart should be listed in a clear and easily understandable fashionCommitment to quality

Commitments made (while taking into consideration the different types of users, which in our case are the following three: students, teaching staff and administrative personnel.)Time frames for completing services.Further channels of communication and information. It is important that these flow freely in both directions without undue delays.

Supplementary information

It is very useful to include the physical locations, mailing addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of the offices where each of the services is made available, along with instructions on how to get there using public transportation.

Content presentation and ease of use

It is important that the chart be easy to access and not be too deeply buried within the web hierarchy, thereby requiring many clicks of the mouse. Since it expresses the librarys basic commitment to users, it should, in theory, be hung directly from the primary web page of the librarys website.