Literature Review
Privacy was identified as a key issue impacting service delivery by O'Brien (2008, pp. 548-
551) in research conducted at the University of Wyoming, who argues that the increased use
of technology and new ideals of Information Literacy pedagogy have altered the traditional
role of the library as a provider of trusted space and information for academic study. This can
lead to the library being perceived as an extension of the classroom and risk it being
integrated into other units within the university. While this can result in the library being
more informed about user needs and may allow development of new and innovative services,
it can also detract from the library's central role and lead to an identity crisis. The decision
that technology has both direct and indirect influence on service delivery and will be
addressed in a following section.
This concept of tailoring services to meet specific needs was further explored by Hernandez
and Ross (2005, p. 137) in their research which discovered that many libraries have the intent
of improving service delivery, though often the underlying goal is to increase usage and this
can lead to a situation where services are pushed in an attempt to market services rather than
fulfilling genuine user needs. This can lead to inefficiency and wastage of resources and can
still fail to increase usage if the service did not meet user requirements. Other important
issues identified were participatory user involvement in library service design and the
effective communication of the library's role in teaching and student learning.
Reviews of the literature were used to identify the numerous and complex factors impacting
upon the service delivery process within the academic library environment. Sife and Lushoto
(2009, pp. 497-498), in their research at the University of Dar es Salaam, identified several
factors which can influence service delivery within academic libraries, with one of the most
impactful and poignant being that paradoxically, the more the library strives to inform users
about the resources and services available the more it raises user expectations. It was found
that user expectation has a direct influence upon how an individual perceives the quality of a
service, and in the event those expectations are not met, the user will feel dissatisfied and
may avoid using the service in future. This therefore places a huge burden upon library
services to consistently meet higher demands, and failure to do so will result in service
quality being judged as insufficient or poor. An additional issue raised was that users have
different information needs that can change over time, and so it is imperative that the library
understands the needs of its users in order to tailor specific services towards meeting those
requirements.
1.1. Factors influencing service delivery
A major factor in more recent times is the increasing move to virtual provision of services.
Virtual library users and services are becoming increasingly commonplace. With the
development of online learning and distance learning courses, "traditional" students and
academic staff are also heavy users of library websites. This is making a very blurred
distinction between physical and virtual libraries, and it has implications for the provision of
services from all parts of the library. An example of an initiative which has had a direct effect
on service delivery is the JISC funded DNER (now known as JISC Information
Environment). This has caused libraries to repackage and redistribute content to meet user
needs within the DNER and has led to increasing collections of solely online resources. This
has implications for the provision of metadata and organization of resources, and could
ultimately lead to a stop in collection development if the resources are no longer free access
or are in non-digital forms. This would have an adverse effect on the service of subject
librarians and would affect the teaching of information literacy skills.
Factors that affect service delivery encompass a large spectrum. This literature review will
only focus on a few of these factors, although it is important to recognize that they do not act
in isolation. Political and financial decisions made at the national and international level filter
down to affect all aspects of a library's provision, including service delivery. Policy changes
can often have a delayed reaction with negative implications. For example, a number of
changes in Public Lending Rights policy have seen an increase in administrative burden on
academic libraries and have had the effect of inhibiting librarians' enthusiasm towards
engaging authors in purchasing their titles for the library. "New public management" to create
a market and business culture to public services had led libraries to establish a plethora of
performance measures and delivery of new services in order to provide a clear identity and
demonstrate value. This frequently undermines existing services, thus affecting service
delivery in these areas.
1.2. Impact of technology on service delivery
Online reference services are now becoming common in academic libraries, allowing patrons
to ask reference questions over the internet. It has the advantage of not being constrained by
time or distance and is ideal for international and postgraduate students. Technology has the
potential to simulate services such as virtual reference interviews or readers' advisory
services. Although it is a powerful tool, care must be taken it is not a direct replacement for
human interaction. Patrons require the personal touch to feel valued and technology can be a
barrier for some users. This is where provision of choice for patrons is important. An
academic library in New Zealand made steps to terminate their inter-library loan of microfilm
due to digitisation. The project was ceased when it was realised they were taking away the
choice for Australian and Pacific patrons who did not wish to part with their collection.
(Martin 2009)
The development of technology has a profound impact on the quality of service delivery in
academic libraries. It has led to dramatic change in the way services are provided and is
perhaps responsible for redefining service quality. The internet is a major factor which can be
a gateway to global information resources. By having access to the internet, it provides
opportunity for patrons to explore and gather information on their own. This in turn releases
the staff from dependency of providing basic information to users. Although some may argue
that this affects the reference work provided, it is actually an opportunity to focus on higher
level reference work and instruction.
1.3. Role of library staff in service delivery
In library user education, one feels the cause depends lost. The excellence deserves not
besiege a constant review and assessment of the users' education wants and the provision of a
user education program to meet these requirements. Staff at all stages require to develop an
understanding of what user education in the library is and to cultivate a definite stance about
its consequence. Only then will they be initiated to feel that their hold labor has a bearing
upon the achievement of such a program. While library automation and the accessibility of
the online catalog have led to the increased university of libraries, they have also altered the
part of bibliographic instruction and the methods whereby users search for information. An
understanding of the pattern wherein students at all stages undertake research and prepare
written assignments is an essential prerequisite to producing the mix of instructions, and
reference and directional service on which these users depend. In some cases, it may be
correct to assume that the survival of a traditional research method now depends entirely
upon whether library staff can provide you with an exact sort of information which is now
available only in precise formats.