Soraya Ziaei; Ali Biranvand
Abstract
Background and Objectives: This study was intended to investigate the opinion of the users of the Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi (CLAQR) regarding the provided services using Six-Sigma methodology. Methodology: This is an applied descriptive-survey study that explores the gap between the minimum ...
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Background and Objectives: This study was intended to investigate the opinion of the users of the Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi (CLAQR) regarding the provided services using Six-Sigma methodology. Methodology: This is an applied descriptive-survey study that explores the gap between the minimum level of expectations, the current status, and the maximum level of users’ expectations regarding the human force services, information resources, and space available in the CLAQR. The data were collected by the Libqual Questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS 23. Findings: The average score of 72.88% for users’ opinions regarding the indicator of human force (HF) in CLAQR shows the relative satisfaction of users in this regard. Only the indicator of “prepared staff for answering the users’ questions”, with a 50% satisfaction score, failed to meet the minimum expectations of the users. The average score of 76.88% regarding users’ opinions about the quality of the available resources in the library also indicates their relative satisfaction. Among the indicators related to the quality of resources, “audiovisual materials” received the highest satisfaction score (93.33%). The average score of 72.95% for users’ opinions indicates overall satisfaction with space and amenities available. However, the scores of some sub-indicators such as “comfortable and pleasant place” and “the presence of proper space for studying and learning” related to the current status were even lower than the minimum expectation level Discussion: The results show that overall, CLAQR has been successful in gaining 79.2% user satisfaction. The proximity of the actual level of service to the maximum level of users’ expectations enhances the quality of service provided by the library, and it will be possible to gain users’ maximum satisfaction with greater effort and focus on removing existing shortcomings.
Azimeh Mozafari; Soraya Zeiaei; Afsaneh Mozaffari
Abstract
Purpose: Due to the importance of public library clients, this study segments Shahid Dastgheyb Public Library clients in Shiraz city based on their lifetime values and their RFM models. Method: In order to implement the proposed research methods, first amounts of the RFM indicators including recent use ...
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Purpose: Due to the importance of public library clients, this study segments Shahid Dastgheyb Public Library clients in Shiraz city based on their lifetime values and their RFM models. Method: In order to implement the proposed research methods, first amounts of the RFM indicators including recent use (R) and Frequency of use (F) were determined. Since library clients do not have any monetary values for the library, the third indicator of model (M) that concerned the monetary aspect was ignored and a new indicator called clients Registration Record (RR) was considered.The clientele information was extracted from the public library’s database and preprocessed. After weighing these three indicators, using the Analytic Hierarchy Process, clients were segmented by Self-Organizing Map. Then lifetime value pyramid was plotted by which clusters of the key and valuable clients were identified. Findings: Among the three indicators of the RFM model, Frequency of use (F) proved to be the most important and Registration Record (RR) the least important determinants of the values of clients. The clients under study were divided into five clusters. Based on the lifetime value pyramid, the most valuable clients fell in cluster 4 which includes only 3 percent of all clients. These clients were those who recently used the library, their usage frequencies were high and had a longer registration record. Conclusions: Having identified the key and valuable clients, some suggestions were presented to improve the services considering the client’s value to library
