Higher-order factor analytic perspectives on users' perceptions of library service quality

The SERVQUAL measure was developed by Parasuraman, Berry, and Zeithaml (SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring customer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64, 12-40) to measure perceptions of service quality, originally in the retailing sector. Libraries and other educational institutions, however are also service providers. Librarians, in particular, have recently become increasingly interested in measuring quality of service as the ultimate assessment of library performance, as against more traditional measures of performance such as mere counts of various holdings. The present study explored SERVQUAL score validity in the library service context using data from 596 users representing three user groups and measurement at three times over six years. Second-order factor analysis provided mixed results as regards the psychometric integrity of SERVQUAL scores applied within the library service context.