Bibliotekų veiklos ir bendruomenės narių gyvenimo kokybės sąsajos: nepriklausomas Lietuvos apskričių viešųjų bibliotekų
The Relation between Library Activities and Community Members’ Quality of Life: An Independent Study of Lithuanian County Public Libraries

Summary/Abstract: The article focuses on the impact of the services of Lithuanian County Public Libraries (CPL) to local communities. It is assumed that the library public services influence community members’ quality of life (QoL). The representative survey was conducted in five Lithuania CPL communities. We proposed a new research method consisting of two parts. Firstly, using the adapted SERVQUAL research techniques, we evaluated the quality of library services and consumer satisfaction in the context of the QoL. The quality of service is associated with the dimensions of tangibility, reliability and efficiency. The final research of satisfaction is summarised in the desired expectations. The results are the following: training surpasses the expectations and information services are in line with expectations, but cultural, educational and partnership activities do not meet the desired expectations. Secondly, we have examined library activities as the direct impact on consumers’ QoL as taking into account not only the provided services, but also the users’ emotional satisfaction, library environment, its friendly atmosphere, its staff and their relationships. It should be noted that 64 percent of respondents believed that the library affected their QoL more than by 30 percent. The CPL is the centre of attraction in which community members can pursue their interests: work, learn, communicate, rest, surf the internet or work as volunteers. We determined that the expertise of librarians, their helpfulness and attention to users made the most significant impact on the community QoL. The study confirmed a correlation between the CPL activities and community QoL. It also revealed some communication gaps between library and community that prevented an effective dissemination of information.

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