Quality in Library and Information Service: A Review

Reviews the literature on quality. Defines quality in management terms, gives examples of the advantages of quality appraisal, and describes how its assessment has been attempted by self‐evaluation, surveys of user satisfaction, and failure analysis. Discusses examples of how quality appraisal schemes have been set up from scratch, and of approaches to quality standards setting. Gives, for four aspects of library service, a detailed analysis of quality criteria and standards and methods used in appraisal: enquiry answering, document provision, computerized reference retrieval, and current awareness service.