Building better relationships : a case study for the University of Malta Library

Abstract

This study addressed issues concerning the operations of the University Library in becoming more customer-centric and adopting a customer relationship management philosophy. The University of Malta (UoM) has grown from a small professional school to a much larger academic institution in the last 30 years. The Library has since expanded its collections, increased its staff and improved its services. However, over the past five years book loans have declined by 23%. Eight focus groups sessions were held during the spring of 2003. Academics from campus and off-campus, full-time and part-time postgraduates, undergraduates, non-academics, senior and junior library personnel examined their relationship with the library, through product, service, staff and price. The groups discussed whether the implementation of a Virtual Help Desk (using Customer Relationship Management software) through the library website and Communities of Practice could help in their studies, teaching, research and related work. Findings showed that there were two levels of concern: the current situation and the long-term concerns. Participants revealed that the lack of information resources, the need to develop a strong customer conscious culture and to a small extent the costly library and foreign photocopying services were steering users to seek alternative avenues provided by the local and electronic information market. New electronic services were not the ideal solution to building better relations and the physical traditional contact was still significant to users. The groups recommended increasing finances, strengthening the collection, improving the website, providing the technology, training of staff and customers and providing subject specialists as liaisons between library and patrons before implementing new electronic services. Liaison librarians were considered a crucial element in building relationships between the library and the existing Communities of Practice. The study also set the framework for developing on in-depth survey, to provide a quantitative assessment of library services.