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THE FORMATION OF SERVICE STANDARDS FOR METRODOCS LIBRARIES
Jeffrey M. Wilhite
Assistant Professor of Bibliography
Government Documents Reference Librarian
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK 73019
(405) 325-1832
jwilhite@ou.edu
Since 1994 I have been doing research on the establishment
of service standards for MetroDocs libraries. Following the outline
of Vice President Albert Gore's plan in the Red Tape to Results
series, the establishment of service standards occurs in three
steps:
1. Survey Patrons
2. Survey Front-Line Employees
3. Using this information, formulate and publish service standards.
As of December 1998, I have completed steps 1 and 2. I have written
research articles on both of these steps, one of which has been
published by the Journal of Government Information, while the other
has been submitted and is in the publication process. The third
step, the results and publication of service standards, will occur
in late 1999.
ARTICLE ONE
"The Road to Service Standards in a Government Documents Collection: The Methodology
of Surveying"
According to U.S. Vice President Albert Gore's From Red Tape
to Results: Creating A Government That Works Better & Costs Less,
the way to cut expenses in the United States government is to
establish service standards for federal agencies that deal with
customers. Surveying customers is one of the steps to reach this
goal. With this in mind, MetroDocs, an organization of the
metropolitan Oklahoma City depository libraries, conducted a patron survey.
This survey revealed that customers were generally satisfied with the libraries'
services, but that there was still room for improvement. This survey inaugurated
MetroDocs' quest for service standards.
*Reproduced from: Jeffrey M. Wilhite, "A Survey of
Government Documents Front-Line Employees: The Road
to Service Standards Continues," Journal of
Government Information vol. 25, no.3 (1998),
pp.285-297.
ARTICLE TWO
"A Survey of Government Documents Front-Line Employees: The Road to Service Standards
Continues
In his 1993 publication, From Red Tape to Results, U.S. Vice
President Albert Gore established a three step process for creating
service standards for federal agencies. This article presents the
second step of this methodology, known as the front-line employee
survey. This survey was administered to Oklahoma government document
collections. The employee survey found that the Oklahoma government
document employees are essentially satisfied with their positions;
yet, improvement should be undertaken in services offered and in the
work place facilities.
*From the article, "A Survey of Government Documents Front-Line Employees: The Road to
Service Standards Continues," submitted for publication to The Journal
of Government Information, October 1998.
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Last update: January 09, 2001
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