It has been introduced explicitly to the library field through several empirical studies undertaken in public, special, and academic libraries, as well as through descriptive articles and conference presentations. Reliability is the most important contributor to service quality and tangibles is the least important. Within the library setting, similar patterns were found. One exception may be among users of reference services where there is a possible shared importance between Reliability and Responsiveness. It emphasizes the service nature of libraries, in which the traditional collection-based criteria of quality may be part of, but not the entire component, of excellence.
Service quality contributes to value experienced by customers.
Value becomes an outcome of excellent service. Its usefulness to improve service management in academic libraries is only beginning to be discovered. Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations .