The 1993 Steven I. Goldspiel Memorial Research Grant was awarded to Marilyn Domas White and Eileen G. Abels, College of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland, for their study, "Measuring Service Quality in Special Libraries: Lessons From Service Marketing." Diverse avenues to information are challenging the role and very survival of special libraries. Information-seekers who once turned to their corporate or agency library for help may now be prompted to use services requiring less direct personal assistance such as electronic or commercial document delivery services. Thus, not only are libraries competing for customers within this changing information delivery marketplace, they are also re-examining their management, their manner of justifying budgets, and their very existence. White and Abels examined if, to compete effectively and survive, special libraries might profit by using the managerial and marketing tools and approaches developed in business.

The object of investigation was the review of the service marketing literature for models and data-gathering instruments measuring service quality, emphasizing the instruments of SERVQUAL and SERVPERF. SERVQUAL, developed in 1988, measures service quality on the basis of expectations and performance; SERVPERF, a modification of SERVQUAL devised in 1992, is based on performance alone. Several factors were considered in determining the potential appropriateness of service quality instruments to special libraries, including: the complexity of the instrument, the ease of administration and analysis of the results, as well as its usefulness for providing a basis for comparisons across a range of types of libraries.

Of the two instruments described in the article, SERVPERF proved to be less complex, shorter, easier to administer, and better in predicting overall variance. SERVQUAL, on the other hand, was more attractive because it is more comprehensive. It has been used more widely; therefore, SERVQUAL also allows for greater comparability with other service organizations. In conclusion however, these findings and the circumstances of the institution, indicate that both instruments are flexible and can be adapted as necessary to special libraries. Findings from the study were published in the Winter 1995 Special Libraries ("Measuring Service Quality in Special Libraries: Lessons from Service Marketing." Marilyn Domas White and Eileen G. Abels, Special Libraries, 86(1):36-45, Winter 1995).