ISO quality as a driver of continuous improvement

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe some of the benefits received from a four‐year implementation of a Quality Management System in a small Italian Academic Library.Design/methodology/approachThe Library of the Department of Statistics at University of Bologna, is one of the few Italian academic libraries currently with a Quality Management System accredited to the International UNI EN ISO 9001:2000 standard. This paper examines six knowledge‐based tools developed as part of the QMS, including the student and junior researchers' customer satisfaction survey, the stakeholder Focus Group, and the statistical indicators.FindingsThe paper finds that ISO Quality Management System has proved to be a powerful instrument for improving performance and increasing user satisfaction. By describing in documented procedures how the Library's services should be run, each member of staff effectively shares their personal knowledge with their fellows, and with the staff of the future.Research limitations/implicationsThe Library's statistical environment enabled it to create and develop more sophisticated performance measurement tools and metrics than would have been the case in a different cultural environment.Practical implicationsThis paper provides a useful overview of the implementation of a Quality Management System in an academic context and its positive side effects on human resources development, user satisfaction, and continual service improvement. Other Academic Libraries could gain considerable benefits through adopting a similar quality standard approach.Originality/valueThis paper provides a new outlook on using an international quality standard as a process to improve knowledge and awareness of an existing library system, enabling targeted service improvements. As such it is a valuable innovative tool for academic librarians.