Review of Total Quality Management in Libraries with Connie Merritt

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American Library Association Video/Library Video Network, 1995.
1 videocassette (26 min.): color.
Available locally for viewing from the Learning Resources Center Collection of Management Films at the Sterling C. Evans Library.

What the film is about

"Shows how the six components of total quality management can help all the library's departments to work together to satisfy the customers." From the Texas A&M Library on-line catalogue.

Total Quality Management is concerned with creating or causing a culture of prevention.

You must find out what your customer wants.

Here are some TQM questions.

What are our niche markets?
What do they come in for?
How can I look at the number of motions it takes?
How do we serve the current customers that exist today?

Six Components of TQM

Management commitment from the top down.
Partnering - with business or academic units. Clarification added
Meeting customers expectations.
Prevention of problems.
Putting away tradition to make a difference. Reworded
Empowering staff.

Sharing information with patrons

Your objective is for them to know as much about the library services as you do so that they will become your community outreach. An excellent way of doing this is to set up a business focus group. Send librarians out to the surrounding businesses and find out their information needs much like a sales call.

Invite businesses into the library.

Think of the patron as someone to please.

Organizational Goals

Have the best product.
Have the best in operations.
Be attuned to the needs of the customer. Reworded

Ways to learn from customers

Suggestion boxes
Suggestion forms
Handing out surveys

The TQM outlook is being the librarian they want rather than the librarian you want.

Steps for solving problems

Identify the problem
Do a survey
Form a committee
Develop a flow chart
Identify all constraints
Monitor and adjust

Invite others who have implemented TQM to visit and provide input.

Always be willing to change to prevent problems with customers.

Response to the film

The information was interesting to me because it is intended for the audience of a library, and I work at a library.

There were a number of good suggestions; however, there wasn't as much verifiable evidence as might be useful. As Dr. Deming said Without theory there are no questions; without questions, no learning. Hence, without theory there's no learning. Without more of an emphasis on theory how will questions be answered? I am possibly wrong here. However, the comments should be useful; the focus for libraries is pertinent; the sense of library community efforts that reach beyond our own effort may be encouraging; and the example of using total quality management in a service organization is worthwhile.

JPF