Service Philosophy Statements in Practice: Motivation, Authorship, and Impact

Abstract:To improve customer service, some academic libraries have used a service philosophy statement to foster a shared understanding of service standards. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with heads of public services at academic libraries to understand how the service philosophy statement was used in practice and its impact on staff behavior and service quality. Findings indicated that the statement indeed helped staff cultivate a shared understanding, that public service leaders displayed a macro-level understanding of how a statement influences their service culture, and that there is no agreed-upon model for implementation.