AN ASSESSMENT OF LIBRARY SERVICE QUALITY DETERMINANTS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES OF PAKISTAN: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LIBRARIANS’ PERCEPTIONS

Abstract

Whether institutional sector — public or private — shapes librarians' perceptions of the internal and external factors that determine library service quality (LSQ) is an underexplored question in library and information science (LIS) research. This study investigated whether statistically significant differences exist between librarians' perceptions of internal library factors (library staff attitude, physical environment, and library leadership) and external library factors (government funding and policies, users' demand, global trends, and library location) influencing LSQ across public and private sector university libraries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Islamabad, Pakistan. Drawing on census survey data from 154 librarians across 47 HEC-recognized from public sector and private sector universities and degree awarding institutions — independent-samples t-tests were conducted using SPSS 23, after confirming normality and homogeneity of variance assumptions. Results revealed no statistically significant mean variations in librarians’ perceptions of internal factors between public sector and private sector universities (t (45) = −.284, p = .778), and nor in external factors (t (45) = −.639, p = .526). These null findings indicate a convergence of professional perceptions across institutional types, suggesting that LSQ improvement strategies are likely to be equally effective across both sectors. The findings carry important implications for library policy, institutional planning, and LIS professional identity discourse in Pakistan.