Qualitative Approach and Grounded Theory for Assessing User Evaluation of Library Services: City Library Network of Perugia - A Case Study

This paper presents the aims, the methodology and the preliminary results of an in-progress investigation into the users of four libraries belonging to the City Library Network (one main library and three satellite public libraries) in Perugia, a city in the centre of Italy with 160,000 inhabitants. The main aim of the investigation is to explore the degree of satisfaction, the needs, the motivation and the perceptions of both real and potential users, by means of quantitative and qualitative research methods. It also aims to be a reflection on the methodology used, accepting that the dichotomy "qualitative versus quantitative" has long been set aside and considers the two approaches in fact deeply complementary. On an operational level, the investigation foresaw the use of questionnaires to evaluate user satisfaction, and face-to-face interviews and focus group sessions aimed at examining specific issues raised by the questionnaires, enquiring not only into the "how much" of the incidence of certain variables but more interestingly into the "why". Finally, the paper examines the relationship between empirical research and theoretical speculation. The investigation has attempted to ascertain the validity of the application of Grounded Theory Methodology and to establish whether the ATLAS.ti program is able to guarantee greater objectivity when applying qualitative research techniques.