| In library research patron satisfaction has most often been considered to be a function of performance or the same as performance: a "request" is "satisfied" and patrons are assumed to be "satisfied" to the degree that this request-satisfaction performance is accurate, complete, rapid, etc. Consumer research argues that for many products patron emotional satisfaction is a function of expectations along with performance: "disconfirmation" occurs when the two differ.; In this study 131 naive patron volunteers at a small academic library were presented with information leading them to expect either high or low levels of performance when using an online public access catalog to search for books on an assigned topic. Performance had three aspects: how many relevant titles were found (output), how much of what was found was relevant (precision), and how easy the system was to use (ease). Participants read the information, reported their own expectations, performed assigned tasks, then provided scores for actual system performance, perceived disconfirmation, and satisfaction.; Two models of satisfaction: performance-only and disconfirmation; and three definitions of disconfirmation, were tested with multiple regression. The best predictor of satisfaction was perceived disconfirmation: adj. {dollar}rm Rsp2{dollar}.43 to.62, versus adj. {dollar}rm Rsp2{dollar} for performance-only of.39 to.42. Perceived disconfirmation was a better predictor of satisfaction than was inferred disconfirmation or direct disconfirmation. In addition, the expectations information was successful in producing statistically significant differences in perceived expectations between subjects in the two treatment groups. There were no significant effects associated with age, gender, or personal computer ownership; previous OPAC system familiarity was weakly associated with satisfaction with system ease.; Because disconfirmation, based upon expectations, was shown to have an important effect on patron satisfaction, and because externally-provided expectation statements significantly affected perceived expectations, library public service personnel and system designers need to consider the effect on patron satisfaction of providing high, low, or no performance expectation information. |
