Total Quality Management implementation in three community college libraries and/or learning resources centers

This study examined the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in the Library/Learning Resources Centers (LRC) of Columbia State Community College, Columbia, Tennessee; Delaware County Community College, Media, Pennsylvania; and Guilford Technical Community College, Greensboro, North Carolina. To place the LRCs' TQM experiences in proper context, the institutions' overall TQM experiences were also studied.; The purpose of the investigation was to determine how total quality management has been implemented in community college libraries/LRCs and to describe ways in which it is assisting community college librarians and/or LRC personnel in attaining effective management as well as improving their service-orientation, staff development, organizational structure, and utilization of technology to meet the demands of their communities. The goals of this study are to do the following for community college librarians and LRC personnel: (1) to provide them with information about how TQM as a management philosophy is being used in community college LRCs, and (2) to aid them in determining if TQM is an effective management tool in terms of its ability to deal with organizational change and problems in community college LRCs.; This qualitative study, based on data from interviews, employs descriptive information to present the LRCs' TQM experiences in a real-life context. Moreover, a multiple-case replication design was used to provide a comparative analysis of TQM implementation in the three community college LRCs. This study is significant because it provides insight into the TQM experiences of community college libraries/LRCs. Therefore, it should be of interest to all librarians interested in the subject of TQM in academic libraries, especially community college libraries.