EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) is a membership-based non-profit organization founded in 1988 by fourteen leading European companies with the mission to be a promoter and flag bearer of long-term sustainable excellence in Europe. The EFQM model represented by the association is a globally recognized framework that helps institutions manage change and increase performance.
The University Library Service of Eötvös Loránd University is committed to achieving the strategic objectives set out in the mission statement of Eötvös Loránd University, continuous quality improvement and achieving outstanding results, therefore in February 2020 University Library Service submitted an application to the Hungarian organization of EFQM. As part of the application process, all faculty libraries and the ELTE University Library and Archives also conducted a self-assessment in April, based on the EFQM model, by filling in online forms. About forty librarians participated in the self-assessment. During the evaluation of the results, the library leaders set the goal of implementing three of the development proposals, which were fulfilled with the broad cooperation and effective cooperation of our staff.
In the six months following the self-assessment, an assimilation project covering all the libraries of the University Library Service and a performance evaluation system documentation were developed. The two projects aim to increase employee satisfaction and support their efficient work to make the entire organization work better. An action plan was drawn up on the basis of questionnaire surveys as part of a project to improve the University Library Services communication. In the future, with the redesign of the portal interface and library websites, with the inclusion of new communication tools and channels, we plan to publish our achievements, renewed services and operational information in an authentic and wide range for ELTE citizens and partners. Based on our application, after the professional evaluation and assessment of the documentation of the three successfully implemented development projects, our institution obtained an EFQM “Committed to Excellence” certificate for three years. By winning the recognition, the ELTE University Library Service can be considered a pioneer in the line of libraries in Hungary. Documents related to the EFQM application are available in the Digital Institutional Repository (EDIT) of ELTE at https://edit.elte.hu/xmlui/handle/10831/51360. Further details about our results can be found on the ELTE website.