A conceptual model of the Academic Library (AL) service quality is hypothesized in the present article, and then validated and analyzed by a novel evaluation approach. Specifically, the conceptual model integrates the fundamental attributes of the canonical AL service together with those more relevant of the new and widely considered AL Electronic Service (e‐services). As concerns the evaluation approach, it incorporates the Fuzzy Sets Theory (FST) so as to deal with the students' uncertainty over their own judgments on the AL service quality and a Structural Equation Model (SEM) to validate the conceptual model and to determine the key drivers of the AL service quality. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is proved by an empirical study concerning the AL of the Polytechnic School of the University of Palermo (Italy). Data collected via a survey involving more than 600 students are used, and the key drivers of the AL service quality are found out. Particularly, the obtained results reveal that Collections and materials represents the main driver of the AL service quality followed by Infrastructure and Access to the service, whereas Staff plays the fundamental role of interface between AL service aspects and students' needs and necessities.