Another EQLIPSE site
ASIS homepage
Consulting Services of the State Library of Ohio, free to Ohio
libraries. I wonder if the Texas State Library offers a similar service?
Excellent course evaluation form we might consider using for our
library course
Automated study of user searches online
Stakeholder Method of Evaluation, an abstract
Librarian's Internet --list of links for critical areas in LIS
Measurement and evaluation of public libraries by Beverly P. Lynch, (IFLA)
OnLine at PA Libraries Evaluation Project Report
Interesting library project with faculty --articles online
SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON PERFORMANCE AND OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT prepared
by the Standards and Accreditation Committee Association of College and
Research Libraries American Library Association
Internet Trend Watch for Libraries
Resources to Order for Review
Carbone, Pierre. "Survey of the Development of Library Performance
Measures in France." INSPEL 27, no. 3 (1993),196-198.
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Carbone begins with an overview of the challenges and changes which public and academic
libraries have undergone in the last twenty years in France. These developments resulted in
greater complementarity between different libraries and created the need for libraries to
clearly define their role, mission and place in local and national networks. In the course of
library evaluation, academic libraries were among the first to pursue this area of investigation.
The author identifies several surveys and conferences on library evaluation.
Clark, Tobin de Leon and Elmer U. Clawson. "Output Measures for Evaluating
the Performance of Community College Learning Resources Programs: a
California Case Study." Advances in Librarianship 17 (1993),
175-202.
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The study of learning resources programs in California was undertaken to develop output
measures and to produce a data-collection manual for two year colleges. In addition, through
this survey the authors attempted to address the question of whether there is a need for the
adoption of statewide standards. The authors provide detailed discussions of events leading to
the development of these output measures as well as review of statewide survey results.
Kantor, Paul B. "The Library as an Information Utility in the University
Context: Evolution and Measurement of Service." Journal of the American
Society for Information Science 27, no. 2 (1976), 100-112.
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Kantor has written a highly technical examination of the problem of the objective measurement
of library service performance based on the multi-dimensional and aggregate factor of "Total
Contact Time per Potential User." The author provides a thorough analysis of the proper
versus improper modification of goals and performance measures for library planning and
decision making systems.
Linke, R.D. "Some Factors for Application of Performance Indicators in
Higher Education." Higher Education Management 4 (1992), 194-208.
-
Linke was commissioned by the Australian Department of Employment, Education, and
Training to chair a study of performance indicators in higher education. Following actions by
the Australian government to establish a funding system in higher education which would take
into account institutional performance, Linke attempts to describe certain principles of
institutional performance appraisal. The principles outlined are intended to provide a practical
framework for developing a more comprehensive and effective indicator system.
Maxstadt, John M. "A New Approach to Reference Statistics at Louisiana
State University." College & Research Libraries News no. 2
(February 1988), 85-86.
-
Collecting reference statistics is considered a waste of time by many because it is
time-consuming, and statistical systems are designed without a sound scientific basis. In
1986/87, the LSU library developed a new approach which would collect statistics by both
question type and patron type. To free the reference desk professional staff to concentrate on
the information needs of patrons, they determined that a random statistical sample of 60 hours
per year would provide sufficient data with an acceptable confidence level. New statistics
gathering sheets were designed, and using graduate assistants, the new approach yielded 53
separate data elements. In general, the new sampling approach to reference desk statistics has
been highly successful and is recommended for emulation by others.
Measuring Quality: International Guidelines for Performance Measurement in
Academic Libraries. (IFLA Publication, v. 76) New Providence, NJ:
Bowker-Saur, 1996.
- This monograph is the product of an IFLA working group which evaluated the existing
literature and drew up a academic libraries, are designed to measure effectiveness not
efficiency, and are concentrated on user-oriented indicators. Each included indicator is
designed to assess either the quality of the library's overall performance, or the quality of a
specific service or activity. The publication includes a comprehensive bibliography (37 pages)
of literature dealing with performance measurement. Also included are English, French,
German, Russian, and Spanish glossaries.
- There is a general introduction on the need for, and use of, effective management tools in
academic libraries. The discussion covers: quality, quality management, mission & goals,
stakeholder approach, performance measurement, measuring outcome, and results of
performance measurement. More detailed discussions are included in the chapters, "The
Measurement Process" and "Cost-effectiveness."
- Seventeen performance indicators are described in detail in the following seven categories:
general library use and facilities, collection quality, catalog quality, availability of documents in
the collection, reference services, remote use, and user satisfaction.
Michalko, Jim. "Higher Education, the Production Function, and the Library."
Journal of Library Administration 19, no. 4 (1993), 11-22.
-
"Reorganization, reallocation, and retrenchment" characterize higher education's response to
increasing financial pressures. Michalko argues that the production function, an economic
theory which correlates an organization's inputs with its outputs of goods and services, is now
being used as a planning model in higher education. Libraries, unlike academic departments,
have multiple outputs (e.g., information provision, collections, preservation of cultural heritage,
etc.) which need to be reassessed. Libraries are well positioned to take advantage of
technology as a determining element in their production functions.
"Performance Measures in Libraries." North Carolina Libraries 48
(fall 1990), entire issue.
-
This issue of North Carolina Libraries contains ten articles which address myriad issues
surrounding performance measures in different types of libraries, and for different library
services. A "Selective Bibliography on Library Performance Measures" concludes the issue.
Shapiro, Beth J. "Access and Performance Measures in Research Libraries in
the 1990's." Journal of Library Administration 15, no. 3-4
(winter 1991), 49-66.
-
Shapiro posits that since libraries now provide information that they do not physically own,
traditional (input) measures do not adequately indicate effective services. She reviews work
done by members of the Association of Research Libraries, and proposes access and
performance measures for libraries based on that work. Access measures are defined as the
measures of the ability for users to use the mix of information resources owned by the library
and information resources to which the library provides electronic access. Performance
measures are defined as measuring effectiveness of library services and user satisfaction with
those services. Shapiro's measures to be collected annually fall into five core areas: instruction,
gate counts, electronic database access, circulation, and reference/directional transactions.
Measures to be collected less frequently also fall into five areas: facilities, automation,
resource sharing, services provided, and "local characteristics."
Thompson, Ronelle K. "Evaluating Library Service." Technical Services
Quarterly 5, no. 4 (1988), 27-39.
-
Thompson describes a user survey conducted at her library to track availability of library
resources. In the process, the library learned other things about the effectiveness of library
programs such as instruction and collection development.
Van House, Nancy, et al. Measuring Academic Library Performance: A
Practical Approach. Chicago: American Library Association, 1990.
-
This manual offers a set of practical output measures designed for academic and research
libraries. The measures are intended primarily for internal library decision-making,
performance assessment, and resource allocation. A secondary purpose is to demonstrate a
library's performance to its parent organization. The measures are service-oriented and
address the quality and quantity of services (excluding bibliographic instruction) delivered to
users. In addition, the book includes sample reports and forms.
