Information Management Associates: IMA Publications A: 'Best Value and Better Performance in Libraries'

IMA Publications

New publications for Library Managers

A: 'Best Value and Better Performance in Libraries'

David Streatfield, Sharon Markless, Noeleen Cookman, David Herbert, Susan McCulloch and Ray Swan
(Library and Information Commission Research Report 52)

Public and schools library service managers are all faced with the same set of issues:

how to generate performance indicators and targets that have some meaning
how to get a sensible balance of process, output and outcome (or in the terms used in the project 'impact and achievement') success factors
and how to achieve this in a rapidly changing context of annual library plans, public library standards, benchmarking and 'Best Value'.

This is an up to date picture of performance assessment in UK public libraries and schools library services. The project team of researchers and library managers used interviews, a brief questionnaire survey, structured focus groups and trial workshops to create the picture described here and to point the way forward. They went a step further by working with library senior management teams and by distilling the best from other initiatives to produce guidance materials to help managers get through the issues.

ISBN: 0-9538432-1-1

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