Getting Started with Evaluation

by Peter Hernon, Robert E. Dugan, Joseph R. Matthews

Overview

Everyone agrees that evaluation of library services is essential, but without a background in research it can be a challenge to apply abstract concepts such as strategic planning, evidence-based decision making, and accountability to real-world situations. Finally library managers have a workbook to help them master key concepts of service quality assessment, offering directed exercises and worksheets to guide them. Firmly rooted in practical application, this bookPresents an overview of evaluation and the types of metrics, linking them to strategic planning and infrastructureExamines qualitative versus quantitative measuresShows how to decide which metrics are relevant to one’s own institution, covering benchmarking, best practices, peer group filters, and those metrics that offer a high return on investmentIncludes pointers for launching and maintaining successful library evaluation through flexibility and smart delegation among library staffOffers advice on marshaling data to effectively communicate the value and impact of a library and its services, no matter the audienceComplete with a detailed list of sources for metrics and concrete examples of evaluation in practice, this workbook will be both valuable and immediately useful to managers at academic and public libraries, as well as to library trustees and others interested in assessing service quality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780838911952
Publisher:	American Library Association
Publication date:	09/20/2013
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Peter Hernon is a professor emeritus at Simmons College, Boston, and was the principal (and founding) faculty member for the doctoral program, Managerial Leadership in the Information Professions. He received his PhD degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, and was the 2008 recipient of the Association of College and Research Libraries’ award for Academic/Research Librarian of the Year, the founding editor of Government Information Quarterly, and past editor-in- chief of The Journal of Academic Librarianship. He is the coeditor of Library & Information Science Research and has taught, conducted workshops, and delivered addresses in eleven countries outside the United States. He is the author or co-author of 57 books, including the award-winning Federal Information Policies in the 1980s (1985) and Viewing Library Metrics from Different Perspectives (2009).

Robert E. Dugan is the dean of libraries at the University of West Florida (Pensacola, FL). Prior to assuming this position, he had been at Suffolk University, Boston; Wesley College, Dover, DE; and Georgetown University, Washington, DC. He has also worked in state and public libraries during his nearly 40-year career. He is the coauthor of eleven books, including Viewing Library Metrics from Different Perspectives.

Joseph R. Matthews is a consultant specializing in strategic planning, assessment, evaluation of library services, customer service, use of performance measures, and the balanced scorecard. He was an instructor at the San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science. He is author of The Customer-Focused Library, The Evaluation and Measurement of Library Services, Scorecards for Results, Strategic Planning and Management for Managers, and Measuring for Results, and the coauthor (with Peter Hernon) of Listening to the Customer, among other books.

Table of Contents

List of Figures, Tables, and Text Boxes vii

Preface ix

1 Evaluation 1

2 Evidence-Based Planning and Decision Making 17

3 Library Metrics 33

4 Internal Evaluation for Planning and Decision Making 49

5 External Evaluation to Inform Stakeholders and to Guide Continuous Improvement 73

6 Measuring Satisfaction 101

7 Measuring Service Quality 127

8 Measuring Return on Investment (ROI) 137

9 Measuring the Value of the Library and its Services 159

10 Using and Communicating the Results 173

11 Positive Organizational Change 187

Appendix: Answers to Chapter Exercises 199

Selected Readings 229

About the Authors 233

Index 235