Practical Evaluation Techniques for Librarians

by Rachel Applegate

Overview

Evaluation is essential to library management: it provides the data that underlies informed and effective decision-making. This book is a one-volume, how-to guide to library evaluation techniques, planning, and reporting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610691604
Publisher:	ABC-CLIO, Incorporated
Publication date:	08/15/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	232
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Rachel Applegate, MLS, PhD, is associate professor of library and information science at Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: Personal Techniques
Surveys
Interviews
Focus Groups
Usability
Instructional Evaluation
Observation: Tallies
Unobtrusive Observation: Reference Testing
Mystery Shopping
Chapter 2: Impersonal Techniques
List-Checking
Citation Analysis
Collection Mapping
Use Analysis
Availability
Process Evaluation
Transaction Log Analysis
Chapter 3: Technique Selection and Sampling
Decision Factors
Summarizing and Analyzing Data
Using Technology
Using Consultants
Chapter 4: Planning for Evaluation
Library Operations Evaluation Plans (LOEPs)
Chapter 5: Reporting about Evaluation
Targeted Evaluation Reports
Periodic Organizational Reports
Reporting and Organizational Communication
Afterword: How to Handle Numbers
Appendix A: Study Questions Answer Key
Appendix B: Formatting Data
Index

Editorial Reviews

This insightful manual discusses how to evaluate and assess information using different techniques such as surveys and focus groups. . . . A useful guide for gathering practical information.” —School Library Jourbanal

“This book can be used as a reference, as a guide, or as a text to help librarians, administrators, and future librarians and administrators evaluate libraries for managerial decision making and research purposes. This book is also of use as a guide for graduate students in library and information science who are seeking to perform evaluation studies on libraries.” —ARBA

From the Publisher

02/01/2014
This insightful manual discusses how to evaluate and assess information using different techniques such as surveys and focus groups. The author stresses the importance of data collection to support libraries and other not-for-profit organizations as they face the daily challenge of defending their contributions to the communities they serve. With a focus on "proving and improving," Applegate encourages readers to take a critical look at the services they provide and determine their strengths and weaknesses through outcome-based evaluations. Several different evaluation techniques are described in depth, and they will enable professionals to extrapolate the data they need to compile concise organizational reports. Clear, easy-to-use outlines detail how to create and utilize a variety of surveys or gather specific focus groups that will provide the definitive information they seek. Other chapters explain how to format the data and how to create targeted evaluation reports. While the content is presented in a dry and process-driven manner, it is thorough. A useful guide for gathering practical information.—Allison Santos, Princeton Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal