Evaluating the Impact of Your Library or Information Service

by Sharon Markless

This book addresses a major issue for library and information service managers - assessing the impact of services. All types of libraries and information services have traditionally collected a range of performance information that can tell managers something about the efficiency of those services. What is now required is better information about the effectiveness of services, i.e. about the impact of services on users, including remote ones. The core chapters of this book take the reader through a rigorously-tested process model for impact assessment backed by tools and examples to equip managers with all that they need to address their own service impact questions. Chapters include evidence, impact, planning, objectives and success criteria, activities and process indicators, collecting evidence, benchmarking, and more.

170 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2012

Reviews

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a book about library assessment. That I like enough to give 4 stars before finishing the whole thing. That I actually will READ the non-assigned chapters of after this class is over. Nuff said.

[Richfield Branch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that should be in every Professional Library Collection.
Why this is important and steps to take are outlined here (down to surveys and how to analyze the data).
This book is especially valuable as more and more libraries have to justify their very existance in these long stretches of of austerity. Resources are tightening up, and being intentional with what is offered and what is removed will help keep a library healthy and strong.

Libraries are fantastic at adding programs and services. And they also great at failing to remove "dead" programs and services. I was looking for a source to build cases to re-evaluate the purpose of a few existing programs and services, which are experiencing a slow, painful death. In other instances, I need help to just justify the need to re-iterate/tweak something to make "it" even better. I also found this useful as I was launching a new Teen initiative. It helped me to stay focused on why I was doing it and how to keep clear and focused on what to measure- to see if my program is doing what I want it to do.

I would like to use this to tweak existing operations and programs, which are very large in scale and scope (a lot of moving parts that make it hard to pin point the pain points) and investigate newly launched initiatives such as:
1. Central Selection
2. Fine Free
3. Floating collections

[Markku · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a powerpoint presentation than a book...