This paper discusses the Research and Evaluation Program at the State Library of New South Wales (Australia) and what it has revealed about clients' notions of value and relevance. An overview is provided of the services that have been developed in order to meet clients expectations, including reading room services and the development of the 3Tier…

Usage statistics are an important metric for making decisions on serials. Although the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Libraries have been collecting usage statistics, the statistics had not frequently been used to make decisions and had not been included in collection development policy. After undergoing a collection assessment, the…

This project report describes the workflow model used at the University of Hertfordshire to develop and test a suite of new digital information skills materials for students. The approach taken was informed by findings from the Jisc Student Digital Experience Tracker and good practice from Jisc's NUS Benchmarking tool. Content was mapped against…

Purpose: The paper aims to report on the 30th IATUL Annual Conference held in Leuven, Belgium, 1-4 June, 2009. Design/methodology/approach: The paper summarises the major themes of the conference as well as giving some specific details of developments at the Indira Gandhi National Open University in India, which supplement the author's…

The process of identifying and selecting peers for a college or university is one of this volume's definitions for "benchmarking": "a strategic and structured approach whereby an organization compares aspects of its processes and/or outcomes to those of another organization or set of organizations to identify opportunities for…

High school seniors' success in making the transition to college hinges greatly on their ability to perform college-level research. Studies pointing out failure to provide this critical preparation abound (Head 2013; Head and Eisenberg 2010). Helping students make this leap is the topic of much research and discussion between members of the…

Based on current research and preliminary results provided by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) regarding the West Virginia Early Learning Longitudinal Study, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) Office of Early & Elementary has reviewed the NIEER and other forms of data to make a concerted action plan.…

This book is a collection of 19 essays and case studies about the challenges libraries face today. It assesses a broad range of opportunities and achievements, and emphasizes both theory and practice. The essays are divided into six sections: (1) Introduction--"Restructuring Academic Libraries: Adjusting to Technological Change" (Charles…

The word "evaluation" often strikes fear in people, but the author is different. She has always been a person who thought of evaluation, in any form, as a way to make her better and help her strive for excellence. So naturally when her library supervisor announced at a meeting that they were going to do the American Association of School…

This British Library Research and Development Department study assesses current activities and attitudes toward quality management in library and information services (LIS) in the academic sector as well as the commercial/industrial sector. Definitions and types of benchmarking are described, and the relevance of benchmarking to LIS is evaluated.…

Discussion of the use of Total Quality Management (TQM) in higher education and academic libraries focuses on the identification, collection, and use of reliable data. Methods for measuring quality, including benchmarking, are described; performance measures are considered; and benchmarking techniques are examined. (11 references) (MES)

Explains benchmarking, a total quality management tool used to measure and compare the work processes in a library with those in other libraries to increase library performance. Topics include the main groups of upper management, clients, and staff; critical success factors for each group; and benefits of benchmarking. (Author/LRW)

This paper discusses performance measurement in university libraries, based on examples from the University of Wollongong (UoW) in Australia. The introduction highlights the integration of information literacy into the curriculum and the outcomes of a 1998 UoW student satisfaction survey. The first section considers performance indicators in…

This paper describes the processes involved in selecting peer institutions for appropriate benchmarking using national databases (NCES-IPEDS). Benchmarking involves the identification of peer institutions and/or best practices in specific operational areas for the purpose of developing standards. The benchmarking process was borne in the early…

Discusses outsourcing in the information industry. Highlights include information technology; special libraries; outsourcing in Australia; public librarians; benchmarking and quality control; online searching; and outsourcing as a threat to information professionals. (LRW)