Library performance indicators and library management tools
The European Commission, DG XIII, has published the results of a study carried out under the Community's LIBRARIES programme (Third Framework Programme for research and technological development), entitled "Library performance indicators and library management models. The aim of the study was to develop a toolbox of performance measures and indicators which are relevant to, and applicable in, all types of library within Europe. The toolbox is the result of a review of trends and developments across the range of libraries in Europe regarding their use of management information and their application to performance measurement techniques. The need for better management information and decision support techniques within libraries has long been recognized, as the external pressures faced by many have intensified. Libraries require information relating to the provision of information services which will help them understand the success of individual operations as well as their impact on the organizational environment. The toolbox which has been created provides guidelines on the implementation and analysis of a variety of measures and indicators useful in the evaluation of library services. The toolbox takes into account the theoretical development of performance measurement techniques and decision support in library management. Following widespread consultation with librarians and experts in the subjects, it also reflects the experience and practice of a variety of libraries in the data collection and analyses they undertake. The work has been undertaken during a twelve-month period by De Montfort University, the Library and information Statistics Unit at Loughborough University and Essex County Libraries.