The value of libraries and library services is a hot topic in these days of austerity, greater efficiency and economy. Most library managers are looking at ways to improve their services and demonstrate their value. Gate counts and circulation statistics are no longer enough when speaking to the business managers who control the purse strings, so library managers must learn to work with the same tools and speak the same language.
Consisting of a series of case studies, this book examines programme development within a library and the tools used for evaluating service quality and thus the success and value of these programmes. The case studies are of academic libraries, so there are limited parallels that can be drawn with other library types. However, as examples of assessment tools such as LibQUAL, Six Sigma, Total Quality Management (TQM) and Balanced Scorecard, this book is useful for library students and managers to show how these tools can be used to measure, review and achieve strategic goals, and then relate these to their institution management in terms they understand. For example, a case study may discuss the implementation of an in-library use survey as part of a TQM evaluation. It will discuss how many respondents, how it was delivered, what conclusions were drawn and whether the tool was useful. But it will not cover the specific metric content of the survey, so this really is a discussion evaluating the tool, not the library service except in how the library service was affected by the results of the evaluation.
While this book provides valuable research in an area that is becoming increasingly important (i.e. proving the value of library services), it is not a title to read from cover to cover. The contributions are not easy-to-read narratives; they provide considerable statistical data about quality management methods and evaluative comment on these results, and plenty of jargon. Rather, these case studies are far more useful for specific research and for providing guidance for specific problems to do with programme development, implementation and review. The book's value is in providing the research for specific management practices for specific purposes, or for students who need to put management tools into contextual situations to understand their value. In other words, it is one for the professional bookshelf and to be delved into with a specific query in mind. This is a book that will provide insights into why particular tools or practices might be used, their success and failures, and to back up management decisions.