Surviving the future : academic libraries, quality, and assessment

cover image

Where to find it

Information & Library Science Library

Call Number
Z675.U5 M86 2009
Status
Available

Authors, etc.

Names:

Summary

Every academic library strives to make improvements - in its services, its effectiveness, and its contributions to overall university success. Every librarian wants to improve library quality, but few are knowledgeable or enthusiastic about the means and mechanisms of quality improvement. This book assists librarians to make sense of data collection, assessment, and comparative evaluation as stepping stones to transformative quality improvement. Creating value lies in a library's ability to understand, communicate and measure what matters to users, and what can be measured can be managed to successful outcomes.

Contents

  • List of figures and tables p. ix
  • List of abbreviations p. xi
  • About the authors p. xiii
  • Preface p. xv
  • 1 Quality, assessment and evaluation p. 1
  • Defining quality p. 1
  • Measurement p. 6
  • Assessment p. 8
  • The challenges of self-assessment p. 9
  • Notes p. 12
  • Bibliography p. 12
  • 2 Creating a culture of assessment p. 19
  • Introduction p. 19
  • Evaluating your library's culture p. 22
  • Notes p. 28
  • Bibliography p. 29
  • 3 Frameworks for quality improvement p. 31
  • Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award p. 32
  • Academic Quality Improvement Project (AQIP) p. 37
  • European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) p. 39
  • Australian Business Excellence Framework (ABEF) p. 45
  • Notes p. 49
  • Bibliography p. 50
  • 4 Strategic planning, the Balanced Scorecard and benchmarking p. 55
  • Strategic planning p. 55
  • Measurement systems and the Balanced Scorecard p. 59
  • Benchmarking p. 67
  • Notes p. 73
  • Bibliography p. 74
  • 5 Performance Indicators p. 81
  • Introduction p. 81
  • Establishing library performance indicators p. 83
  • Impacts and outcomes p. 96
  • Notes p. 103
  • Bibliography p. 104
  • 6 The library's role in successful faculty research and teaching p. 111
  • A framework for faculty success p. 111
  • Faculty and the current academic environment p. 112
  • Critical factors in faculty research success p. 113
  • Critical factors in faculty teaching success p. 117
  • Desirable faculty outcomes of library engagement p. 121
  • Notes p. 122
  • Bibliography p. 123
  • 7 The library's role in successful postgraduate and professional education p. 127
  • A framework for postgraduate and professional student success p. 127
  • Postgraduate students and the current academic environment p. 130
  • Information literacy as the critical factor in postgraduate student success p. 132
  • Desirable outcomes of library engagement p. 137
  • Notes p. 138
  • Bibliography p. 138
  • 8 The library's role in the success of undergraduate students p. 141
  • A framework for undergraduate student success p. 141
  • Undergraduate students and the current academic environment p. 142
  • Critical factors in undergraduate student success p. 146
  • Desirable outcomes of library engagement p. 166
  • Notes p. 167
  • Bibliography p. 169
  • 9 User satisfaction as a quality indicator p. 173
  • Approaches to satisfaction research p. 174
  • User-centered research p. 176
  • Analyzing qualitative data from user-centered research p. 182
  • Bibliography p. 183
  • 10 Using group norms and peer comparisons as contexts for quality p. 185
  • Why compare your library to other libraries? p. 186
  • Peer and cohort comparisons p. 187
  • Accreditation and quality audits p. 188
  • Communicating the results p. 189
  • Notes p. 189
  • Bibliography p. 190
  • 11 Toward surviving the future p. 191
  • Index p. 197

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