Practical Evaluation Techniques (book)

Applegate, R. (2013). Practical Evaluation Techniques for Librarians. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Library professionals—regardless of whether they operate in a school, public, or academic library setting—need to have effective evaluation skills in order to be accountable to stakeholders and to effect informed improvement. Practical Evaluation Techniques for Librarians provides information and guidance that is highly useful and accessible for all librarians looking to intelligently manage the strengths and weaknesses of their library as well as communicate its value to its stakeholders.

Rather than focusing on data-gathering methods appropriate for researchers, the book concentrates on data collection at the local level that enables informed managerial decision-making. It describes and compares techniques that can be used with any level or type of resource—staffing, software, and expertise, for example—in any size library. Author Rachel Applegate makes it clear that accountability is everywhere and imperative, and any librarian can learn the simple techniques to benefit from evaluation.

(book description)

The Quality Infrastructure: Measuring, Analyzing and Improving Library Services

Murphy, Sarah Anne.  The Quality Infrastructure: Measuring, Analyzing and Improving Library Services. Chicago: ALA, 2014. 025.587 Quali    ISBN 978-0-8389-1173-0

A library's infrastructure of programs and personnel is its most valuable asset, providing the foundation for everything it does and aspires to do, which is why assessment is so vitally important. In this collection of case studies, Murphy and her team of contributors describe how quality assessment programs have been implemented and how they are used to continuously improve service at a complete cross-section of institutions. This volume looks at how a program was established within a library organization, the individual roles for staff participating in the program, and singles out which activities and projects were most successful. Describes programs such as the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, Lean Six Sigma, and ISO 9001:2000 Examines contexts ranging from a liberal-arts college library to key federal government libraries, to libraries that serve major research universities in the United States and Canada. Summarizing specific tools for measuring service quality alongside tips for using these tools most effectively, this book helps libraries of all kinds take a programmatic approach to measuring, analyzing, and improving library services.