Introduction

The varied nature of the services provided by public libraries we have discussed in the previous chapters can make it challenging to measure them effectively. It is straightforward enough to measure the number of books borrowed by a user, and this done across a population of tens of thousands will give statistical information that can be used to inform decisionmaking. Nevertheless book issues are only one small part of public library services, and statistics about book issues only give us a limited picture of how the library is impacting on its local community.

However, by attempting to measure all services provided by public libraries there is a ‘danger that with the imposition of too many external quality and performance accreditation processes quality and performance measurement declines into box ticking, statistics generation, and form filling’ (Rowley, 2005, 509). The challenge is creating a performance measurement regime that provides informative data while not wasting staff time and expense in excessive data gathering.

This chapter will discuss the types of performance data regularly collected for public libraries, outline the methods used to collect meaningful data, and consider the debates related to the potential of such data for informing best practice.

Performance measurement

First let us consider what is meant by the term performance measurement. Ultimately performance measurement is a management tool aimed at ensuring resources are well spent and that a service can guarantee a level of quality for all its stakeholders. Public libraries are paid for by all taxpayers and have the potential to be used by all taxpayers, thus everyone in society should have an interest in their good management. Librarians have a duty to their public to strive continually for best performance from their service, and performance measurement allows regular analysis to be undertaken to examine whether standards are being maintained.

Yet this is all obviously dependent on the performance measures that are adopted being fit for purpose. Performance measurement is concerned with inputs and outputs. From the point of view of public libraries, inputs are categories like cost involved in providing a service, and the number of staff hours involved in delivering a service.