Solving Management Problems in Information Services

Citation

Puata, A. (2007), "Solving Management Problems in Information Services", Library Management, Vol. 28 No. 4/5, pp. 272-272. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120710744254

Dr Christine Urquhart is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Information Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth. She states that the aim of her book is to demonstrate that some simple techniques can be used to make the life of the harassed manager easier and more interesting.

Dr Urquhart opens her book by exploring the dilemma faced by most library managers; that is the need to measure performance as a means of justifying their requests for funding and support even though this is often at odds with their professional values. It is important that measures are meaningful and have a real purpose and one way to ensure that this is the case is to compare inputs with relevant outputs.

Apart from the opening and closing chapters, the book consists of practical instructions and examples to demonstrate how statistical data can be used effectively. For example, how the CORREL function in Microsoft Excel can be used to create a chart showing the relationship between visitor and checkout statistics.

Dr Urquhart suggests the use of sampling as a way to measure quality, for instance to check the quality of cataloguing entries a random sample of books could be retrieved from shelves and the records checked for errors. Process indicators can highlight areas of poor process design by identifying bottlenecks and variations.

Many different laws and theories are quoted, along with a range of equations and formulas which could be used. At first glance this may seem very daunting and off‐putting to anyone who is not mathematically‐minded, but the mathematical techniques are simple and easy to use. In addition, little anecdotes and analogies are used to paint a picture and illustrate the points clearly and simply. One of these is used to illustrate how comparison and collaboration might be measured. In it Dr Urquhart compares Google to “the others” to measure the difference between how the customer's wants or needs are met by Google, as opposed to how we might think their need should be met.

The chapter on costing provides useful tips for developing a methodical way to identify costs and predict future costs. This includes non‐monetary costs as well as costs to users, and how to measure time‐saving as a cost‐saving element. Dr Urquhart also demonstrates some risk management techniques for times of uncertainty using a matrix of probability.

The last part of the book looks at forecasting and simulation as well as trends and variations. Examples in these chapters describe the impact of situations such as queues and batch arrivals (eg a large playgroup) or the rationing of items (eg loan limits per subject) on the measurement of people or loans. Some of the solutions include averaging arrival rates and simulating workflows. Formulas and equations are suggested to facilitate these measurements.

Solving Management Problems in Information Services is a book that you would reach for when you have a specific performance measurement need, and would like a simple but effective method of meeting that need, with results that can be clearly shown. With so many equations, formulas and theories throughout this book, unless you are very mathematically‐minded it is not one that you would generally pick up and read from cover to cover.

However, if you don't want to waste time recording statistics or keeping performance measurements that do not have any meaningful context or which cannot be clearly demonstrated when and where it counts, then this great little book can definitely help.