The Bottom Line: Determining and Communicating the Value of the Special Library

Citation

Missingham, R. (2003), "The Bottom Line: Determining and Communicating the Value of the Special Library", Performance Measurement and Metrics, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 87-88. https://doi.org/10.1108/14678040310486927

In the Special Libraries Association’s “Top ten reasons to use an information center” (www.sla.org/content/SLA/professional/meaning/what/isldten.html) the value of special libraries is promoted as a high level economic contribution to their organizations. Key to their approach is the use of economic terms such as “You will be more productive”, “You will save money” and “You will do better work”. Translating these achievements into language your manager will understand has remained a challenge cheerfully, and optimistically, tackled by special librarians and library researchers.

Over the past decade, outstanding work has been published providing methodologies to demonstrate the value of special libraries – Matarazzo and Prusack’s seminal surveys on the value of corporate libraries and information services (published by the Special Libraries Association in 1991, 1995 and 1999) and Broadbent and Lofgren’s priority, performance and benefits study of 1991 are but two. Reviewing the major methods available to special libraries in the twenty‐first century, Matthews has produced an excellent text for those seeking to promote the value of their libraries, applicable to an audience well beyond special libraries.

This book provides an excellent summary of the reasons why libraries should review and demonstrate their relevance and value. With short, easy to read chapters, the significant substance of the book is in chapters relating to cost analysis, satisfaction measures, use of the balanced scorecard and reviews using setting strategic goals and measures. Each major topic is introduced with a summary of key published literature, issues and examples of use of the technique. The possibilities for using each method are explained very clearly and succinctly, enough to tantalise and encourage further experimentation.

Over the past 25 years I have worked in Australian libraries, spending much of the period in government legal and science institutions. The use of performance measures and value assessment has been essential to ensure that the library services remained relevant and the value of the service was, as far as possible, communicated to senior managers. Creating an understanding of the value of the library in these organizations has proved fascinating. Over this period there has been a constantly developing range of tools, including survey instruments, and an emergence of an enthusiasm for using economic concepts, such as return on investment. Over this period I have been struck by two contexts in which measurement needs to be set – the first is the political aspect of the organization, where competition for resources seems to be a driver, and secondly the culture of the organization itself.

In legal agencies the motivation from senior managers is often to reduce the time spent searching for information by highly paid lawyers, and also to assist in areas where costs can be billed either to clients or to projects. Economic evaluations of costs saved and speed of access to information can be very persuasive. For scientific organizations, the motivation is more likely to be in ensuring that scientists and research staff have access to the wider range of relevant resources, preferably to their desktops, and that a strong inter‐lending/document supply service is provided. While Matthews provides some excellent advice on traps to avoid, those seeking to use the techniques outlined in the book would be well advised to consider the motivation and purpose of their organization to establish the most appropriate means of convincing senior management of their value.

In summary this book provides an excellent text for those seeking an overview of evaluation techniques. The use of examples, particularly in the section on the balanced scorecard, adds considerably to understanding the concepts. The only slight flaw I found was when using the index. There appears to be some small variation between page numbers listed and the actual location, such as for the pages on return on investment. It is, however, a good accessible index.

Overall two thumbs up!