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Article
Publication date: 8 January 2018

Stephen Town

The purpose of this paper is to describe the Value Scorecard framework for performance measurement and advocacy in academic and research libraries.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the Value Scorecard framework for performance measurement and advocacy in academic and research libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a leadership perspective and an autoethnographic approach to develop and test the theory and practice of value measurement in a case study research library. A constructivist approach was taken for developing the framework, followed by quantitative and qualitative methods to develop, deepen and implement the full description.

Findings

The Scorecard proposition is summarized as previously elaborated in five papers, covering the overall framework and its implementation and more detailed theory and practice from the case library on human and relational capital assessment.

Research limitations/implications

The paper provides a new ontology for research libraries. Implementation has been undertaken in one case library, but the learning should be transferable to others and also potentially to other public sector or values-based organizations.

Practical implications

The Value Scorecard is shown to be applicable to organize measurement and assessment in research libraries for the demonstration and advocacy of a library’s value. It is hospitable to pre-existing data collection approaches.

Social implications

The Scorecard addresses the need to prove the social value and worth of libraries.

Originality/value

The Value Scorecard is a unique and unifying contribution to the frameworks and methods for performance measurement and advocacy in academic and research libraries. The study covers 10 years of research work to understand the concept of value in libraries, as well as 8 years of organizational development to apply this learning.

Details

Information and Learning Science, vol. 119 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2014

Stephen Town

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on advances in the understanding and practice of people evaluation in libraries. The paper is conceptual and offers a framework for human…

1252

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on advances in the understanding and practice of people evaluation in libraries. The paper is conceptual and offers a framework for human capital evaluation.

Design/methodology/approach

The research approach has been to employ a mixed method research strategy (multi-methodology), combining desk research exploring quantitative capital assessment methods from other industries, sectors and libraries; phenomenological observation of existing data collection and development concepts; and survey data from staff in case studies of the author's own and other organizations.

Findings

The synthesis suggests the measures required to populate the library capital dimension of the value scorecard, thereby providing an estimation of the value of a library's human capital.

Originality/value

The paper fills a gap through a broad survey of advances in people assessment in libraries, and provides a unique framework for human capital measurement in libraries.

Details

Performance Measurement and Metrics, vol. 15 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-8047

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 10 July 2017

Stephen Town

261

Abstract

Details

Performance Measurement and Metrics, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-8047

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2013

J. Stephen Town and Martha Kyrillidou

The purpose of this paper is to define a framework and categorization of the types of evidence required to prove the value and impact of libraries. It questions the limitations of…

4465

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to define a framework and categorization of the types of evidence required to prove the value and impact of libraries. It questions the limitations of current measurement for library value, and hence for contributing to academic and research library planning and advocacy. The paper describes and draws on some of the recent progress in value and impact measurement over the last five years. Scenario planning exercises conducted by both ARL and SCONUL are used to analyse the likely future value proposition emerging for libraries. A values‐based value scorecard is proposed, which would demonstrate the transcendent value of academic and research libraries now and in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines research literature from library and general management texts to propose a framework for measuring the value and impact of libraries.

Findings

The paper concludes that a value scorecard can be used alongside the balanced scorecard to add a more value‐oriented picture of library strengths and contribution. The potential benefit of the proposed value scorecard is to gather evidence which will assist both strategic planning and decision making in relation to key areas for future investment.

Originality/value

The proposal defines a new framework aimed at measuring the full value of academic research libraries, considering both tangible and intangible assets. The proposal has been developed by exploring measurement gaps in the library management field and exploring potential options from this area and general management literature. If applied successfully, the model should provide a useful tool for strategic management and decision making.

Details

Performance Measurement and Metrics, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-8047

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2016

Sheila Corrall

Stephen Town has been a thought leader and change agent in the academic library world for more than 20 years, who has produced a very large body of work in the areas of quality…

Abstract

Purpose

Stephen Town has been a thought leader and change agent in the academic library world for more than 20 years, who has produced a very large body of work in the areas of quality management and performance measurement that has been disseminated internationally. Town’s retirement from full-time employment at the University of York provides a timely opportunity to review his contribution to the field. The purpose of this paper is to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The review outlines Town’s career path and professional interests and then appraises his published output, concentrating on his contributions to thinking and practice in the areas of benchmarking, information literacy, service quality, and measuring the value and impact of academic libraries and information services. The discussion is organized thematically to illustrate the evolution and development of his interests and ideas over the review period and also references-related work by other authors to set his work in context.

Findings

The study found many examples of innovative and creative work that had influenced thinking and practice in the library profession, including the development of models, frameworks, and tools with the potential to improve the effectiveness of service benchmarking, information literacy education, library advocacy, relationship management, staff evaluation, and impact measurement.

Research limitations/implications

The volume of published work necessitated some selectivity in the material covered, but the review provides sufficiently comprehensive coverage of the areas specified to represent the work effectively.

Originality/value

Town has produced a substantial number of publications as a practitioner-researcher that have not previously been reviewed independently as a coherent body of work.

Details

Performance Measurement and Metrics, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-8047

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 November 2020

Federica Caboni

This chapter offers a specific point of view on the Town Centre retail, in ­order to develop a new way to enhance the customer retail experience in this place. The combination of…

Abstract

This chapter offers a specific point of view on the Town Centre retail, in ­order to develop a new way to enhance the customer retail experience in this place. The combination of shopping over the Internet and the interactive technologies represents for Town Centre retailers one of the possible solutions in the creation of a multisensory experience for people living in and visiting this urban area. By welcoming the challenge of creating multisensory experiences, “bricks and mortar” stores need to integrate digital solutions to create and handle experiences. Customers can interact with people and contents via digital technologies such as Quick Response, Electrochromic Glass, Touch Systems, Outdoor Totems, Holographic Technology, and Augmented Reality. From the analysis of the academic literature emerges an agreement that the use of the Internet and interactive technologies are not totally exploited as tools able to revitalize the Town Centre retail and create animated, lively streets that offer multisensory experiences. Based on the above considerations, this chapter provides a theoretical model in order to create an immersive retail experience within the physical store by combining the use of the Internet to conduct shopping and the interaction with several kinds of technologies.

Details

Managing Customer Experiences in an Omnichannel World: Melody of Online and Offline Environments in the Customer Journey
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-389-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 March 2015

J. Stephen Town

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the development of ideas relating to the value of library relationships. The paper is conceptual and provides a framework for the…

1078

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the development of ideas relating to the value of library relationships. The paper is conceptual and provides a framework for the measurement of relationship capital (RC) for academic and research libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The research approach has been to employ a mixed method research strategy combining desk research on the concepts of the definition of RC and its foundation theories with an exploration of relational capital assessment methods from other industries. A historical review is presented with cases of the traditional main method of delivering effective relationships in libraries (embedded librarians, academic liaison and subject librarians).

Findings

The synthesis suggests a measurement approach to populate the RC dimension of the value scorecard, thereby providing an estimation of the full value of the library’s relational capital.

Originality/value

The paper fills a gap in the consideration of the importance of relationships to academic and research libraries, and provides a unique and original framework for assessment and measurement.

Details

Library Management, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 June 2018

J. Stephen Town

This chapter describes and explores the relationship between formal and semi-formal systems of programme and project management and broader strategic programmes and leadership…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter describes and explores the relationship between formal and semi-formal systems of programme and project management and broader strategic programmes and leadership approaches in the academic and research library context.

Methodology/approach

The leadership perspective of this chapter allows assessment of the contribution of programme and project management techniques to the strategic development of the library. A case study approach is taken, and the methods used for programme and project management arise mainly from the UK’s Office of Government Commerce.

Findings

The chapter provides insight into how a variety of practical project management techniques can be bound together within strategic programmes, together with appropriate governance structures for monitoring and judging successful outcomes.

Practical limitations

The chapter describes the application of programme and project methods in two research libraries, but the techniques used have been used widely in many organizational settings and so should be transferable to other research library contexts.

Social implications

The cases in the chapter reveal the social world of the academic and research library, illuminating the real-life experience of project work within the library and its broader institutional context.

Originality/value

The chapter presents an original typology for differentiating projects in the research library. The chapter is unique both in describing 30 years of continuous application and development of programme and project methodologies and frameworks, and also in its leadership perspective.

Details

Project Management in the Library Workplace
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78754-837-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2013

Karen Tang

The purpose of this paper is to examine the growth in quality assurance maturity within the six Australian and New Zealand university libraries which make up the Libraries of the…

1177

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the growth in quality assurance maturity within the six Australian and New Zealand university libraries which make up the Libraries of the Australian Technology Network (LATN).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on benchmarking surveys of library quality assurance commissioned by LATN in 2005/2006, with a follow up study in 2010. The author led the conduct and analysis of both surveys. The 2005/2006 study reviewed quality assurance practices at the member libraries, to draw out examples of best practice and identify gaps and possible areas for improvement within the libraries. It was based on a review of member libraries’ websites, a questionnaire completed by a nominee from each member library, and follow‐up in‐person interviews with each nominee and the University Librarian of each institution. In 2009/2010 the same questionnaire was re‐administered to investigate whether changes had occurred in the intervening period, including what improvements had been made and where there were still gaps. Had the conduct of quality audits by the Australian Universities Quality Agency had an impact? Had members made improvements to their quality assurance processes based on the findings of the first study or for other reasons? To elicit additional information, follow‐up interviews are being carried out in 2011.

Findings

In 2005/2006 the reviewers found three models of responsibility for quality assurance: centralised, within a manager's portfolio and devolved. Each was appropriate to a different level of quality maturity, with a centralised model considered to be most appropriate at the early stages of development. Whereas in 2005/2006 only one library had a centralised model, by 2010 three libraries had adopted this model and one had moved on from it. The paper compares applications of these models in the libraries and looks at the extent to which growth in quality assurance in the libraries is associated with adoption of the centralised model. It distinguishes the formal creation and appointment of a quality officer position from the ad hoc individual efforts in quality which can and do occur in many libraries. In 2005/2006 only two libraries had a functioning and well‐maintained quality framework which the LATN reviewers considered to be a hallmark of best practice in quality assurance. By 2010 this number had doubled to four. The paper looks at the quality, planning and/or performance frameworks in place and whether they were selected or developed by the library or imposed by their parent university. The impact of the adoption of a framework on the development of quality policies, procedures and documentation to achieve comprehensiveness, standardisation and repeatability in quality assurance are considered. A notable change between the 2005/2006 and the 2010 surveys was the growth in individual work planning and performance review, which was identified by the LATN reviewers as a sector‐wide gap in 2005/2006. Ideally, use of such plans and assessments should assist in the taking quality beyond library management, to develop amongst the library staff a culture of continuous improvement.Originality/value – The paper provides real examples of how quality assurance can and has been improved in libraries, within a five year timeframe. While it is based on the experience of Australian and New Zealand libraries, it addresses concerns and provides solutions which are appropriate internationally. It provides a range of options which an individual library could adopt depending on its own context.

Details

Performance Measurement and Metrics, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-8047

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 11 July 2016

Joan Stein

199

Abstract

Details

Performance Measurement and Metrics, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-8047

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