ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 250 / C&RL News ■ A pril 1998 Perform ance m easurem ent in libraries and inform ation servicesA report from the second Northumbria International Conference by A m os Lakos T he secon d Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services, spo sored by the Department of Information and Library M anagem ent at the University o f Northumbria at Newcastle and by the British Library, was held at Longhirst Hall, just north o f Newcastle upon Tyne, September 7 -1 1 , 1997. This conference focused on the issues of performance measurements in the library field. It was a truly international conference, attract­ ing 141 attendees from 24 countries, includ­ ing librarians from all branches of librarianship as well as academics. There were six partici­ pants from the United States and three from Canada. This conference followed a highly success­ ful first conference, which took place in 1995.1 The expressed aims of the 1997 conferences were to provide a venue for discussing vari­ ous library measurements and assessment is­ sues and activities, to exchange experiences, to increase awareness of current research, and to identify issues for further study and work. Additional goals focused on outcom e and impact, and the move from research, defini­ tion, and standardization matters to actions and im plem entation. The papers reflected the emphasis on practical implementation of mea­ surement activities and on questions of how to make measurements aid work processes and management decisions. Problems of com­ n parability o f indicators and measurements across different types of libraries and across ­ national jurisdictions were also addressed. The trend for increased cooperation b e­ tween libraries across national boundaries was noted, especially the European Union support for cooperation. Theoretical research was also well represented, as well as the growing in­ terest in service level agreements and assess­ ment o f library network services. All told there were 46 papers presented, including five poster sessions. The subjects ranged from comparative measurements, is­ sues o f effectiveness, efficiency, management information, service quality assessment initia­ tives, case studies, performance measurement in an electronic library, the problems of mea­ surement in a networked and Web environ­ ment, and many others. The keynote papers succeeded in touch­ ing on most of the central issues affecting as­ sessment and measurement activities in librar­ ies and in the information field. There were five keynote speakers, each one interesting and stimulating. A re p e rfo rm a n ce m e a su re m e n ts e ffe c tiv e ? The first keynote paper, “Does Performance Measurement Improve Organizational Effec­ tiveness? A Post-modern analysis,” presented by Rowena Cullen from Victoria University in New Zealand, set the tone and the standard About the author A m o s Lakos is co o rd in ato r o f m anagem ent inform ation services at the University o f W aterloo Library; e-mail: aalakos@library.uwaterloo.ca C&RL News ■ A p ril 1998 1 251 for the conference. She asked the central ques­ tion of the conference— Do performance mea­ sures improve organizational effectiveness in libraries? After all the research, the data-gath- ering activities, the analysis undertaken and reported, are libraries more effective? She re­ viewed the more important library research on assessment published during the last five decades, noted the advances and achievements and also the shortcomings, and presented a new model or framework for future perfor­ mance measurement activities. She noted that recent work done by Altman and Pratt “re­ vealed a dramatic lack of correlation between inputs and outputs, between expenditure and performance.”2 Cullen proposed a new model of organizational effectiveness, based on a ty­ pology attributed to Kim Cameron.3 Cullen’s new model of organizational effectiveness used a focus/value/purpose matrix. Using this ma­ trix, some of her conclusions were: • Performance measurements are political activities, taking place both on a macro and a micro level. • How institutions act is dependent on their relative internal to external focus, the culture of the organization and the resolve they bring to their activities. • The profession seems to be reactive— dependent on rewards and incentives. • Performance measurements are multidi­ mensional in nature and each library will use the measurements that suit its social construct, its environment, and its goals. • Action, leadership, and initiative are needed. Service level a g re e m e n ts Malcolm Smith from the British Library pre­ sented another keynote paper titled “The Use of Service Level Agreements at the British Li­ brary.” Service Level Agreements (SLA) may be defined as a set of agreements between service provider and customer (internal or external), quantifying the minimum accept­ able service to the customer. This is a work­ ing “contract” that establishes the relationship between the provider of service and its cli­ ents. The paper discussed the effort under­ taken by the British Library to establish inter­ nal SLAs between its various departments as well as with external customers. The paper reviewed the reasons the British Library went in this direction and explored the benefits, the disadvantages, and the obstacles to implement­ ing SLAs. It concluded that SLAs are valuable tools for the achievement of a number of ob­ jectives, such as increasing the accountability of service providers, the creation of a customer oriented institutional culture, development of internal quality chain and development of better relations with customers. The conference ended with the keynote presentation by F. W. Lancaster, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, entitled “Evalu­ ating the Digital Library.” Lancaster described the anticipated digital library, emphasizing the important role librarians have to play in guar­ anteeing the relevance of the future library environment to the educational process. He focused on identifying a number of concerns, among them the changing clientele, the chang­ ing resource base, and the size of on-site col­ lections and diminishing acquisitions. He noted the importance of how access will be deliv­ ered in a hybrid environment. Other issues noted were the changing type of assessment activities and difficulties of proving benefits to clients. He raised the issue of change in professional front-line activities, which should be continuously assessed. He introduced the concern that technology forces, as well as enables, users to use less library services. In essence the library may be bypassed as an essential information service provider. The full conference proceedings were pub­ lished by Information North for the Depart­ ment of Information and Library Management at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle. A more detailed report of the conference is available on the Web at the following URL: http://library.uwaterloo.ca/~aalakos/North97/ norsum.html. N otes 1. P ro ceed in g s o f th e 1st N orthu m bria In ­ te r n a tio n a l C o n feren ce o n P e r fo r m a n c e M ea­ s u rem en t in L ibraries a n d In fo r m a tio n Ser­ vices, held at Longhirst Hall, Northumberland, England, August 31-Septem ber 4, 1995. Uni­ versity of Northumbria at Newcastle: Informa­ tion North, 1995. 2. A. C Pratt and E. Altman, “Live by num­ bers, die by the numbers,” L ibrary Jo u r n a l, (April 15, 1997), 48-49. 3. K. Cameron, “A Study of Organizational Effectiveness and Its Predictors,” M a n a g em en t Science, 32 (1986), 87-112. http://library.uwaterloo.ca/~aalakos/North97/ 252 / C&RL News ■ April 1998