Justify or die? - using contingent valuation of service provision in a UK public library

The public library service in the UK is currently under pressure to justify its existence. An Audit Commission report suggested that if current borrowing rates for libraries continue into the future, libraries would be effectively issuing no books by 2020. Recently the Coates Report asserted about book loans that, "in simple terms, if a service is without separate charge and the public decides not to use it, then the service is de facto without any value to these individuals". Yet Coates' simplistic notions of the services public libraries provide lies at the heart of the problem. Performance indicators based on book loans are unable to assess 'the totality of library effectiveness'. Conversely, qualitative analysis, interviewing users about service impact, shows that libraries 'promote social cohesion and community confidence'. However qualitative findings are by nature not quantitative and not comparable. To try to produce a measure for service quality, contingent valuation was chosen. It elicits economic value judgements from users on both services they use and services they do not use. A major independent study using contingent valuation was conducted by the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Strathclyde on East Renfrewshire Library Services, near Glasgow, which is recognised as an exemplary public library service. The study revealed the inability of contingent valuation to adequately assess the complex mix of services provided. The study concludes that an urgent rethink is required regarding measures for public library service evaluation

All roads lead to Rome: channelling inter-campus, interlibrary and off-campus requests through a single user interface

The message from remote library clients is clear and unequivocal - they want material quickly and easily. They would prefer not to have to differentiate between the three library services of intercampus, interlibrary, or off-campus requests - they just want a particular document or book forwarded to them as soon as possible. At the University of Southern Queensland Library, VDX software has been utilised to provide a single search and request interface for library material. Differentiating between individual clients,it displays and activates only those services for which a particular client is eligible. Remote undergraduates for example, have the ability to search and request from USQ catalogue only, while those students eligible for interlibrary loans can search and initiate requests across a range of catalogues. Whilst simplifying processes for clients, the challenge to Library staff has been to successfully manipulate the software and work processes to handle this complex arrangement. This paper will discuss the introduction of this new initiative focusing on the following issues: - Background - Client view - Dual services and associated challenges - Impact on staff - Improvements planned in the next six months - Marketing - Conclusio

La rentabilidad social del Marketing bibliotecario en la Biblioteca Pública de Cadreita (Navarra): análisis de la repercusión de las campañas de extensión bibliotecaria y promocionales sobre el uso de la biblioteca

Estudio de la incidencia de las campañas de extensión bibliotecaria y de marketing bibliotecario sobre las consultas en sala y los préstamos a domicilio en la Biblioteca pública de Cadreita (Navarra), entre 1996 y 2000.A study of the impact of the library extension and marketing campaigns on consultations within the library and on home loans at the Cadreita (Navarre) Public Library between 1996 and 2000

Interlibrary loans and document delivery service at the Library of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, or, How to set up a library service

Služba za međuknjižničnu posudbu Knjižnice Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu osnovana je u lipnju 2009. godine. Rad opisuje njezino ustrojavanje i kroz statističke podatke daje pregled prvih devetnaest mjeseci djelovanja, do kraja prosinca 2010. godine, tijekom kojih su uspostavljeni svi radni postupci i obrađeno više od tisuću zahtjeva. U radu se govori o značaju međuknjižnične posudbe i dostave dokumenata te načinima njezina djelovanja. Naznačeni su i poželjni smjerovi razvoja Službe u Knjižnici, ali i unutar hrvatske knjižničarske zajednice.Interlibrary Loans and Document Delivery Service at the Library of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb was founded in June 2009. The paper describes its founding and gives, through the statistical data, an insight into the first 19 months of the service (until December 2010). In this period all work processes were established and over a thousand requests processed. The paper deals with the general significance of the interlibrary loans and document delivery service and its modus operandi. It also emphasizes the desirable directions of development of the service within the Library, as well as within the whole Croatian library community

The technical efficiency of Public Libraries in the Czech Republic

The purpose of this article is to define and evaluate the development of the aggregated technical efficiency of public libraries in the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2014. To simulate technical efficiency, the Data Envelopment Analysis Model (The BCC model) was chosen. To evaluate the production units (the unit of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2014 and its production is given by the sum of real homogenous units, i.e. the public libraries operating in a given area and in a given time), two input variables (the recalculated number of employees and the library collection) and two output variables (the number of registered readers and the number of loans) were analysed. Two basic models were simulated – the M1 model oriented to inputs and the M2 model oriented to outputs. Correlation between the input and output variables was researched using Pearson’s coefficient. Within the range of the M1 and M2 basic models, partial models were simulated. All of the basic and partial models identically showed eight efficient periods of public libraries in the Czech Republic (1995, 1997, 1999–2000, 2002–2005). Public libraries were, according to the chosen variables, inefficient in the remaining 16 observed years

Judging a book by its cover: interface elements that affect reader selection of ebooks

Digital library research has demonstrated the impact of content presentation on both search and reading behaviours. In this paper, we scrutinise the influence of ebook presentation on user behaviour, focussing on document thumbnails and the first page view. We demonstrate that flaws in presentation increase the volume of short time-span reading, and reduce the likelihood of long-span reading when compared to other documents. This reflects other patterns of information seeking behaviour that demonstrate increased short-term reading when information content is uncertain, and suggests an ineffective use of reader time on less useful content

Library rules

Published between 1908 and 1951.Library hours -- Reference and reserved books -- Books for home use -- Dramatic arts collection of books -- Periodicals -- Book stacks -- Branch libraries -- Inter-library and out-of-town loans

Response to Conditions Abroad

published or submitted for publicatio

S.O.S –Supporting Other Students: the role of student library ambassadors at Southampton Solent University

Since March 2008, the library at Southampton Solent has been employing a team of students to act as ‘library ambassadors’. They provide alternative support to our users, particularly during periods when library staff are not on duty, such as during extended opening hours on bank holidays and late evenings. Ambassadors provide peer support covering library facilities and resources,as well as more technical issues (ICT, photocopying,binding). Overall they help to ensure that a high-quality learning environment is accessible throughout our full opening hour