The aim of this master’s thesis is to examine how managers in some public libraries are using performance measurements and to what extent decision making is based on the results. The main questions posed are:•What performance measurements and indicators are used in the libraries examined?•What is the attitude towards performance measurements among library managers?•How and to what extent are performance measurements and indicators used in the process of decision making?•What improvement would library managers wish regarding the development of performance measurements in public libraries?The theory is based on a model of evaluation of the public sector in addition to general steps of evaluation of quality and performance measurement results. The investigation is based on qualitative interviews with seven managers of public libraries in Sweden. The analysis has shown that even though the managers consider performance measurements important, they find them problematic to apply. Setting clearly definable goals is difficult. The mission of the library consists of a number of goals that have to be adhered to. Major goals are often vague. Favouring one goal might mean neglecting another. Relevant measures cannot be applied without defined goals, and without measures quality and performance assessment becomes impossible. Consequently, abstract goals have to be split and transformed into manageable goals, and the goals transformed into measurable ones. The measures used by the managers in this study could largely be categorized as measures of input and output, but no measure of outcome is used. To assess to what extent the library contributes to user need and community goals, outcome measurements could be an important and useful tool. / Uppsatsnivå: D
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hb-18831 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Bodelsson, Cecilia, Jacobsson, Catarina |
| Publisher | Högskolan i Borås, Institutionen Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap / Bibliotekshögskolan, Högskolan i Borås, Institutionen Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap / Bibliotekshögskolan, University of Borås/Swedish School of Library and Information Science (SSLIS) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Magisteruppsats i biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap vid institutionen Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap, 1654-0247 ; 2008:35 |
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