The Culture of Evaluation in Library and Information Services

Summary: This is a practical book written from the point of view of the practitioner, rather than the researcher. It presents current and recent work in the subject area in a way relevant to practitioners, researchers and students. It includes practical examples of survey and research work and discusses honestly the practical difficulties involved. Aimed at an international audience, examples of good practice are drawn from a number of countries across the world. The book also discusses the relevance of survey and evaluation in related areas and the impact of customer care strategies, performance indicators and service level agreements on the culture of evaluation. Key Features: 1. Is an up to date review/summary of activity in the subject area 2. Provides international comparisons of library and information service evaluation activity 3. Provides practical/real life research and survey data useful to practitioners and academics which they can apply in their own situations 4. Helps library and information science students write coursework and prepare for examinations 5.Presents evaluation and survey work from a practitioner's point of view The Author: Dr John Crawford is Library Research Officer at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland where he is also University copyright adviser. He has authored some 50 articles and papers. Readership: The book is aimed at: library and information managers at senior and intermediate levels; staff and students in departments of library and information management; practitioners, academics and researchers worldwide Contents: Overview of the history of evaluation in library and information services Reasons for factors in evaluation How survey and evaluation work is done General satisfaction survey instruments Parallel culture of evaluation in higher education Current and recent research in evaluation of library and information services The evaluation of electronic information services The challenge of information literacy