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Best Value and Better Performance in Libraries

Guidance materials to help managers of both public and schools library services, with underlying research¹ funded by the Library and Information Commission.

March 2000

1. How library service managers can get to grips with assessing the impact of services
   1. What is this all about?
   2. Where are you now?
   3. How do you currently measure your success as a service?
   4. Why move on?
   5. A Review process for Best Value
   6. How do we move forward?
2. Putting the model into action
   1. Implementing the model
   2. Overall purpose/mission
   3. Aims/objectives
   4. Finding impact and achievement indicators (or success criteria)
   5. Services that contribute to delivering aims
   6. Output/service performance indicators
   7. Processes that contribute to realising the aims/objectives
   8. Process/performance indicators
   9. Review your indicators
   10. Baseline data
   11. Targets
   12. Implement and monitor
3. ‘Getting out of the box’, choosing indicators and other issues
   1. Moving beyond traditional strengths
   2. Meeting the challenge to existing aims/objectives
   3. Understanding impact indicators
   4. Best Value revisited
   5. Some useful tools
   6. Is an objectives-focused approach to indicators and targets helpful in a Best Value context?
4. Readers’ Responses
   1. Robert Gent
5. Consultancy support from Library and Information Specialists
   1. Strategic advice for the Best Value process
   2. Particular strengths for the three areas of Best Value
   3. IMA and DHA consultants’ contact details

1. The Best Value and Better Performance in Libraries Project was conducted by a consortium led by Information Management Associates and also involving David Haynes Associates, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Wiltshire and Swindon Learning Resources. The project team consisted of David Streatfield, Sharon Markless and Ray Swan (IMA); Noeleen Cookman (DHA); David Herbert (Hammersmith) and Susan McCulloch (Wiltshire). ↩

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Content © Information Management Associates 2000-2009. Design © ConnectWorks Ltd. 2000-2009