The Bottom Line: Determining and Communicating the Value of the Special Library

(Paperback)

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Description

Facing budget and personnel cuts, special librarians increasingly need to justify the cost of library operationsoften even the library's existence. Expert Joseph Matthews illustrates how to evaluate library services and successfully communicate the library's value to upper management. Describing how value is added and how it can best be measured, Matthews explains different types of evaluations (models, implications, and methods) and a variety of measures (input, process, and output). He shows how a cost-benefit analysis and a library balanced scorecard, along with effective communication, can position the library as a value center rather than a cost center. A glossary, list of recommended reading, and an appendix (including a library benefits survey and a table of measures with respective definitions) make this the ultimate means of establishing the value of your libraryan essential guide no special librarian should be without!

Reviews

.,."an especially timely book. ...The book is laid out well, and its detailed table of contents and index are easy to use. ...I found this book to be very practical and easy to follow."-Business Information Alert, Alert Publications
...an especially timely book. ...The book is laid out well, and its detailed table of contents and index are easy to use. ...I found this book to be very practical and easy to follow.-Business Information Alert, Alert Publications
[a]ddress the common problem of how to convince corporate managers that the library is much more than an extraneous overhead expense.-C&RL News
[a]ddresses the common problem of how to convince corporate managers that the library is much more than an extraneous overhead expense.-C&RL News
[t]he "Rosetta Stone" of special librarianship....[t]his book seeks both to reveal how to measure and value libraru services and then, more importantly, to communicate this to management in a way that can be understood and appreciated....he Bottom Line: Determining and Communicating the Value of the Special Library will have broad appeal to the professtion, and not just to the special library sector. With all spheres facing a variety of pressures and challenges, the generic evalution, measurement and communication tools contained within offer something for all.-Library Management
"address the common problem of how to convince corporate managers that the library is much more than an extraneous overhead expense."-C&RL News
"addresses the common problem of how to convince corporate managers that the library is much more than an extraneous overhead expense."-C&RL News
"the "Rosetta Stone" of special librarianship....this book seeks both to reveal how to measure and value libraru services and then, more importantly, to communicate this to management in a way that can be understood and appreciated....he Bottom Line: Determining and Communicating the Value of the Special Library will have broad appeal to the professtion, and not just to the special library sector. With all spheres facing a variety of pressures and challenges, the generic evalution, measurement and communication tools contained within offer something for all."-Library Management
..."an especially timely book. ...The book is laid out well, and its detailed table of contents and index are easy to use. ...I found this book to be very practical and easy to follow."-Business Information Alert, Alert Publications
"[a]ddress the common problem of how to convince corporate managers that the library is much more than an extraneous overhead expense."-C&RL News
"[a]ddresses the common problem of how to convince corporate managers that the library is much more than an extraneous overhead expense."-C&RL News
"[t]he "Rosetta Stone" of special librarianship....[t]his book seeks both to reveal how to measure and value libraru services and then, more importantly, to communicate this to management in a way that can be understood and appreciated....he Bottom Line: Determining and Communicating the Value of the Special Library will have broad appeal to the professtion, and not just to the special library sector. With all spheres facing a variety of pressures and challenges, the generic evalution, measurement and communication tools contained within offer something for all."-Library Management

Author Bio

JOSEPH R. MATTHEWS is an internationally renowned expert on library automation and information systems and President of his consulting company, Matthews & Associates, Carlsbad, California.