Providing a successful library service relies on the ability to offer an appealing and demand-driven collection. To achieve this, your collection management and collection development strategies must be evidence based and measurable to facilitate continuous improvements to the service you deliver. The process of collection performance measurement can be divided into 3 key steps: defining KPIs, introducing a performance monitoring tool, and taking appropriate action.
Step 1: Define KPIs
Key Performance Indicators or KPIs are “quantifiable” attributes that can be used to monitor success of your library’s collection development strategy. By choosing measurable KPIs, you can define clear and tangible objectives for your library to evaluate how it is performing as a service. Taking action and making improvements based on these KPIs will in turn improve customer satisfaction. KPI examples to consider:
- Number of overused items that are worn or “grubby” in appearance
- Quantity of dormant or “dead” items that are not in demand
- Percentage of Non-Fiction collection that is overstocked and understocked
- Percentage of collection that is Dead on Arrival or DOA -material added to your library collection over a 12 month period, which subsequently does not achieve more than one circulation.
- Find more examples of KPIs at www.collectionhq.com/ebsm
Step 2: Introduce method to monitor
Once you have established a list of KPIs, it’s time to introduce a method by which to monitor performance. Good performance monitoring requires the ability to view results both at a high and granular level using data that has been collated over time to reveal trends. collectionHQ provides a customizable Dashboard of charts and graphs that allows you to review:
- Collection Use
- Summaries of Dead and Grubby Items
- Circulation and Turnover
- DOA
- Scheduled Tasks
- Task performance by individual users
Step 3: Take Action
Once you have selected the KPIs you wish to measure and the right to tool monitor the performance, it’s now time to take action. Sharing performance results regularly with multiple staff members supports the Action stage by offering justification for what can be perceived as the more mundane collection management tasks. Equally, distribution of collection statistics helps to create a shared goal among staff by dispelling myths and assumptions about your collection performance through hard statistics.
Measures can be taken to ensure that Action stage becomes more efficient and less labor intensive over time, including:
- Schedule regular reminders to check performance and take appropriate action.
- Involve all staff in use of an evidence-based toolset to make continuous and performance based improvements.
- Share results with your team to encourage shared responsibility.
To find out more, click here to request a free demo of collectionHQ.