Are we effective? How would we know? - Approaches to the evaluation of library services in Lithuania, Slovenia and the United Kingdom

摘要

Purpose - A comparison of methods for evaluating the performance of library services in three European countries - Lithuania, Slovenia and the United Kingdom - is given, with emphasis on developing trends and novel methods. Design/methodology/approach - The published and unpublished literature is analysed and evaluated, to bring out themes and comparisons. Findings - Common themes are identified, and suggestions made as to how the competences of the library profession can be improved, and practitioners supported, in embedding performance evaluation into a more evidence-based practice. Originality/value - This is the only paper to date making explicit international comparisons of evaluation of library services.