Benchmarking: A Powerful Management Tool

摘要

BENCHMARKING CAN BE USED REACTIVELY, PROACTIVELY OR STRATEGICALLY TO HELP INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS POSITION THEIR LIBRARIES FOR GREATER SUCCESS. In today's tough economy, libraries are under increasing pressure to deliver value while holding down orreducing costs. All too often, librarians find themselves in the position of either justifying their budgets or figuring out where to make cuts with minimal damage to services and resources. In either situation, one of the most effective management toolslibrarians can utilize is benchmarking. Benchmarking enables information professionals to measure and compare the cost efficiency and overall effectiveness of their library against libraries serving their competitors or peers. For higher performers in benchmarking studies, the results can be used to demonstrate the library's value to senior management; for lower performers, the results can be used to identify gaps and make needed improvements to bring the library back into line.