Describes recent trends in evaluation of adult reference service. (JB)

Reviews progress toward evaluation of particular forms of adult services within libraries, of total adult service programs, and of the status of adult services within public librarianship at the state and national levels. (JB)

Existing evaluative studies are reviewed. Concluding recommendations suggest a community-based evaluation, certain priorities and inclusions, and underline the need for developing criteria for measuring the quality of children's services in public libraries and evaluating program impact. (JB)

In an electronic era, the evaluation of reference and related information services should still be based on the same principles used to evaluate traditional face-to-face reference services and printed reference tools. Traditional research methods can be utilized very effectively in an electronic environment. However, electronic technologies offer…

Examines the concept of service quality in libraries. Highlights include assessment; service quality versus user satisfaction; measuring service quality, including SERVQUAL; planning; experiences at Texas A& M University in cooperation with ARL (Association of Research Libraries) that resulted in LibQUAL+; and conceptual issues. (Contains 54…

Libraries have failed to use marketing for three reasons: (1) a misunderstanding that equates marketing with publicity; (2) a lack of understanding of what marketing is; and (3) disagreement about the role of the client. Societal-marketing tries to balance patron demands with long-term societal needs in evaluating product excellence. (AEF)

This examination of the criteria used in the evaluation of library literacy programs reviews the relevant literature, discusses several evaluation models that have already been used in literacy projects, and outlines a proposed evaluation model. (EM)

This study applied an analytical technique called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to calculate the relative technical efficiency of 95 academic research libraries, all members of the Association of Research Libraries. DEA, with the proper model of library inputs and outputs, can reveal best practices in the peer groups, as well as the technical…

The recent demand for more accountability from public libraries has made it essential that true cost-benefit analysis be applied to their operations. The authors developed a cost-benefit analysis methodology and applied it to five large public library systems. This article describes ongoing research to modify their methodologies to make them…

Addresses importance of online databases as part of library reference collection and focuses on bibliographic databases (ready reference, print versus online migration, bibliographic utilities); selection/evaluation of online databases (vendor selection, individual databases); full-text databases; numeric databases; end-user searching; and use of…

Identifies research topics related to outcomes assessment in a networked environment and discusses issues affecting these topics. Proposes a framework to relate traditional evaluation components and terminology to the networked environment and identifies factors in the networked environment that affect assessment methods. Suggests outcomes…

Discusses the challenges facing digital library evaluation and suggests a conceptual framework for evaluation derived from the systems approach. A review of evaluation efforts in research and practice concentrates on derivation of criteria used in evaluation. Essential requirements for evaluation are stated. Discussed are constructs, context, and…

Discusses methods used at the University of Washington libraries to assess user needs, satisfaction, and library performance. Describes the triennial user surveys used in the past as well as the new ARL's (Association of Research Libraries) LibQUAL+ methodology that focused on quality of service and library support through a Web-based survey.…

Reviews a variety of techniques for evaluating management in libraries. (JB)