Benchmarking, annual library plans and best value: the implications for public libraries
| Date | 01 October 2000 |
| Published date | 01 October 2000 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120010338766 |
| Pages | 340-348 |
| Author | Leo Favret |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Benchmarking, annual
library plans and best
value: the implications
for public libraries
Leo Favret
Introduction
Management is about change, and maintaining a
high rate of change (Sir John Harvey-Jones,
Making it Happen.)
Public libraries in the UK are now subject to
three planning regimes:
(1) annual library plans;
(2) best value;
(3) local cultural strategies.
Each of these regimes includes benchmarking
or monitoring elements. In fact,
benchmarking is at the heart of best value
reviews.
This paper considers the implications of
annual library plans, best value and
benchmarking for public libraries. It is not
intended to be a step-by-step guide to the
benchmarking process. However, a list of
benchmarking clubs is appended to this paper
and some practical guides to benchmarking
are listed in the references. It focuses on:
.the distinction between benchmarks and
process benchmarking;
.the development of benchmarking in the
private and public sectors;
.annual library plans and best value;
.the implications of the best value process
for public libraries.
Benchmarks and process benchmarking
At the outset a distinction needs to be made
between benchmarks and the benchmarking
process that will become important when
considering the best value regime. A
benchmark is:
a fixed point that you can measure yourself
against, such as a local target or national
standard (Foot, 1998).
There have been a number of definitions of
benchmarking. Foot (1998), in her guide for
the Inter-Authorities Group, describes it as:
a process of measuring your service's processes
and performance and systematically comparing
them to the performance of others in order to
seek best practice.
Similarly, the Audit Commission (1995)
defines benchmarking as:
the process of comparing procedures and
performance levels between and within
organisations in order to identify where
improvement is possible, how it might be
achieved and how much benefit it might deliver.
The author
Leo Favret is Library Operations Manager, Bromley
Libraries and Arts, Bromley, UK.
Keywords
Public libraries, Benchmarking, Strategic planning,
Performance indicators, United Kingdom
Abstract
Discusses the implications of activity in the UK which has
resulted in the preparation of library plans, and the
introduction of best value and benchmarking for public
libraries. It provides a review of the distinction between
benchmarks and process benchmarking; the development
of benchmarking in the private and public sectors; annual
library plans and best value, and the implications of the
best value process for public libraries.
Electronic access
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340
Library Management
Volume 21 .Number 7 .2000 .pp. 340±348
#MCB University Press .ISSN 0143-5124
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