Collaborative assessment. North American academic libraries' experiences using the Balanced Scorecard to measure performance and show value
| Date | 20 July 2012 |
| Pages | 357-364 |
| Published date | 20 July 2012 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435121211266131 |
| Author | Elizabeth Mengel,Vivian Lewis |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Collaborative assessment
North American academic libraries’
experiences using the Balanced Scorecard to
measure performance and show value
Elizabeth Mengel
The Sheridan Libraries, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,
Maryland, USA, and
Vivian Lewis
Mills Memorial Library, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
Abstract
Purpose – While originally designed for the for-profit sector, the Balanced Scorecard has been
adopted by non-profit and government organizations, including some libraries. This paper aims to
focus on the continued experiences of two prominent North American research libraries, Johns
Hopkins University and McMaster University. These two libraries were part of an Association of
Research Libraries (ARL) pilot effort that included a total of four institutions, the two represented by
the authors, plus the University of Virginia and the University of Washington.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a combination of quantitative and qualitative
approaches. The quantitative aspects of the study are informal and theme-based. When examining
commonalities between Scorecards or overlap between Scorecard measures and the ARL statistics
program, matches are made based on broad themes regardless of the specific words used in the
formulae.
Findings – The participating libraries identified ten commonly measured “themes.” These themes
are defined as key areas of focus present in three out of the four local sites. Using the standardized
four-perspective Scorecard framework, these themes are as follows: the customer – quality of physical
space, customer satisfaction, instruction, document delivery, and collection preservation/discovery;
financial health – revenue generation; learning and growth – employee satisfaction and diversity;
internal processes – library promotion and assessment of services.
Originality/value – The article explores the question; can libraries improve their arsenal of
assessment tools by working alongside each other (as opposed to directly with each other) as they
implement local organizational performance measurement instruments?
Keywords Performancemeasurement (quality), Value, Collaboration, Balanced Scorecard
Paper type Research paper
Background
The Balanced Scorecard is a widely-accepted organizational performance model that
ties strategy to measurable results in four critical areas: finance, learning and growth,
customers, and internal processes. While originally designed for use in the for-profit
sector, the scorecard has been adopted by non-profit, government, and other
mission-based organizations including some academic libraries. This paper focuses on
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
This paper was originally presented at the 9th Northumbria International Conference on
Performance in Libraries and Information Services.
Collaborative
assessment
357
Received 4 May 2012
Accepted 15 June 2012
Library Management
Vol. 33 No. 6/7, 2012
pp. 357-364
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435121211266131
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