Evaluating the intellectual assets in the Scholarship and Collections directorate at the British Library
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-10-2014-0121 |
| Pages | 215-222 |
| Published date | 09 March 2015 |
| Date | 09 March 2015 |
| Author | Alice E Schofield,Barbara Anne Sen,Ana C Vasconcelos |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries |
Evaluating the intellectual
assets in the Scholarship and
Collections directorate at the
British Library
Alice E. Schofield, Barbara Anne Sen and Ana C. Vasconcelos
Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the intellectual assets within the Scholarship and
Collections directorate at the British Library.
Design/methodology/approach –A phenomenographic approach is used gathering data via 25 in
depth interviews with directorate staff and stakeholders complemented by document analysis.
Findings –The findings identified issues specific to British Library such as the need for more clearly
definitions of key business areas, and untapped resources within the directorate.
Research limitations/implications –This study was limited to a single directorate within the
British Library. From the findings a balanced scorecard was developed for the directorate adaptable
for all departments within the directorate. The model could be adapted for other organisations.
Practical implications –The study illustrates the value of adaptable scorecards allowing individual
key performance indicators (KPIs) to be tailored to suit each department’s needs and ensure equal
representation. Using the model would allow for internal benchmarking to take place.
Originality/value –This research presents a scorecard model that allows intellectual assets to be
considered alongside traditional performance indicators and acknowledge the value of intellectual assets
within the organisation.
Keywords Phenomenography, Balanced scorecard, Key performance indicators, British Library,
Intellectual assets
Paper type Research paper
Intellectual assets in libraries
Intellectual assets (IAs) are assets that belong to an organisation, and benefit the
organisation, but are intangible and have no direct financial worth. For example,
the number of people employed by an organisation is a tangible asset which can be
measured. The knowledge and expertise those staff members possess is an intangible,
intellectual asset. Due to their intangible nature, they cannot be assessed using traditional
quantitative methods. Nevertheless, these assets need to be optimised in order for an
organisation to run as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Edvinsson and Malone (1997) divide intellectual assets into three key areas: human
assets, structural assets, and relational assets. Human assets refer to elements like staff
expertise and the quality of training, structural assets to the organisational infrastructure
and value added by intellectual property, and relational assets to the quality of the
relationships the organisation has with internal and external stakeholders. Corrall and
Sriborisutsakul (2010) add a fourth category specifically for libraries: collections
and services assets. This takes into consideration the value added by the ways
collections are used and the services offered by the library, and this category has been
incorporated into this investigation. Creating these categories allows for IAs to be
identified more easily, although it should be noted that some IAs can be applied to more
Library Management
Vol. 36 No. 3, 2015
pp. 215-222
©Emerald Group Publis hing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-10-2014-0121
Received 10 October 2014
Revised 10 October 2014
Accepted 13 October 2014
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
215
Intellectual
assets in the
S&C
directorate
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