The strategic evaluation of academic libraries
| Pages | 409-421 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830710820989 |
| Date | 11 September 2007 |
| Published date | 11 September 2007 |
| Author | Juha Kettunen |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
OTHER ARTICLE
The strategic evaluation
of academic libraries
Juha Kettunen
Turku University of Applied Sciences, Turku, Finland
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to analyse the network strategies of academic libraries and
presents an approach to the evaluation of strategic plans and their implementation.
Design/methodology/approach – The balanced scorecard approach is used as a framework for
organisations to communicate and implement their strategic plans.
Findings – It is shown in this study that the balanced scorecard also provides a general framework
for the evaluation of the strategy and performance from different perspectives.
Practical implications – The concept of the strategy map is used to illustrate the objectives of the
strategic plans of the consortium of libraries.
Originality/value – This study contributes to the knowledge and practice of the strategic planning
of libraries. The findings of the study are useful for those who seek to achieve cost-efficiency with the
increased and networked cooperation of libraries.
Keywords Networking,Digital libraries, Higher education, Strategic planning, Balancedscorecard
Paper type Case study
Introduction
Strategic planning has an important role in academic libraries (Adeyoyin, 2005;
Huotari and Iivonen, 2005; Decker and Ho
¨ppner, 2006). The libraries have developed
networked cooperation to develop their activities. The cooperation has lead to the
planning of network strategic plans to guide the future cooperation of the network. The
network strategy is different from the strategy of a single organisation, because there
is no single organisation which owns the strategy or is responsible to implement and
evaluate it. The network strategy aims to achieve strategic objectives that cannot be
achieved by any single library alone.
High degree of autonomy and professional discretion are characteristics of
universities (O’Neil et al., 1999). The autonomy of universities has increased and the
self-management has become increasingly important. These characteristics, on the other
hand, emphasise the accountability of universities. They are increasingly accountable
for results and face growing expectations, which underline the need for a rational
framework to evaluate institutional strategic plans and performance. This stu dy
analyses the evaluation of the strategic plans and performance of academic libraries.
Each strategic plan has particular merits that are related to the external
environment, internal processes and structures, financial resources and human
capabilities. Strategic evaluation is used to judge these merits and the implementation
of the strategy. The evaluation of strategic plans requires a framework and sensible
judgements on different strategic objectives weighted against each other. The var ious
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Strategic
evaluation of
libraries
409
Received 14 February 2007
Revised 18 April 2007
Accepted 12 May 2007
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 25 No. 3, 2007
pp. 409-421
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/07378830710820989
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