The Value Scorecard
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-10-2017-0098 |
| Pages | 25-38 |
| Date | 08 January 2018 |
| Published date | 08 January 2018 |
| Author | Stephen Town |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
The Value Scorecard
Stephen Town
University of York, York, UK
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to describe the Value Scorecard framework for performance
measurementand advocacy in academic and research libraries.
Design/methodology/approach –The study used a leadership perspectiveand an autoethnographic
approach to developand test the theory and practice of value measurement in a case study research library.A
constructivist approach was taken for developing the framework, followed by quantitative and qualitative
methodsto develop,deepen and implement the full description.
Findings –The Scorecard propositionis summarized as previously elaborated in five papers, covering the
overall framework and its implementation and more detailed theory and practice from the case library on
human and relationalcapital assessment.
Research limitations/implications –The paper provides a new ontology for research libraries.
Implementationhas been undertaken in one case library, but the learning should be transferableto others and
also potentiallyto other public sector or values-based organizations.
Practical implications –The Value Scorecard is shown to be applicableto organize measurement and
assessment in research libraries forthe demonstration and advocacy of a library’s value. It is hospitable to
pre-existingdata collection approaches.
Social implications –The Scorecardaddresses the need to prove the social value and worth of libraries.
Originality/value –The Value Scorecard is a unique and unifying contribution to the frameworks and
methods forperformance measurement and advocacy in academicand research libraries. The study covers 10
years of research work to understand the concept of value in libraries, as well as 8 years of organizational
developmentto apply this learning.
Keywords Performance, Measurement, Advocacy, Value, Libraries, Organizations, Scorecards
Paper type Research paper
Aim
[...] the value of a [library] service must ultimately be judged in terms of the beneficial effects
accruing from its use (Orr, 1973, p. 318).
In other words, libraries producean effect beyond immediate use transactions. For academic
and research library leaders the summit of library performance measurement is the
provision of evidencethat allows that ultimate judgement of value to be formed.The context
of that judgement willtherefore be beyond the immediate frame of reference of the library:
Academic libraries are in transition away from serving principally as collection builders and
content providers, where size is a metric of success. Many leaders see a future where they will be
valued for the contributions they make in support of instruction and learning, and in the case of
research universities, in support of research, including their distinctive collections [...][but] fewer
library directors now say they agree with their direct supervisor about the direction in which to
take the library (Schonfeld, 2017).
This contemporary restatement of the difficultyin advocating library value and strategy in
a manner that persuades higher university leaders indicates that Orr’s requirement is not
yet fulfilled. Thispaper describes research and its application in an academiclibrary context
over eight years in understanding and defining library value, and developing and
Value
Scorecard
25
Received9 October 2017
Revised9 October 2017
Accepted19 October 2017
Informationand Learning Science
Vol.119 No. 1/2, 2018
pp. 25-38
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-10-2017-0098
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