An Evaluation of the Benefits and Value of Libraries provides guidance on how to evaluate libraries and contains many useful examples of methods that can be used throughout this process. There is substantial focus on the importance of goals and objectives, along with advice on strategies that can be used in the case of libraries that may not be well resourced for conducting surveys. The text will be useful as a handbook, and does not assume prior knowledge of finance or economics. A guide on how to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on library services and a discussion on how to use scenario analysis and the persona method is provided, as are examples of customer surveys, for users and non-users alike.

Author Biography

Viveca Nystroem is a consultant, and former manager of a special library in Gothenburg, Sweden. Viveca is also co-writer of a book about Records Management, which is vital reading for academic courses for archivists in Sweden. Linnea Sjoegren is a librarian at Chalmers Library, at the Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. She is also Project Manager of Library24, a search tool for library services. She is former Project Manager of Ask the Library in Sweden. Linnea is also a teacher and speaks regularly on issues concerning education 2.0.