Performance measurement and evaluation of web-based library services

Many libraries nowadays spend a significant and increasing percentage of their budget on licensing electronic resources and on developing web-based services. To justify these expenditures and support strategic planning, libraries generally rely on system and vendor statistics. Beyond these rather simple and straightforward data, however, libraries are in need for robust measures to compare with other libraries, demonstrate trends and developments on a larger scale and help them shape their public perception as hybrid information services. Despite International and industry standards like COUNTER, ISO and NISO, national and statewide statistics lack from incomplete or inconsistent data on web-based library use. The presentation sets a framework to evaluate web-based library services, provides an overview of data collection and reporting practices in European libraries and discusses different approaches aiming at aggregate, consistent, and meaningful measures to measure the growing importance of libraries as web-based service providers.
 
Bio:
Prof. Sebastian Mundt is Professor for Media Management and Information Services at Stuttgart Media University and director of the Research Centre for Digital Media Transition. Previous work experience includes work as Head of Acquisitions, project manager and subject specialist in university libraries. Since 1999, he has been active in various national and international committees and working groups focusing on performance measurement, statistics and benchmarking in information services, including the ISO Committee for Library Statistics and Performance Evaluation and the IFLA Statistics and Evaluation Section.  He is dean at the Stuttgart Media University. This University covers a broad spectrum of media expertise: from printed media to electronic media, from mass media and media theory to media production, from media design to making media available. Prof. Mundt is specializing on Management and Research on User experience and evaluation of e-books for a learning environment.