Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training

Guidelines for the Application of Best Practice in Australian University Libraries

Executive Summary

The project 'Best Practice for Australian University Libraries' has investigated current 'best practice' activities within Australian academic libraries and compared these with those in selected overseas countries. Within the context of this report, 'best practice activities' are considered to encompass the implementation of quality frameworks, and the use of benchmarking and performance measurement as tools for the continuous improvement of products, processes and services. Staff competencies required for the effective application of these frameworks and tools were also investigated.

Through a combination of surveys, site visits and an extensive review of Australian and overseas literature on the topic, the project team has been able to evaluate the extent of implementation of quality frameworks in Australian academic libraries, and the degree and range of use of quality management tools such as benchmarking and performance measurement.

Information for the report was gathered from a number of sources, which included:

an extensive review of the published literature on the topics of quality / best practice, benchmarking and performance measurement;
findings from three surveys conducted on the aforementioned topics;
site visits to institutions identified through the survey responses as having best practice frameworks in place; and
site visits to overseas academic libraries in the United Kingdom, United States of America and Europe in 1998 as part of an earlier and separate exercise undertaken by one of the project team from the University of New South Wales Library.

The survey population included all Australian (38) and New Zealand university libraries (6), and the major Australian non academic research libraries (State Libraries, National Library of Australia, CSIRO).

The project identifies a number of strategies for the pursuit of quality / best practice in Australian academic libraries, through a review of the literature, discussion of the survey findings and the inclusion of Australian and overseas case studies. Evaluation of currently available methodologies for library benchmarking, academic library performance indicators, the applicability of quality management principles to academic library management, and the application and usefulness of library staff competencies have also been addressed.

To enhance the practical value of the project, guidelines for the application of best practice will be developed in the form of a practical manual which Australian academic libraries can use to assist them in implementing 'best practice' initiatives. A number of recommendations, formulated as a result of this investigation, are referred to the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL), DETYA and the Australian higher education community.

Full copy of Report

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