Performance Indicators for Electronic Library Services

As the percentage of acquisition dollars devoted to electronic resources continues to rise so does the need to measure the effectiveness of electronic library services. Libraries are under pressure to leverage the investment in their electronic collections and make informed decisions about the management of those collections. With the availability of new and expanded means of accessing electronic information, measures of usage and client expectations are essential for gauging the library’s performance and guiding its strategies. Frameworks, standards and methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of electronic resource provision continue to develop. This paper updates a previous review1 of the recent work in this field, and critically re-examines one library’s experiences in devising and using performance measures for its electronic services