Capturing the contribution of subject librarians

Implementation of strategic management based on the balanced scorecard in a university library

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of implementing strategic management as a process based on balanced scorecard (BSC) in the university library – G. Denysenko Scientific and Technical Library of the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” (KPI Library).

Design/methodology/approach

The author is regarding the features of all the strategic management implementation stages: strategic analysis, formulation of strategic ideas (vision, values and mission), the strategy definition and development, strategy implementation and realization, assessment and control of the strategy implementation. Special attention is focused on the comparison of the BSC model, which was used in KPI Library with classical BSC models for non-profit organizations developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton, and Paul Niven. The author is also focusing on preparation of the strategic map and identifying specific indicators.

Findings

BSC is adaptive, flexible and adjusts to the environment of each particular library and can be used as an effective tool for the development of a strategic management system in libraries.

Originality/value

The case study of the library of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute shows that a BSC is an effective tool for building a system of strategic management development aimed at radical organizational changes in the library. It is also a testing and practical implementation of some of the results of the study “Strategic Management of Library as a Process-Oriented Organization Based on a BSC,” which is conducted by the author.

The Value Scorecard

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the Value Scorecard framework for performance measurement and advocacy in academic and research libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a leadership perspective and an autoethnographic approach to develop and 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 methods to develop, deepen and implement the full description.

Findings

The Scorecard proposition is 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 relational capital assessment.

Research limitations/implications

The paper provides a new ontology for research libraries. Implementation has been undertaken in one case library, but the learning should be transferable to others and also potentially to other public sector or values-based organizations.

Practical implications

The Value Scorecard is shown to be applicable to organize measurement and assessment in research libraries for the demonstration and advocacy of a library’s value. It is hospitable to pre-existing data collection approaches.

Social implications

The Scorecard addresses 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 for performance measurement and advocacy in academic and 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 development to apply this learning.

Subject vs. functional: Should subject librarians be replaced by functional specialists in academic libraries?

This paper focuses on the move by some academic libraries to replace subject-based organisational structures with new functional structures, introducing functional specialists instead of subject librarians. It reports 11 in-depth semi-structured interviews with senior managers in UK libraries discussing their attitudes to this change. Key drivers for change included the desire to align the library more closely with institutional strategy and provide enhanced research support. However, there were also major concerns, particularly the loss of close relationships with academic departments. Little consensus emerged apart from agreement that this is a major current debate impacting significantly on the future positioning of libraries in their institutions.