MEDIA RELEASE 2/95
"Australian University Libraries have a proud tradition of pursuing quality," said Alex Byrne, who coordinated the production of the just-released Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) performance indicator kits. The kits include manuals and software to facilitate data collection and benchmarking in three key areas of library service:
A. Client satisfaction
B. Document delivery
C. Availability of sought materials
The aim of each kit is to:
Mr Byrne, Chief Librarian at the Northern Territory University, added "In their standardised approach, the kits build on decades of systematic data collection by university libraries and provide practical tools for quality management, best practice and benchmarking."
Each is designed to integrate with libraries' present record keeping systems. It is a tool that libraries can pick up and use immediately.
Indicator A is a library/clientele congruence measure which indicates the alignment between a library's services and the needs of its clients.
Indicator B is a quality measure which may be applied to interlibrary loans sought for clients, interlibrary loans supplied to other libraries, book supplier performance, reservation of items already out on loan, etc. It focusses on the turnaround time from the initial request by the client to the notification that the document is available.
Indicator C measures the proportion of wanted items obtainable at the time of visit to the Library.
Media contacts:
Alex Byrne
Chief Librarian Northern Territory University Tel: 089 46 6192 Fax: 089 45 1317 Email: alex@library.ntu.edu.auDiane Costello
Executive Officer CAUL Tel: 06 249 2990 Fax: 06 248 8571 Email: diane.costello@anu.edu.au