ICML 9

9º Congresso Mundial de Informação em Saúde e Bibliotecas

Salvador, Bahia - Brasil, 20 a 23 de setembro de 2005

BVS4

4ª Reunião de Coordenação Regional da BVS

19 e 20 de setembro de 2005

Performance Indicators: a pilot study in FIOCRUZ health and biomedical libraries

Participantes:

Performance Indicators: a pilot study in FIOCRUZ health and biomedical libraries

The 21st century has brought to libraries huge challenges and opportunities. As it moves into the so called information age, the mission and role of the library is being redefined. While the amount of information libraries need to acquire is increasing, the resources available to do so are insufficient. Information has become more complex and expansive, and users expect timely access to quality information. And administrators need further assess the relationship between the library and the other business unit costs, as they fight for limited resources.
So, library planning is essential in order to maximise available resources and take advantage of emerging technologies. The academic library should develop a planning process that will support it as it continues to engage in innovation and the development of organisational, technical, policy, and financial structures needed to adapt to this new environment.One of the most valuable strategies for planning, starting from a explicit mission, is library performance measurement. Since 1960 , specially in UK and USA, the interest in performance measurement has been intense and a variety of studies have been published in the specialised literature. In 1990, the International Standard Organisation – ISO published a standardised methodology for compilation of library performance indicators - ISO 11620. The reasons for a standardised methodology are clear: there have been various library performance manuals guiding the use of widely-varying sets of indicators, and although the manuals contained similarly-named indicators, their different methodologies do not allow cross-comparison. This is also the Brazilian library’s  picture.
Aware of the role played by its libraries in developing health and biomedical sciences in Brazil, the Centre of Scientific and Technological Information – Cict/FIOCRUZ has took the first step for ISO 11620 by testing, adapting and implementing a methodological approach by means of a project which was launched in 2004. The big challenge is the search for designing a methodology suitable to be used by three Cict’s libraries of which one has its own singularity.
This paper relates the first steps of this experience and its collaborative approach. Funders, managers and library staff know that this project is crucial in generating an attitude of confidence in both users and library staff, in order to contribute to the improvement of the delivery of good value for money and quality services.