Markku Laitinen

A model for a library‐management toolbox

Purpose – Quality management, and its associated evidence‐based ideology, have influenced library management from at least the beginning of the 1990s. Both concepts emphasize that decisions have to be based on facts. Libraries have a long history of using statistics in data collection due to international agreements and standards. Although there is much data available in the libraries, perhaps this collected data have not been utilized as effectively as possible. This paper aims to discuss the possibilities of combining different types of statistical data in order to measure the efficiency of the work being done in libraries and what possible impact they can have in their parent organizations. It also aims to use the concept of data warehousing as a tool for joining different types of statistical data in the analysis.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a case study with statistical analysis of library data collected and a conceptual analysis of possibilities in the data warehousing of the library ...

Effects of the digitization to the printed collection policies: The digital knowledge economy and the Finnish academic libraries

Purpose The recent changes in the knowledge economy and scientific knowledge dissemination have put academic libraries in a new situation. The demand for open access of scientific publications and the increasing amount of documents published need a new paradigm in the collection policies and collection building strategies of the academic libraries. At the same time the resources allocated to the academic institutions have been decreasing which has caused the need to reallocate the resources in the collection building and management as effectively as possible. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how the use of data compiled from different sources, such as statistics and assessing user experience, as a tool for analysing the effectiveness of the library’s economic resources and how this has effected on the use of the libraries. Design/methodology/approach Statistical and trend analysis based on Finnish academic library collections database. Findings The Finnish academic libraries have made a rapid transition to the digital dissemination of documents. At the same time the national services have enabled the long-time preservation of less used printed materials and have enabled the libraries to save premise costs. Research limitations/implications Modeling the findings to other countries maybe difficult because of the specific characteristics of the Finnish academic environment. Practical implications Gives examples on managing the shift from a printed to a digital library. Originality/value Evidence based tools for collection cost management.