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ABSTRACT
INCREASINGLY, LIBRARIES ARE ASKED TO JUSTIFY then use of resources in terms of producing meaningful services and impacts to the users and the parent organizations. This study applied an analytical technique called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to calculate the relative technical efficiency of ninety-five academic research libraries that are members of the Association of Research Libraries. Instead of providing the average performance among libraries, DEA, with the proper model of library inputs and outputs, can reveal the best practices in the peer groups, as well as the technical efficiency score for each library. The technique was applied to the libraries using the 1996 and 1997 ARL annual statistics. The study also reviews the applications of DEA technique in the library environment.
INTRODUCTION
Researchers recognize two broad aspects of evaluating library performance: "effectiveness" and "efficiency." Effectiveness here means the extent to which library services meet the expectations or goals set by the organization. In the library field, there has been a growing desire to measure effectiveness in terms of impact of library services on their users.
The second aspect of library performance measurement, "efficiency," measures the library's ability to transform its inputs (resources) into production of outputs (services), or to produce a given level of outputs with the minimum amount of inputs. The efficiency aspect of library performance has received less attention in the library literature, but it is an immediate concern for decision-makers at the parent institution.
The success of the library, like that of other organizations, depends on its ability to behave both effectively and efficiently. We can put these two dimensions of library performance in a 2 by 2 matrix as shown in Figure 1.
Performance improvement requires constant and careful monitoring and assessment of library activities and operating environments. This, in turn, requires the development of proper measurement tools or devices. This study assesses the technical efficiency of academic research libraries that are members of the Association of Research Libraries using a complex tool called DEA. While the development of effectiveness is equally important, this study is focused solely on measuring library efficiency.
DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS
Overview
Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) measures the relative efficiencies of organizations with multiple inputs and multiple outputs (Charnes et al., 1978). The individual organizations,...