Changes in library

standards
Statistics and evaluation as mirror of
library innovations

Dr. Roswitha Poll

Chair of ISO TC 46 SC 8: Quality statistics
and performance evaluation
LIDA 2012

ISO standards for

quantity and quality
in libraries

ISO Technical
committee 46:

Information and
documentation

Subcommittee 8: Quality, statistics and

performance evaluation

WG 2: International library statistics

ISO/DIS 2789 (2012) International library statistics,5th edition
To be published 2013
WG 4: Performance indicators for libraries
ISO 11620 (2008) Library performance indicators, 2nd edition
Revision since 2010

WG 7: Quality measures for national libraries

ISO TR 28118 (2009) Performance indicators for national libraries

ISO standards for

quantity and quality
in libraries

ISO Technical
committee 46:

Information and
documentation

Subcommittee 8: Quality - statistics and

performance evaluation

WG 8: Statistical data for library buildings

ISO TR 11219 Qualitative conditions and basic statistics for
library buildings
Published May 2012

WG 9: Statistics and quality issues for web archiving

ISO TR 14783 Statistics and quality issues for web archiving
to be published 2013
WG 10: Methods and procedures for assessing the impact
of libraries
ISO 16439 Methods and procedures for assessing the impact of
libraries
to be published 2013

ISO 2789 International library statistics

1st edition 1974

2nd edition 1991

Library statistics are

more and more shortdated

3rd edition 2003

4th edition 2006
5th edition: revision started March 2010;
1st voting positive with comments;
DIS is going to voting now

ISO 2789 counts

Users
(number of registered or active users, types of users)

Use of traditional and electronic services

(physical and virtual visits, loans and ILL, accesses and
downloads, reference questions, etc.)
Collections (all formats)
(volumes, microforms, databases, e-serials, ebooks ,etc.)
Facilities
(space, equipment, opening hours)

Staff
(number and types of staff, staff training)
Income and expenditure
(sources of income; expenditure on resources, services or staff)

ISO 2789: Reasons for the revision

Neglected topics
Preservation
Digitisation
Legal deposit
National bibliography

From ISO TR 28118

Performance measures
for national libraries

ISO 2789: Reasons for the revision

Neglected topics
Cooperation
(projects, long-term cooperation)
Institutional repositories
(documents, usage)
Promotion of library services
(reports in the media)
Library research
(research papers by library staff)

ISO 2789: New topics

New library services on the Internet

Library-hosted interactive services
(blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc.)

Libraries participation in social networks

Core datasets:
- number of accesses (visits) to the librarys account
- number of downloads of documents
Optional counts:
- number of subscribers (e.g. fans/followers)
- number of posts or new entries within the librarys
account

ISO 2789: New topics

The librarys services for mobile devices

Examples of services formatted for mobile devices:
(websites, catalogues, teaching lessons, library
tours)
Datasets:
Number of services
Number of accesses (visits)

ISO 2789: New topics

Services for target populations with special
needs
Target populations with special needs are parts
of a library's population with needs that require
special library services.

Examples
physical and health impairment
economic disadvantages (e. g. long-term
unemployment)
cultural differences (e. g. non-native speakers,
new arrivals)

ISO 2789: New topics

Services for target populations with special
needs
Services provided for such groups:
special collections

special events
long-term services (e. g. media transports for housebound persons)

Data to collect:
For special collections: Count loans or downloads
For special events: Count attendances
For long-term services: Count cases of usage

ISO 2789: Costs for the new services

How much staff time is needed for

cooperative projects
organisation of events
digitization of analogue materials
services for mobile devices
services in social networks
library evaluation

Time-logging in
sample times

ISO 11620: Performance indicators for libraries

ISO 11620, 2nd ed. (2008), Library performance
indicators (45 indicators)
Indicators for
Adequacy of the resources
- user places per capita

Adequacy of the collections

- collection use rate

The quality of processes

- shelving accuracy

The attractiveness of library services

- attandances at events per capita

Cost-efficieny
- Cost per use

ISO 11620: Revision

Outdated indicators (7):
Public access workstations per capita
Workstation use rate
Percentage of information requests submitted
electronically
Subject catalogue search success rate
Reasons:
WLAN in the library
Users bring own computers or other devices
Electronic requests have become normal
Searching goes other ways

ISO 11620: Revision

New topics for performance indicators (10)
preserving the librarys rare collections
- Percentage of storage space which has an appropriate
environment
- Percentage of the rare collection in stable condition

digitizing the librarys collections

- Number of documents digitized per 1,000 documents in the
collection

cooperation and partnerships of libraries

- Percentage of staff in cooperative partnerships and projects

building institutional repositories

- Percentage of the owner institutions publications in the
institutional repository

ISO 11620: Revision

No indicators as yet for
1. Library services in social networks
2. Services for mobile devices
3. Services for target groups with special needs
But the existing indicators can partly be used for
topic 3:
Collection turnover (the special collection for the
special group)
Percentage of the target population reached

ISO 16439 Methods and procedures for assessing

the impact of libraries
What is seen as impact of libraries?
Impact on individuals
changes in attitudes and behaviour
changes in skills and competences
higher success in research, study, or profession
individual well-being
Social impact
social inclusion (e.g. of elderly people or immigrants)
social cohesion (e.g. intercultural and intergenerational
Can we
understanding)
free access to information
education and life-long learning
local culture and community identity
high awareness of health and environmental issues

prove that?

ISO 16439 Methods and procedures for assessing

the impact of libraries
Inferred evidence of impact: Using
the data we have
1. Statistics

Example: Increase in attendants of training

lessons

2.

Performance indicators
Example: Higher market penetration in a target
group

3.

Results of user satisfaction surveys

(perceived quality of library services)

Example: High satisfaction with reference

service
The data must be

validated by other
methods

ISO 16439 Methods and procedures for assessing

the impact of libraries
Solicited evidence of impact: asking
users
surveys (in-house, telephone, mail, online)
street surveys
interviews
focus groups
self-assessment of users
collected anecdotal evidence
(the story behind the data)

The results must be

quantified for
showing patterns
of impact

ISO 16439 Methods and procedures for assessing

the impact of libraries
Observed evidence of impact: the
objective data
observation (open or covert, participant or nonparticipant)
log analysis
tests for ascertaining an increase of skills and
competences (e. g. before and after user training)

Most projects combine

2 or more methods

ISO 16439 Methods and procedures for assessing

the impact of libraries
Economic impact: showing ROI
Can we express the librarys impact in money?
Calculation of market prices
Time spent on library services (calculated as prices)
Contingent valuation
willingness-to-pay:

willingness to accept:

What would users pay for the

maintenance of a service?
Which sum would users accept as
equivalent for the deletion of a service?

ISO/TR 11219: 2012 Qualitative conditions and

basic statistics for library buildings Space,
function and design
1.

reliable data for calculating space requirements

- for housing the collections

- for adequate user areas
- for background areas of the library administration

2.

support in technical aspects

- security and safety systems
- floor loading

- transport systems
- acoustic conditions
- lighting systems and wiring

ISO/TR 11219: 2012 Qualitative conditions and

basic statistics for library buildings Space,
function and design
New issues for library buildings

adaptation to new technologies and forms of communication

space for the librarys new role as teaching library
accessibility for handicapped users
sustainable library design
areas for recreation and communication
areas for events

A place for quiet study and learning,

a lively point for meeting and communication

ISO/TR 14873: Statistics and quality issues for web

archiving
Statistics for web archiving
the volume and growth of a web archive by number of documents
and by size
the use of the archive (number of visits, pages viewed, unique
visitors)
the costs of building the archive
Quality indicators

the coverage and currency of the web archive

accessibility and use of the archive
the adequacy of preservation activities
the cost-efficiency of the archiving processes

New activities, new services in libraries

New and enlarged services

interactive services
participation in social networks
services formatted for mobile devices
services for target populations with special needs
teaching activities
long-term preservation
digitization
institutional repositories
web archiving

New concepts for the building

the library as place for meeting and communication
sustainable design

New aims and methods of evaluation

proving influence and value
showing cost-efficiency and ROI

To change
and to improve
are two different things