Trying to Measure Success: A Mid-size Academic Library Grapples with Assessing a Popular Tablet Loan Project

Authors

  • Stephen Bollinger
  • Nina Exner
  • Octavious Spruill

Abstract

Chapter 2 of Library Technology Reports (vol. 51, no. 7), “Mobile Devices: Service with Intention,” describes F. D. Bluford Library’s iPad loan pilot, which began in December 2010. The library provided twenty iPads for circulation to students to investigate tablets’ suitability for coursework and entertainment. Assessment focused on staff time supporting the project. Measures included tracking labor per circulation and analyzing borrower support incidents. With the success of the yearlong pilot, it was expanded to thirty third-generation iPads for student circulation, followed by ten fourth-generation iPads for faculty and staff circulation with new supporting technology deployed. A cost-benefit analysis revealed that upgraded supporting technology allowed program expansion at existing staffing levels and resulted in lower labor costs per circulation. Second phase assessment included user surveys and census of apps installed by borrowers to yield insights into the value of the program. Finally, recent equipment losses, the first in the history of the program, prompted the use of Kaplan and Norton’s Balanced Scorecard evaluation documented in this case study.[*]



[*] Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, “The Balanced Scorecard: Measures That Drive Performance,” Harvard Business Review 70, no. 1 (January–February 1992): 71–79.

 

Author Biographies

Stephen Bollinger

Stephen Bollinger is currently the head of library systems and assistant professor at the F. D. Bluford Library, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. He received a bachelor of arts degree in graphic design and American history from Michigan State University and a master of science in information from the School of Information at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has worked as an Internet consultant for Steelcase, Borders Group, and General Motors as well as having over ten years’ experience in library information technology. His research interests include how mobile technologies complement higher education and technological support for student and faculty researchers.

Nina Exner

Nina Exner is a librarian/associate professor at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and a PhD student at the University of North Carolina’s School of Information and Library Science. She received her MLS in 1996 from North Carolina Central University and an MA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her research interests include librarians’ publication behaviors and researcher development. Her professional interests focus on reference support and information literacy at the postgraduate level and liaison work with new and emerging researchers.

Octavious Spruill

Octavious Spruill is the head of access services and facilities at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s F. D. Bluford Library. His credentials include a BS in public health education, an MLS degree from North Carolina Central University, and an associate’s degree in computer information systems from Durham Technical Community College. His research interests revolve around library space planning, evolving library policies and procedures, library safety, and crime prevention.

References

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, A&T Preeminence 2020: Embracing Our Past, Creating Our Future: Strategic Plan 2011–2020 (Greensboro: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, 2011), www.ncat.edu/about/forms-pdf/strategicplan-preeminence2020.pdf.

Gavin Lawrie and Ian Cobbold, Development of the 3rd Generation Balanced Scorecard: Evolution of the Balanced Scorecard into an Effective Strategic Performance Management Tool, 2GC Working Paper (Berkshire, UK: 2GC Limited, May 2002), http://2gc.eu/files/resources/2GC-WP-Dev3rdGenBSC-090311.pdf.

Mike Perkins, Anna Grey, and Helge Remmers, “What Do We Really Mean by ‘Balanced Scorecard’?” International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management 63, no. 2 (2014): 148–69.

Hanne Nørreklit, Lennart Nørreklit, Falconer Mitchell, and Trond Bjørnenak, “The Rise of the Balanced Scorecard! Relevance Regained?” Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change 8, no. 4 (2012): 490–510, doi:10.1108/18325911211273491.

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, A&T Preeminence 2020.

F. D. Bluford Library, “Library Strategic Plan,” (internal document, 10 April 2012), 2.

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, A&T Preeminence 2020, 8.

F. D. Bluford Library, “Library Strategic Plan,” (internal document, 10 April 2012), 3–4.

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, A&T Preeminence 2020, 6, 8.

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Published

2015-10-16

Issue

Vol. 51 No. 7 (2015): October

Section

Chapters