Deriving a Quality Assurance Toolkit from the Outcomes of Information Use.

A vital aspect of performance measurement is the assurance that the service provided by the library or information service is valued by the users. Profiles of information use can help in the analysis of performance at a more detailed level than is normally practiced. The quality assurance toolkit described in this paper was designed to facilitate performance improvement for medical staff users of library and information services. The main sections of the toolkit cover assessment of user needs, information service provision, and focus on service outcomes. Each section follows a similar pattern: nature of evidence sought; supporting research evidence; and data required. Checklists of questions help identify the evidence that should be gathered, and toolkit users are directed to appropriate survey tools. The quality assurance toolkit is a set of guidelines and methods to help information professionals find evidence for the effectiveness, impact, and value of their service, and to use that evidence to find ways to improve the service. The evidence and targets in the toolkit relate to library service in the medical field, but many of the questions and methods can be adapted for any library and information service which serves distinct user groups and where benefits of use need to be assessed. (SWC)