Performance Evaluation of University Libraries

In order to develop an individual or institution with limited resources, it is essential to evaluate its performance. For this purpose Cost effectiveness analysis is seen as the desirable method as it provides the highest level of performance consistent with the given level of expenditure and resource consumption. In this Context the author of the Book Dr. M. Suriya has applied an appropriate technique to derive suitable suggestions for improvement in the performance of University libraries. In pure Economics cost efficiency is measured either using average cost (costper Unit of output) or Marginal cost (additional cost per unit of output) and in a library, it is measured as cost incurred on the services in the major functional units of the library namely; Acquisition Unit, Technical Unit and Service Unit. It is highly interesting to observe the cost Components in tune with the main aspects of acquisition unit such as allocation, adequacy and collection development. In the case of technical unit, the inputs are the Budget provision, the availability of personnel and the returns which are tested for efficiency of the amount spent within the available infrastructure. The activities of the service unit are administered for their assessment by taking into accounts the cost factors and service factors. The book is remarkable for the application of appropriate statistical techniques such as `t` test, Multiple Regression Model, and Simple Linear Regression Model. This book will be a useful guide for the administrators of libraries and the students of Library and Information Science to get A Clear Picture of the Variables that can be used for measuring the performance of any library and information system.