LARK

Another initiative of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council

Abstract Evidence Based Librarianship (EBL) seeks for and promotes the improvement of the librarian practice through the use of the best available evidence. Strongly used in medical contexts, Evidence Based Practice can be an important tool for the development of LIS, if practice is carefully thought and wisely combined with research and theoretical reflection. In order to achieve a state of equilibrium between theories and empirical studies, a qualitative method -action research- may be applied, as a dialogue between abstract ideas and the facts and signs provided by concrete experiences. Through action research, librarians can collect the evidence -using a series of qualitative tools- and use it for building theoretical knowledge in order to improve their work and their profession. From this viewpoint, after putting something into practice they will be able to know whether it worked as expected or not, make any change if it is necessary, and test the whole process again, searching more and new evidence. The method becomes a progressive helix that leads librarians to continuously evaluate their activities and services and improve them according of their final users' needs. Fitting these ideas in the general context of "Library 2.0" new LIS model and in the particular situation of Social Sciences libraries, the conference briefly introduces some basic ideas on how action research should be employed for collecting and using evidence in LIS.

A JISC initiative: 76 pages that discuss the importance of researching our audiences and how to go about it.

These have been developed by the UK Museums, Libraries and Archives Council - useful to consider when evaluating services

"EBLIP is an open access, peer reviewed journal published quarterly by the University of Alberta Learning Services and supported by an international team of editorial advisors. The purpose of the journal is to provide a forum for librarians and other information professionals to discover research that may contribute to decision making in professional practice. EBLIP publishes original research and commentary on the topic of evidence based library and information practice, as well as reviews of previously published research (evidence summaries) on a wide number of topics."

Abstract This article explores the nature of quality in action research practice. The origins and purposes of action research and its relation to social science methodology are reviewed. Action research is described in terms of four characteristic dimensions-worthwhile practical purposes, democracy and participation, many ways of knowing, and emergent developmental form-that present a broad range of criteria beyond those of the empirical research paradigm against which quality research might be judged. Recent debates concerning validity and quality in qualitative research are explored. It is argued that action research is characteristically full of choices, and the argument is made that quality in inquiry comes from awareness of and transparency about the choices available at each stage of the inquiry.

International Journal of Action Research, 2007, vol. 3, issue 1+2, pages 131 - 148 "AR is not just one more social science "method"; it is a fundamentally different way of conducting research and social change work together. Participation in AR is not just a moral value but essential to successful AR because the complexities of the problems addressed require the knowledge and experience of a broad and diverse array of stakeholders. I argue that there is no one ideal form of AR and that what is useful is situationally dependent which is also why AR cannot respect or operate within the disciplinary boundaries or departmental structures of academic. For these reasons, Morten Levin and I prefer to call our work "pragmatic AR". To complete the paper, I present two cases, one from industry and one from community development, to show how I practice pragmatic AR in context."

This is a link to a paper by Andrew Booth that really helped me when I was studying in my Masters. The paper suggests that the key of successful research is to have a clear and precise question - to know what you're looking for. He starts off with the quote: To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered (John Ruskin). It echoes what Suzana kept asking/saying when we were talking about surveys, and the questions we would ask students - that it all depends on why we wanted to know something.

ISO 11620:2008 specifies the requirements of a performance indicator for libraries and establishes a set of performance indicators to be used by libraries of all types. It also provides guidance on how to implement performance indicators in libraries where such performance indicators are not already in use. The list and descriptions of the performance indicators are also summarized.

5 myths of action research

Linda Baker, "Library Trends", vol. 55, no 1, Summer 2006

Lists useful sources

Overview and sources

This free encyclopedia written by experts may come handy when you want to consider how your users interact with technology.

A free application to create professional looking diagrams

Turns spreadsheets into maps

What is LibQUAL+®? LibQUAL+® is a suite of services that libraries use to solicit, track, understand, and act upon users' opinions of service quality. These services are offered to the library community by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). The program's centerpiece is a rigorously tested Web-based survey bundled with training that helps libraries assess and improve library services

Having used this for 5 years in Canada at McGill University, we found it an extremely useful tool for checking service delivery and making improvements.