Library comparison

BIX - The Library Index

Library benchmarks and the BIX library index have helped Germany's libraries refocus their activities by emphasizing the use of effective management tools and the importance of customer service. The initial activities carried out as part of this project were designed to generate cross-library comparisons and focused on optimizing in-house structures and financial accountability. A number of indicators and key reference data were developed and tested so they could serve as input for management decision-making processes. In trying to secure resources, an area that has been a challenge for public institutions for more than a decade, libraries need streamlined tools for generating clear, accurate information. In addition, when meeting with policymakers and government administrators, library managers must be in a position to discuss service provision in addition to the financial considerations that impact staffing levels and media budgets. Library administrators must continually justify their operations, since the services they provide and the needs they meet are still not widely accepted as an integral part of local-level infrastructures.         

Comparing how different libraries operate

The Bertelsmann Stiftung has long carried out projects designed to compare the operations of local-level institutions. Reinhard Mohn's idea of making community organizations and activities more competitive by introducing performance benchmarks was put into practice in the early 1990s -- in major cultural initiatives as well as in individual institutions such as libraries. The simultaneous introduction of new management models in local government agencies proved a boon to many of these efforts, since such models emphasize transparency as the basis for optimizing community services and recognize the importance of using competitive benchmarking to accelerate learning curves and improve performance. Both sides -- libraries and public administrators -- have thus come to rely on comparative observations as a key input.

One of the first projects of this nature was Betriebsvergleich an Öffentlichen Bibliotheken (Operational Benchmarking of Public Libraries), carried out between 1992 and 1996 at 18 libraries of various sizes located in a number of states. The project tested a series of indicators and developed a reporting system which was then used in later Bertelsmann Stiftung projects. In 1997, a follow-on project was carried out together with the public agencies responsible for promoting library development. As part of the project work, 78 institutions from across the country were grouped into 12 cohorts in order to benchmark local conditions and develop services.

The BIX library index

In light of the needs that community libraries must meet, the BIX library index was initially developed in 1999 by drawing on the experiences gained during the prior benchmarking processes. Working together with the German Library Association and supported by the infas social research institute, the Bertelsmann Stiftung set out to develop a system that would illustrate clearly and accurately the services any given library is providing.

In addition to documenting their offerings and analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, libraries now also use the BIX index to support their marketing activities. The ranking results can be deployed both for internal and external communications purposes -- regardless of whether the findings are positive or negative. Experience has shown that voluntary inclusion in a ranking or benchmarking process is seen as positive, since it communicates that the participating institution has embraced current methods of critical self-examination. Improving a library's image is then possible through communications aimed at a specific target group, i.e., patrons, employees, sponsors or policymakers.   

BIX for research libraries

This is true not only for public libraries, but for university libraries as well, since they must increasingly justify their activities given recent changes in the country's higher-education system, which now emphasizes accountability. As a result, research institutions are also confronted with altered financial structures and increased costs resulting from a host of factors, including new communications formats and electronic services. In an additional BIX project segment, knowledge gained from public libraries at the regional, national and international levels was then developed for application to research institutions.

The political and social environments in which research libraries currently operate require highly transparent tools for quantifying and analyzing library performance, as a precursor to promoting constructive dialogue among library staff, university officials and policymakers. In addition, new tools are also required to help universities and other higher-education institutions market themselves and their services within the new system of accountability-related factors.

Benchmarking

It is not merely a question of altering the perception most people have of libraries -- both public and research institutions must fundamentally change how they operate. Benchmarks with peer institutions, increased expertise resulting from the introduction of business management tools, a self-critical analysis of their own performance and the securing of resources from their sponsors -- by carrying out these activities, libraries must not only develop their professional skills, they must inevitably optimize the services and processes they provide for community members and students.     

As planned, the BIX project was turned over to the German Library Association in 2005. BIX is now administered by a number of partners, including the Library Competence Network, the University Library Center in Cologne, the magazine B.I.T.online and infas.