En rättvisande bild av biblioteken? Problem och möjligheter kring folkbibliotekens verksamhetsberättelser
(1998)Division of ALM and Digital Cultures
- Abstract
- The purpose of this master´s thesis was to investigate the role and function of the annual reports of public libraries: for what purpose are they put together and how are they evaluated and utilised. The study presents different views on the structure and content of library annual reports. Focusing on a specific public library and its municipal administration, the authors identify and describe problems and possibilities regarding the library annual reports. The study also provides a general view of their occurrence, their addressees and the importance attached to them.
In a review of current literature on accounting and activity reports the authors place the annual reports of public libraries in a wider context. The study also presents... (More) - The purpose of this master´s thesis was to investigate the role and function of the annual reports of public libraries: for what purpose are they put together and how are they evaluated and utilised. The study presents different views on the structure and content of library annual reports. Focusing on a specific public library and its municipal administration, the authors identify and describe problems and possibilities regarding the library annual reports. The study also provides a general view of their occurrence, their addressees and the importance attached to them.
In a review of current literature on accounting and activity reports the authors place the annual reports of public libraries in a wider context. The study also presents two current models of performance measurement - the Intangible Assets Monitor and the Balanced Scorecard - which were developed in the private sector, and the authors discuss their relevance when applied to public libraries.
Data were collected both in interviews and by means of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to 137 Swedish public libraries. The results of the survey show that many public libraries have reduced their efforts on the annual report, and almost 30% have ceased producing those reports altogether. The reason for this is often lack of time. Some respondents feel that the usefulness of an annual report does not quite correlate with the resources demanded to put it together. The study of the specific library shows that today the annual report is primarily a document for internal use. This is partly due to a mounting uncertainty with regard to the purpose and addressee of the report. The municipal administration uses the library annual report as a source of information but it does not appear to affect planning or decision-making.
The authors conclude that the libraries must consider presenting annual reports that more accurately reflect and adequately analyse their fields of activity, their multiple functions and their intangible assets in order to maintain, and possibly improve, the position of public libraries. This study shows that several of the ideas presented in the Intangible Assets Monitor and the Balanced Scorecard models are both suitable and possible to apply to public libraries. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1334197
- author
- Chantre, Anna and Holmqvist, Magnus
- supervisor
- organization
- year
- 1998
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- årsredovisningar, verksamhetsberättelser, folkbibliotek, Documentation, information, library science, archivistics, Arkiv- och bibliotekskunskap, dokumentation
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 1334197
- date added to LUP
- 1998-01-19 00:00:00
- date last changed
- 2014-04-11 14:17:05
@misc{1334197,
abstract = {{The purpose of this master´s thesis was to investigate the role and function of the annual reports of public libraries: for what purpose are they put together and how are they evaluated and utilised. The study presents different views on the structure and content of library annual reports. Focusing on a specific public library and its municipal administration, the authors identify and describe problems and possibilities regarding the library annual reports. The study also provides a general view of their occurrence, their addressees and the importance attached to them.
In a review of current literature on accounting and activity reports the authors place the annual reports of public libraries in a wider context. The study also presents two current models of performance measurement - the Intangible Assets Monitor and the Balanced Scorecard - which were developed in the private sector, and the authors discuss their relevance when applied to public libraries.
Data were collected both in interviews and by means of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to 137 Swedish public libraries. The results of the survey show that many public libraries have reduced their efforts on the annual report, and almost 30% have ceased producing those reports altogether. The reason for this is often lack of time. Some respondents feel that the usefulness of an annual report does not quite correlate with the resources demanded to put it together. The study of the specific library shows that today the annual report is primarily a document for internal use. This is partly due to a mounting uncertainty with regard to the purpose and addressee of the report. The municipal administration uses the library annual report as a source of information but it does not appear to affect planning or decision-making.
The authors conclude that the libraries must consider presenting annual reports that more accurately reflect and adequately analyse their fields of activity, their multiple functions and their intangible assets in order to maintain, and possibly improve, the position of public libraries. This study shows that several of the ideas presented in the Intangible Assets Monitor and the Balanced Scorecard models are both suitable and possible to apply to public libraries.}},
author = {{Chantre, Anna and Holmqvist, Magnus}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{En rättvisande bild av biblioteken? Problem och möjligheter kring folkbibliotekens verksamhetsberättelser}},
year = {{1998}},
}