**Measuring and Communicating**

**the Value of Library and**

**Information Services**

![](media/image2.wmf)

######### NN/LM MidContinental Region

######### March 21, 2007

Abels EG, Cogdill KW, Zach L. Identifying and communicating the
contributions of library and information services in hospitals and
academic health sciences centers. J Med Libr Assoc. 2004
Jan;92(1):46-55.

Abels EG, Cogdill KW, Zach L. The contributions of library and
information services to hospitals and academic health sciences centers:
a preliminary taxonomy. J Med Libr Assoc. 2002 Jul;90(3):276-84.

**Contributions of Library and Information Services (CLIS) Approach:
Identifying and Communicating the**

**Value of Library and Information Services**

1.  Select appropriate organizational goals

2.  Identify LIS contributions relevant to organizational goals

3.  Obtain data on the correspondence between LIS contributions and LIS
    services

4.  Select measures for services

5.  Collect and analyze data for selected measures

6.  Plan and sustain communication with administrators

7.  Evaluate findings and revise selected goals, contributions, services
    and measures as necessary

**Service Measures for LIS**

-   **Output measures** can be represented by usage statistics and may
    include measures of use by specific user groups, intention of use,
    and location of use. Usage statistics are probably most meaningful
    when they provide insight into total usage by homogeneous groups of
    users. For example, clinical staff can be further subdivided into
    smaller groups: physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and allied health
    professionals. Another useful category of usage statistic is that of
    usage by intention. For example, a physician may use a particular
    LIS to formulate a diagnosis, manage a disease or stay informed of
    medical advances. A third dimension of usage is the location of the
    LIS user at the time of the usage. In general, LIS usage can be
    in-house (in the library) or remote. Remote usage could occur at the
    bedside, in the staff or resident lounge, in the waiting room,
    admissions area, nurses' station, physician's office, or a clinical
    unit such as the intensive care unit or the emergency room. Usage
    data collected at the time of use has greater validity than reports
    of use based on users' recollection of their behavior.

-   **Performance measures** may include turn-around time for a service
    as well as users' perceptions of value, satisfaction, and service
    quality. These measures can be used to monitor the quality of
    services that are associated with specific outputs, outcomes and
    impacts.

-   **Outcome measures** map usage to the outcomes of use for individual
    users. Outcome measures may include responses to survey questions
    about the results of LIS use on individuals' activities such as
    clinical decision making.

-   **Impact measures** document the results of LIS usage at the level
    of the organization. Examples of impact measures include graduation
    rates, school rankings and an institution's aggregated clinical
    data. Impact measures, although specific and quantifiable, may not
    be isolated as directly attributable to the services provided. Logic
    models document the assumption of relationships between services and
    impacts.

**Taxonomy of Library and Information Services (LIS) Contributions in
Hospitals and Academic Health Sciences Centers**

+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
| ###            | #          | **LIS Contribution**                  |
|                |            |                                       |
| ### **OR       | #          |                                       |
| GANIZATIONAL** |  Organizat |                                       |
|                | ional Goal |                                       |
| **MISSION      |            |                                       |
| CONCEPT**      |            |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
| **CLINICAL     | ***Provide |                                       |
| CARE**         | excellent  |                                       |
|                | clinical   |                                       |
|                | care***    |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Support informed and timely         |
|                |            | clinical decision-making.**           |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Support the development of policies |
|                |            | and procedures relating to clinical   |
|                |            | care.**                               |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                | #          |                                       |
|                |            |                                       |
|                | # *Promot  |                                       |
|                | e clinical |                                       |
|                |  learning* |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide new knowledge and           |
|                |            | substantiate prior knowledge about    |
|                |            | clinical practice.**                  |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Inform users about current          |
|                |            | developments in clinical practice.**  |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
| **MANAGEMENT   | ***Make    |                                       |
| OF             | sound      |                                       |
| OPERATIONS**   | management |                                       |
|                | de         |                                       |
|                | cisions*** |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Support informed and timely         |
|                |            | management decisions.**               |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                | *          |                                       |
|                | **Increase |                                       |
|                | profit     |                                       |
|                | ability*** |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide resources and services that |
|                |            | save organizational staff time.**     |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide resources and services that |
|                |            | increase organizational staff         |
|                |            | productivity.**                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide resources and services that |
|                |            | reduce organizational expenditures.** |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide resources and services that |
|                |            | lower costs of patient care.**        |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                | ***Meet    |                                       |
|                | acc        |                                       |
|                | reditation |                                       |
|                | st         |                                       |
|                | andards*** |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Maintain information required for   |
|                |            | responses to accrediting bodies       |
|                |            | (Liaison Committee on Medical         |
|                |            | Education, Accreditation Council for  |
|                |            | Graduate Medical Education, Joint     |
|                |            | Commission on Accreditation of        |
|                |            | Healthcare Organizations).**          |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Meet accreditation standards        |
|                |            | related to information management     |
|                |            | (Liaison Committee on Medical         |
|                |            | Education, Accreditation Council for  |
|                |            | Graduate Medical Education, Joint     |
|                |            | Commission on Accreditation of        |
|                |            | Healthcare Organizations).**          |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+

+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
| **OR           | #          | **LIS Contribution**                  |
| GANIZATIONAL** |            |                                       |
|                | #          |                                       |
| **MISSION      |  Organizat |                                       |
| CONCEPT**      | ional Goal |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                | ***Reduce  |                                       |
|                | corporate  |                                       |
|                | risk***    |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Disseminate information on best     |
|                |            | practices.**                          |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Increase corporate compliance**     |
|                |            | (assist in compliance with health     |
|                |            | care regulations and copyright        |
|                |            | restrictions).                        |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                | ***Provide |                                       |
|                | an         |                                       |
|                | orga       |                                       |
|                | nizational |                                       |
|                | learning   |                                       |
|                | envi       |                                       |
|                | ronment*** |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide leadership in information   |
|                |            | management for the organization.**    |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide information about           |
|                |            | developments in information           |
|                |            | technologies and resources.**         |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Support professional development of |
|                |            | staff.**                              |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide physical environment        |
|                |            | conducive to studying and learning.** |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                | ***Foster  |                                       |
|                | sa         |                                       |
|                | tisfaction |                                       |
|                | among      |                                       |
|                | current    |                                       |
|                | staff***   |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Support professional development of |
|                |            | staff.**                              |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide physical environment        |
|                |            | conducive to studying and learning.** |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Reduce frustration and stress       |
|                |            | attributed to information overload.** |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                | ***Foster  |                                       |
|                | ins        |                                       |
|                | titutional |                                       |
|                | attract    |                                       |
|                | iveness*** |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Enhance institutional               |
|                |            | attractiveness to prospective         |
|                |            | clinical staff.**                     |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Enhance institutional               |
|                |            | attractiveness to students.**         |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide physical environment        |
|                |            | conducive to studying and learning.** |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide easy and convenient access  |
|                |            | to information resources.**           |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+

+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
| **OR           | #          | **LIS Contribution**                  |
| GANIZATIONAL** |            |                                       |
|                | #          |                                       |
| **MISSION      |  Organizat |                                       |
| CONCEPT**      | ional Goal |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
| **EDUCATION**  | ***Provide |                                       |
|                | excellent  |                                       |
|                | e          |                                       |
|                | ducational |                                       |
|                | p          |                                       |
|                | rograms*** |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Enhance educational programs.**     |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Promote academic excellence.**      |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Promote satisfaction with quality   |
|                |            | of educational programs.**            |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                | ***Provide |                                       |
|                | resources  |                                       |
|                | and        |                                       |
|                | services   |                                       |
|                | necessary  |                                       |
|                | for        |                                       |
|                | teaching   |                                       |
|                | and        |                                       |
|                | l          |                                       |
|                | earning*** |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Support the identification of       |
|                |            | information resources to be used for  |
|                |            | instruction.**                        |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide easy and convenient access  |
|                |            | to information resources.**           |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide information about           |
|                |            | developments in information           |
|                |            | technologies and resources.**         |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Support preparation for licensing,  |
|                |            | certification and re-certification    |
|                |            | examinations.**                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
| **RESEARCH AND | ***Foster  |                                       |
| INNOVATION**   | r          |                                       |
|                | esearch*** |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Support research-related needs.**   |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide information necessary to    |
|                |            | prevent duplication of research       |
|                |            | efforts.**                            |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Participate on research grants.**   |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                | ***Adopt   |                                       |
|                | innovative |                                       |
|                | te         |                                       |
|                | chnologies |                                       |
|                | and        |                                       |
|                | pr         |                                       |
|                | actices*** |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Support development of innovative   |
|                |            | technologies and practices.**         |
|                |            |                                       |
|                |            | > []{.mark}                           |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Support the use of innovative       |
|                |            | technologies and practices*.***       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Disseminate information about       |
|                |            | developments in information           |
|                |            | technologies and resources.**         |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Provide leadership in information   |
|                |            | management for the organization.**    |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+

+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
| **OR           | #          | **LIS Contribution**                  |
| GANIZATIONAL** |            |                                       |
|                | #          |                                       |
| **MISSION      |  Organizat |                                       |
| CONCEPT**      | ional Goal |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
| **SERVICE**    | ***Improve |                                       |
|                | lives of   |                                       |
|                | patients   |                                       |
|                | and        |                                       |
|                | f          |                                       |
|                | amilies*** |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Support the education of patients   |
|                |            | and families about health-related     |
|                |            | issues.**                             |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Educate patients and families about |
|                |            | information resources and the         |
|                |            | evaluation of health information.**   |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                | ***Improve |                                       |
|                | lives of   |                                       |
|                | community  |                                       |
|                | members*** |                                       |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Support the education of community  |
|                |            | members about health-related          |
|                |            | issues.**                             |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+
|                |            | **Educate community members about     |
|                |            | information resources and the         |
|                |            | evaluation of information.**          |
+----------------+------------+---------------------------------------+