The Library will need to experiment with different measures, to accumulate actual performance data and to set realistic targets for future performance. There are a number of different ways to measure the Library performance. Among the types most commonly used are inputs, outputs, outcomes, efficiencies, and quality measures. Each is designed to answer a different question and must often be used in combination to analyze the Library results. Inputs include labor, materials, equipment and supplies.
Inputs can also represent demand factors such as characteristics of target populations.
Input measures are useful in showing the total cost of providing a service, the mix of resources used to provide the service, the demand for services, and the amount of resources used for one service in relation to other services. Outputs focus on the level of activity in providing a particular service. Workload measures, which are designed to show how staff time will be allocated to respond to service demand, are most commonly reported. Outputs are useful in defining what aproject produces. However, they are limited because they do not indicate whether the project goals have been accomplished, nor do they reveal anything about the quality or efficiency of the service provided.