This process is likely to be operational from mid-2001. In anticipation that the University of Sydney will be one of the first institutions audited, the Library will be reviewing its benchmarks and performance indicators. The University Librarian, John Shipp, was part of a project conducted in 1999 to identify the major benchmarks which would enable universities to assess their performances. These benchmarks are expected to form a basis for the Quality Audit. New Zealand universities have been subject to quality audits since 1994 and have developed considerable knowledge and expertise.
Universities undertake a self-audit which is subsequently reviewed by an external panel.
It is expected that the Australian process will operate on similar lines. The University Librarian has been invited to participate in a review of the University of Canterbury in October 2000. Other key objectives in 2001 will include continuing with the organisational restructure of the Library. The focus will be on Library-wide administrative and support functions and on the Humanities and Social Sciences Division. The first stages of the restructure, which dealt with the Health, Sciences and Technology Division and with technical services, will be largely complete by the end of this year.