Measuring the Difference: Guide to Planning and Evaluating Health Information Outreach.

According to the principal author, this book is a result of a defined goal of the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Outreach to underserved populations is a stated objective of NLM, but, like most government programs, it requires an evaluation process to determine if the program is sufficiently successful to warrant continuation. The problem centers on the difficulty of evaluation. No single guide existed, and success was complicated by the inability to separate evaluation from the planning process. How can one know when one has arrived, if one does not know where one is going? The preface states that “the guide would be practical in purpose, theory-based, and offer a range of methodological possibilities and strategies that can be adapted to the most simple or complex of outreach projects.” The NLM and the Pacific Northwest Regional Medical Library worked together to produce what they called a “field manual” that could be used by anyone doing an outreach project, regardless of how simple or how complicated. The introduction states that evaluation is not only essential to the planning process and the execution of a plan, but also forms a necessary part of each step. The book is organized clearly and logically. The introductory chapter gives a quick review of the six stages of planning and evaluating outreach, whether a complete institutional program, an individual audience, a specific project, or even a phase of an ongoing program. The next six chapters discuss the stages, with each organized by a chart reminding readers of the previous stage, a quick bulleted list of the major steps in the new stage, and a clear discussion including how the evaluation process is part of the stage. Any discussions that cover multiple ideas also usually appear in a figure, list, chart, or some other graphic that can be used as a quick reference. There is a tool kit for each chapter with references, suggested readings, and ideas for forms that readers can adapt for specific projects. Each chapter ends with how the presented information can be applied to a hypothetical library as an example. The last third of the book consists of appendixes, organized according to the stages; samples that can be adapted for outreach projects, such as questions for surveys, goals, and objectives; questionnaires; and outcomes measuring tools. Finally, there is an extensive bibliography and a very useful and complete index. The choice of subtitle, “Guide to Planning and Evaluating Health Information Outreach,” implies that the principles discussed in the book are limited to health information. In reality, the planning and evaluating tips are applicable to almost any situation where one is in charge of a group (of any size) that will conduct several similar projects (on any subject) with the goal of benefiting some other group. Whereas outreach itself is not limited to health information, or indeed, to information generally, neither are the presented planning and evaluation stages. The principal author's goal of presenting a field manual for all outreach librarians is totally accomplished. A single copy can be obtained free from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Northwest Region. It is also available in portable document format (PDF) at nnlm.gov/evaluation/.