Abstract : This paper proposes a framework for assessing the technical efficiency of 118 university libraries from Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and the United States. The flexible non-parametric approach of data envelopment analysis has been chosen to analyse the performance differentials of university libraries. We also investigate whether the institutional settings affect the degree of library efficiency. The findings of the intercountry efficiency comparison revealed that almost one-third of the university libraries are technically efficient.

Abstract : Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Library, using a process improvement concept of benchmarking, compared its acquisitions and cataloguing, document delivery and research support services with those of the University of New South Wales Library. The paper discusses experience and outcomes from the point of view of the benchmarking proposer and the partner. The results were a catalyst for change in some areas at QUT.

Abstract : Customer satisfaction and service quality have so far been evaluated mostly from a local perspective although the quality element has been firmly established in academic library management for at least a decade. Critics of inter-institutional comparisons often object that different preconditions are not considered adequately.

Abstract : This paper discusses how the technique of benchmarking—comparing local practices with best practices—can make a restructuring program easier, more credible, and more effective. During the 1990s, librarians have shown increasing interest in mechanisms of organizational change such as benchmarking because higher education, as a whole, must either restructure to meet new challenges or stagnate. This chapter blends an account of benchmarking initiatives at Penn State Libraries with broader assessments of this approach to restructuring academic libraries.