The aim of this research was to investigate current issues faced by public library staff in rural South Australia and to examine some of the reasons why people choose to work in rural libraries. The study took a mixed methods approach, combining interviews and questionnaires to gain a fuller understanding of the issues and experiences of rural…

Discusses the use of the "Output Measures for Public Libraries" measurement method to compare public library performance based on a variety of statistics involving circulation, staffing, and library services. The need to consider the value that library services add to the community rather than relying on statistics alone is stressed.…

Discussion of the ability of library staff to completely and correctly answer reference questions focuses on a training program developed by Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL) to increase the accuracy of reference staff performance. Technical feedback skills and peer coaching are discussed, and the need for administrative support is…

This manual identifies a series of performance measurements which, when assessed in their totality, can effectively measure a public library's level of service to its users. The measures have been developed at two levels. On one level, the measures can broadly evaluate the overall performance of library systems on the national level; on a second,…