Introduction

Gann and Pratt (2013) observes the need for knowledge and library services to identify ways to evaluate themselves and ensure current measures have meaning for those outside the library world and in the context of an organisation’s mission and objectives.

Strategic direction is important for library services. Strategy outlines the aims, vision and intentions of the service, providing an outline of work to be undertaken. For stakeholders, customers and others outside the library team, the strategy provides a reference point to understand what the library service is aiming to achieve and assures senior colleagues that the library’s goals are aligned to and support those of the wider organisation. The strategy also serves as a reminder for those working in the service of high level goals, which can easily be forgotten due to the focus on day-to-day operational tasks.

However, there is a danger that strategies can become ‘shelf-ware’ – documents that are produced every few years but which have little day-today influence on the library service. To help ensure that the strategy becomes a reality, it is important to establish processes that turn these strategic plans into actions. This can be achieved with implementation plans with SMART targets (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Relevant, Time Bound) (see also Chapter 2). High level strategic plans can be broken down into more manageable objectives, each with specific actions attached, against which progress can be more easily tracked.

Health Education England’s national Knowledge for Healthcare strategy was first launched in 2014 (Health Education England, 2014) and refreshed in 2021 (Health Education England, 2021a). The strategy was implemented using workstreams and task and finish groups made up of both the Health Education England knowledge and library team and volunteers from healthcare knowledge and library services in England. A range of measures and frameworks were employed to monitor progress against the aims and objectives within the strategy.

This chapter outlines Health Education England’s and healthcare library partners’ approaches to measuring progress, value and impact in relation to the development and improvement of knowledge and library services in England.

Metrics

As with all situations where organisations and services have aims and objectives, or goals they are trying to achieve, it is important to have some means of monitoring progress towards attaining those goals. This enables services to celebrate success where objectives have been achieved and to renew efforts and try different approaches where progress is slower.