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Measures of the library’s productivity assess whether the library is achieving the goals and objectives of its chosen missions. This paper illustrates the concept of placing performance measures within a marketing frame of reference that builds upon the main goal of satisfying user needs. Marketing mandates that all products or services must be developed based upon knowledge of the characteristics of the potential user market, and diverse environmental forces that affect service offerings. The satisfaction of user needs can in part be calculated by the ratio of service output to input, which provides critical data to use in adjusting the library’s marketing strategy, i.e. the library’s products and services, the price or cost of these to the user, where these will be delivered, and how the library’s products and services are communicated to the user. An example, utilizing the general information services department, illustrates a marketing strategy built upon performance measures.

Aims to provide the reasons why cartographic and spatial information have become increasingly important in different library settings.

Presents very clear insights about the reasons cartographic and spatial information have become increasingly important and valuable in many different library settings.

Less intimidating than in the past, with better tools available to help libraries serve users with online maps, data, and cartographic information this article focuses on how the Public Library Geographic Database can provide a range of utility. Not often is the public library included as a source of GIS, but the ease of use supports this direction well and offers a new service point with www.GeoLib.org Originality/value – This paper is useful for information management professionals who seek greater understanding of geographic information systems in information management work.

A category of humanities public programming which forms a unique type of “readers' advisory” service has developed in the United States in the past 20 years. Encouraged by funding provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, readers' discussion groups have grown in number and variety in the 1980s. This article reviews the history of humanities public programming, explores the nature of the readers' discussion groups, and examines the effectiveness and impact of these programs.

This article seeks to demonstrate a technique for using a Geographic Information System (GIS) to analyze US Census data to better understand potential library users and improve library service planning.

A GIS was used to link variables such as age, race, income, and education from the 2000 US Census with service area maps of two proposed branch libraries. Thematic maps were created for each of the census variables to display demographic information about potential library users within a three‐mile radius of the proposed libraries.

The GIS maps and their associated attribute data enhanced the ability to analyze and compare the demographics of potential users in the two library areas and identify significant differences. The data on age, race, education and income for residents in the two areas were combined with known library use indicators to help plan library services with the potential to attract different populations in the local community.

Provides practical information about downloading US Census data into a GIS to be able to present demographic data about potential library users both visually and quantitatively.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between different aspects of public library use with elements of economic growth and development.

Statistical correlations were performed to uncover statistically significant relationships.

Relationships are not uniform: strongly positive relationships exist between education and visits, circulation and library programmes, savings and visits and circulation and programmes, and a strongly negative relationship exists between health and circulation.

Only one proxy variable for each of the economic development indicators was used, including the fact that others might have revealed other information.

The revealed relationships should be kept in mind by librarians and policymakers as decisions to change library services that might trickle down to citizens through economic growth and development.

This paper brings together a variety of economic growth and development factors and several aspects of public library use in a single framework.

The purpose of this paper is to present a public university’s design and implementation of an assessment approach that measures the change in undergraduate students’ environmental stewardship reasoning and knowledge abilities over time.

In support of a university’s strategic emphasis on environmental stewardship, members of a university committee developed environmental stewardship learning outcomes for undergraduate students. The learning outcomes were not required in specific academic courses or in general education. Subsequently, volunteers from a variety of roles, in cooperation with committee members, developed a corresponding assessment test that focused on reasoning and knowledge. The instrument was revised between Spring 2011 and Spring 2014, and its validity was evaluated. An exploratory analysis of student learning over time was conducted using 22 items shared by different test forms.

A series of implementations and revisions resulted in a 50-question test, the Environmental Stewardship Reasoning and Knowledge Assessment (ESRKA), which showed good reliability (0.83). A comparative analysis provided evidence of the validity of the instrument. Results from a small sample of students showed that second-year students generally performed better on the 22 items than incoming first-year students. Those taking the assessment as second-year students, 18 months after their initial assessment, scored significantly higher on the 22 items by about 10.4 percentage points (0.61 standard deviation units, t₆₈ = 6.23, p < 0.0001).

Because of the small sample size and revision of the items, the analysis of student learning is only exploratory.

The learning outcomes and validated assessment instrument may be used either in whole or part by other institutions. The approach to measure changes in students’ environmental stewardship reasoning and knowledge abilities as cohorts over time could assist universities in tracking environmental stewardship learning and could inform strategic implementation of learning opportunities through the curriculum, as well as through other student learning experiences.