This book provides an analytical overview of key issues affecting the effectiveness of state library activities and services. If offers specific suggestions, recommendations and strategies by which future challenges related to state librarianship can be faced successfully.

Evaluation, which is a critical component of the planning process, assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of library programs and services in the context of stated goals and objectives. This book views evaluation as a type of research study in which evaluators collect either research or management data. Chapters discuss steps of the evaluation process and provide practical examples of the application of these steps to specific library problems. The overall objectives of the volume are to introduce readers to the relationship between planning and evaluation; to discuss the components of...