Abstract
I would like to begin this paper by explaining briefly what I do at the Library and Information Statistics Unit because I think it is important to make it clear where I stand before I get involved in the meat of my paper. LISU is funded by the British Library Research and Development Department and it is my job to collect, collate and analyse library statistics so as to help practising librarians. In my work I try to be neutral and objective. This means that I sometimes come up with figures that people would rather not know about. Practically all librarians these days plead poverty and many of them seem to l i e to be told how badly off they are. If I come up with figures that show that their financial position is improving they don't seem to be made happy by that news and I get black looks. Well, so be it. Trying to get at what you believe to be the truth does not always increase your popularity and even in universities, which are supposedly devoted to the search for truth, the emissary carrying the wrong news is, as in days of old, rather in danger of his life.
Highlights
In these days of questioning the effectiveness, economy and efficiency of libraries we are being required more and more to justify our actions and our expenditure of massive amounts of public money
I would like to begin this paper by explaining briefly what I do at the Library and Information Statistics Unit because I think it is important to make it clear where I stand before I get involved in the meat of my paper
Trying to get at what you believe to be the truth does not always increase your popularity and even in universities, which are supposedly devoted to the search for truth, the emissary carrying the wrong news is, as in days of old, rather in danger of his life. Like it or not we are in a numbers game and performance indicators are being used, albeit at times rather crudely as yet, and performance is being measured, which means the use of statistics
Summary
In these days of questioning the effectiveness, economy and efficiency of libraries (and of universities themselves) we are being required more and more to justify our actions and our expenditure of massive amounts of public money. Peter H Mann is Director, Libray and Information Statistics Unit, Loughborough University over a period of time - for anything from an individual library to the country as a whole.
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