The impact of the Balanced Scorecard in libraries: from performance measurement to strategic management

A literature review of the development of the Balanced Scorecard in libraries was used to develop a series of hypotheses on the main characteristics of its implementation, use and outcomes. These were tested via an electronic questionnaire sent to a sample of 49 academic, public and national libraries worldwide known to be using the Balanced Scorecard, with 15 respondents. The results show that the key driver for most was to improve library management; considerable support was needed in developing the framework; selecting the Key Performance Indicators was the most challenging implementation issue; and most felt they had benefited from using the Balanced Scorecard.