A Comparative Appraisal of Operational Efficiency in US Research-Libraries: A DEA Approach

Abstract

Proper performance measurement is an important issue in library operational management. A data envelopment analysis (DEA) model is applied to evaluate the relative operational efficiency of 25 U.S. private research-university library members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Operations of each library decision-making unit are considered as a production process using four resource input and four service output variables. The model results are analyzed and compared with the efficient group and a peer group by using a t-test. The model provides decision-makers with more accurate information to implement better library services with appropriate resource allocation.