Measuring impact of a hospital library service.

Abstract

Being able to advocate for health library value and impact with local data is crucial to provide important indicators of service viability, staff engagement, as well as impact so these can be communicated effectively to management within organizations. As a part of its advocacy, continuous improvement and quality program, Ballarat Health Services Library, undertook a project, to understand its local impact on clinical decision-making, patient care, organizational governance, and staff education. Survey data demonstrated direct impact on modified clinical practice (65.57%); advice given to patients (43.44%); choice of medications (27.87%); diagnosis (22.13%); choice of tests (13.11%); and length of patient stay (12.30%). Perceptions of library impact were also high with 95.28% of respondents indicating impact on effective patient care. While service gaps were identified across advocacy and promotion of library services, the data from this study will inform strategic planning objectives and improve advocating the Library’s impact to management.