STUDYING THE VALUE OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION-SERVICES - A TAXONOMY OF USERS ASSESSMENTS

This paper is derived from a large study sponsored by the Council on L ibrary Resources. The objectives were to: (i) develop a taxonomy of va lue-in-use of library services based on users assessments; (ii) determ ine costs associated with specific services; (iii) correlate value ass essments and costs; and (iv) propose methods and instruments for simil ar studies of library and information services in general. We concentr ate here on the first objective only, and present a progress report on the taxonomy, together with implications on modeling of Values of inf ormation services. A novel aspect is the division of values into three general classes or facets: (i) Reasons for use of a service in the gi ven instance; (ii) quality of interaction (use) related to that servic e; and (iii) worth, benefits, or implications of subsequent Results fr om use.