An examination of best practices and benchmarking in corporate libraries

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss best practices in corporate libraries. It is limited to libraries within the USA and excludes medical, hospital, pharmaceutical and government libraries. Design/methodology/approach – Definitions of a corporate library and best practices are presented from the literature. The absence of generally accepted best practices within corporate libraries is noted and an explanation for its absence is presented. Findings – The literature review indicates that there is an absence of generally accepted best practices within the corporate library community. This lack of quantitative data further weakens the position of corporate libraries within their organization as they cannot compare their operations to other service units. Corporate library managers must use the language and analysis tools of upper management to align the corporate library with the larger mission of the corporation to ensure its survival. Research limitations/implications – The absence of quantitative data focusing on corporate library services adversely impacts the future of corporate libraries. Until the professional association(s) representing the interests of corporate libraries develop, validate and administer a survey of corporate library services and costs, corporate librarians will remain at a competitive disadvantage when discussing the future of the corporate library. Originality/value – The paper discusses best practices in corporate libraries.