The Parliamentary Library aims to provide an effective knowledge centre for the Parliament through the provision of information, analysis and advice. These services are provided through two sub programs:

• Research Services: these services include responding to requests from individual parliamentary clients for information and research, and the production of print and electronic publications.
• Library Collections and Databases: Information services are provided to the Library’s clients by acquiring and providing access to information resources, through the selection, processing and indexing of material for library and media databases in ParlInfo Search.

Staff from the Office of the Parliamentary Librarian contribute to the work of both programs.

Performance is assessed using indicators that cover quality, quantity and price. Indicators, performance results and relevant comments are shown against each of the Library programs.

Progress in key projects identified in the Library’s Business Plan 2018–19 was the subject of discussion in the previous section. The Performance Report focusses on analysis of the Library’s achievement against service standards set out in that same document.

Methodology

Key priorities and performance indicators for the Parliamentary Library are approved each year by the Presiding Officers as part of the Library’s Annual Resource Agreement (PS Act, section 38G). The KPIs in each Resource Agreement set out the outcomes and key deliverables for that year and also measure the:

• percentage of clients using the Library’s services
• customer satisfaction
• number of completed client requests
• number of publications produced
• number of online uses of the Library’s publications
• attendance at training courses and events
• timeliness of research and library services
• number of items added to the Library’s Electronic Media Monitoring Service (EMMS) and ParlInfo data bases
• number of new titles added to the catalogue
• percentage of the collection available online, and
• use of the Library’s collections and data-bases and the media portal.

The Library uses the RefTracker Information Request Management System to manage client requests and other client related work. This provides a rich array of client related data, including number of requests, usage, and timeliness. Satisfaction data is derived primarily from a formal evaluation of the Library’s services conducted once in every Parliament, the most recent being undertaken in 2017. Data regarding the number of publications produced and the number of items added to the EMMS and ParlInfo Search databases is obtained from the Australian Parliament House website and ParlInfo Search. Data relating to visits to the Library client portal (intranet) are captured by Sitecore’s engagement analytics. The Parliamentary Library currently uses Google analytics and Splunk web-analytics application to analyse statistics for use of publications and collection items. A manual count is used to report on attendance at training courses and events and new titles added to the Library catalogue. Reports generated from the ILS provide information regarding the percentage of titles in the Library’s collection available online in full-text. Statistics on the use of the Library’s collections and databases is formulated from ILS reports, Splunk data and vendor provided usage statistics.

Research services

The services contributing to this program are as follows:

• commissioned information, research and advisory services—these are tailored and confidential responses prepared following requests from individual parliamentarians and their staff, and other parliamentary clients and
• general distribution publications (publications)—these are prepared where strong client demand is anticipated for briefing on specific policy issues. Publications include the Parliamentary Handbook, Briefing Book, Budget Review, Bills Digests, Research Papers, Quick Guides and FlagPost blog posts. Publications are available to clients and the public, through the Internet.

Client requests

During 2018–19, 100 per cent of the Library’s primary clients (parliamentarians’ offices, including ministers’ offices) used the client request service at least once, a considerable achievement given the number of new senators and members taking their seats during the financial year.

The ‘number of client requests’ target is a demand driven indicator, representing a best estimate of how many requests the Library expects to complete annually. Complex, multi-part requests are generally recorded as a single client job although they may require significant and discrete input from researchers in different sections.

The Library answered 10,299 individual client requests in 2018–19, below its target of 13,000, and below the 11,600 or so requests completed in the previous two financial years. The outcome reflects the nature of the 2018–19 parliamentary calendar (with relatively few sitting days between late February and April) and the prorogation of the 45th Parliament and dissolution of the House of Representatives on 11 April. (The use of research services is heaviest when Parliament is sitting.)

Table 21: Research services

Deliverable	Measure	Performance
		2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19
Individual client requests	Percentage of primary clients using the service Target: 100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
	Number of individual client requests completed Target: 13,000	13,113	11,681	11,656	10,299
Self-service requests	Number of online uses of the Parliamentary Library’s publications, including the Parliamentary Handbook, through ParlInfo and the Internet Target: 4m	6.74m	6.4m	7.2m	7.9m
Publications	Number of publications produced Target: 260	267	280	295	385
Client training and seminars	Attendance at training courses and events (e.g. Vital Issues Seminars) Target: 500	729	1,101	803	688

The following table illustrates the costs associated with providing research services.

Table 22: Research services—price indicators

Deliverable	Measure	Performance
		2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19
Cost of research services	Average cost per individual client request	$527.22	$556.39	$562.03	$598.41
	Average direct cost per self-service client request (staff time only)	$0.11	$0.16	$0.12	$0.12

2018–19 saw the continuation of the trend towards fewer but increasingly complex client requests. As illustrated in the graph below, Library data continues to show an overall decline in the number of completed client requests of 60 per cent per FTE between the financial years 2000–01 and 2018–19. However, while year-to-year outcomes vary, over the same period there has been an overall increase in the average amount of time spent per FTE on individual requests. The average amount of time per FTE per request in 2018–19 was 4.2 hours, over two and half times the 2000–01 figure of 1.5 hours.

Figure 17: Client requests—relative indicators

The Library will continue to monitor usage closely and consult with clients to ensure services are appropriately targeted. In particular, a targeted program of client outreach has been planned for the early weeks of the new Parliament.

Publications

In meeting the need to provide high quality information, analysis and advice to parliamentarians, the Library produces information and advice for individual clients on an ‘in confidence’ basis. It also produces publications for broader distribution in areas where there is strong client interest and demand, or where such demand is anticipated.

In 2018–19, the Library issued 385 new or revised research publications. Hours spent on publications increased by 3.9 per cent to 19,100 (compared to 18,418 hours the previous financial year).

The Library published 80 Bills Digests in 2018–19, as compared to 133 in 2017–18. The low number reflects the reduced number of sitting weeks and the lapsing of 29 bills on prorogation of the Parliament and dissolution of the House of Representatives. Two digests were produced on private senators’ or members’ Bills. Twenty six digests were not published in time for debate in the first chamber. Digests were not produced for 40 Government Bills. Of these:

• two passed both Houses on the day of introduction
• four passed within one day of introduction, and
• four passed within a week of introduction.

Flagposts were published on 10 of these Bills.

In the context of prioritising research work, Bills Digests and client requests receive the highest priority, with other publications worked on as time permits.

Figure 18: Distribution of client service hours by service type 2018–19

Client training and seminars

The Parliamentary Librarian participated in induction sessions organised by the chamber departments for new senators and members. Library staff also served as contact officers for all new senators and members.

During the year, Library induction and orientation services continued to be successful in providing, through individual and small group sessions, a timely and detailed introduction to Library services.

The Library supplements its regular one-on-one training with other training programs including ‘drop in’ sessions in the Senators and Members Reading Room during sitting weeks. In 2018–19, four sessions were offered on news services, new releases of Census data, e-books, and the new ParlMap service.

One of the recommendations of the Client Service Evaluation 2015 was that the Library focus more on providing orientation and training, and consider conducting some of these in other capital cities to make it easier for electorate staff to attend. The Library continued its program of electorate office visits, visiting 20 offices in Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT, meeting its target for the financial year.

In 2018–19, the Library also continued its program of consultation and outreach to parliamentary committees.

The Library continued to deliver a program of lectures and seminars bringing notable speakers to the Parliament to give parliamentarians and their staff the opportunity to hear, first hand, expert opinion on a range of currently relevant topics. In addition to the Budget seminars, the Library hosted the following lectures and seminars for clients:

• National Reconciliation Week lecture: ’Grounded in truth: walk together in courage’, Professor Tom Calma AO, Co-Chair Reconciliation Australia
• Forgotten founder—George Houstoun Reid, Dr David Headon
• The National Disability Insurance Scheme: is it meeting its objectives?, Helen Dickinson, UNSW Canberra
• Rising Inequality? A stocktake of the evidence, Jonathan Coppel, Productivity Commission
• Section 44—Office of profit under the Crown, Professor Anne Twomey, University of Sydney
• Developments on the Korean Peninsula, Dr Euan Graham, Senior Fellow, Lowy Institute
• Cybersecurity and electoral integrity, Tom Uren, Australian Strategic Policy Institute
• Tech briefing: New Genetic Technologies, Dr TJ Higgins, Australian Academy of Science
• Tech briefing: Blockchain technologies, Rob Hanson, ANU and Data61.

Most lectures are available for download from the Australian Parliament House website.

Client satisfaction with requests and publications

Table 23: Research services—key performance indicators

Deliverable	Measure	Performance
		2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19
Client satisfaction with requests and publications	High level of customer satisfaction Target: 95%	93%27	93%28	94%29	94%30
	Client service delivered to timeliness service standard Target: 90%	90.4%	97.9%	99.33%	99.71%
	Number of complaints from clients remains low	2	1	2	0

The 2017 client service evaluation found the general response to the Library was very positive. Satisfaction among senators, members, and their staff is high at 94 per cent (though slightly below the target of 95 per cent), with 97 per cent of senators and members indicating they would recommend the Library’s services to a colleague. Pleasingly, since the last evaluation in 2015, the percentage who were extremely satisfied increased by five per cent (to 50 per cent), and the number dissatisfied decreased to only one per cent (compared to five per cent in 2015).

Most respondents considered Library staff to be hard-working, professional and friendly and the services to be of a high quality. Clients valued the Library’s independence and its capacity to provide analysis; and regarded the Library very highly as a source of trusted information. It was found to perform strongly on issues of balance, impartiality and confidentiality. There was also a significant and welcome increase in the number of respondents who thought the Library’s performance had improved. Reasons given for this included the time taken to understand individual requests, innovation, promotion of Library services, and building of relationships.

This is consistent with spontaneous feedback received from clients throughout the reporting period.

The Library received no complaints in 2018–19.

Library Collections and Databases

The services contributing to this program include:

• the Library collection—development of the collection to meet users’ needs and provision of access through the catalogue and ParlInfo Search
• online full-text content such as news clippings
• media services—desktop access to television and radio news and current affairs programs broadcast in Canberra, provided to senators and members for their parliamentary duties
• commercial databases—including online full-text journal and newspaper services available through the Library Client Services’ portal and the Senators’ and Members’ Services Portal, and
• client services including the Central Enquiry Point and self-help services.

As far as possible, usage rates of all of these services are monitored to ensure that they remain relevant and are of practical assistance to senators, members, and their staff.

Table 24: Information access services—deliverables

Deliverable	Measure	Performance
		2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19
Material added to Library databases	Number of items added to the Library’s Electronic Media Monitoring Service and to ParlInfo databases Target: 150,000	177,644	168,788	175,249	189,766
Material added to Library collection	Number of new titles (books and serials) added to the Library’s catalogue Target: 5,000	7,318	6,575	6,378	5,756
	Percentage of titles (books and serials) in Library’s collection available to clients online in full-text Target: 46%	41.2%	42.2%	45.5%	46.2%
Use of the Library collection and databases	Use of the collections and databases, including loans from the collection, radio and television programs from the Electronic Media Monitoring Service, and from ParlInfo databases Target: 4 million searches	4.44m	3.81m	3.95m	4.34m

Table 25: Information access services—price indicators

Deliverable	Measure	Performance
		2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19
Cost of information services	Average cost per item added to the Library’s collection	$155.81	$152.91	$162.93	$137.54
	Average cost per item added to the Library’s databases	$17.47	$17.85	$14.62	$16.34
	Average cost per use of the Library’s databases and collection	$1.57	$1.85	$1.59	$1.56

Material added to Library databases

In 2018–19, the Library selected and indexed approximately 10,071 newspaper clippings a month, up from an average of 9,231 a month in 2017–18. Of all the Library databases that are indexed for ParlInfo Search, the newspaper clippings accounted for 94 per cent of the indexed content.

Since the introduction of the automated Library Authoring System and Thesaurus (LAST) in 2010, the Library has been able to publish the latest newspaper clippings in ParlInfo Search, as well as produce the senators’ and members’ news clips of the day by 7:30am. Data shows that the introduction of LAST significantly improved the Library’s productivity in the selection and indexing of newspaper clippings.

Material added to the Library collection

The number of new titles (books and serials) added to the Library’s catalogue exceeded the 5,000 target at 5,756.

The percentage of titles available online (full-text) increased from 45.5 per cent to 46.2 per cent, meeting the year’s target.

Use of the Library’s collection and databases

The target figure of four million uses of the Library’s collection and databases was exceeded with 4.34 million uses being reported. This is the first year the KPI has been met since 2015–16. The increase in 2018–19 reflects the expansion of digital newspapers and clients accessing these through the Library.

Figure 19: Use of the print collection

Use of the print collection remained stable with a total of 9,557 loans during 2018–19 (compared to 9,913 in 2017–18). The 2017 client evaluation of Library services found that use of the Library’s print collection has fallen slightly from 85 per cent in 2015 to 75 per cent in 2017 (after increasing significantly from 61 per cent in 2012).

Though still quite low when compared to usage of the print collection, ebook usage increased slightly during 2018–19, with 1,244 loans being processed (compared to 1,100 the previous financial year). Overall, the proportion of print versus electronic loans during 2018–19 was 88.5 per cent print and 11.5 per cent electronic. In 2017–18 it was 90 per cent print and 10 per cent electronic. This increase may be attributable to the Library’s increased promotion of the ebook services and the promotion of the EZproxy system which provides a more seamless (single sign-on) access to our subscribed ebook collections outside the PCN.

Table 26: Subprogram 2—collections and databases—key performance indicators

Deliverable	Measure	Performance
		2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19
Client satisfaction with collections and database services	High level of customer satisfaction Target: 95%	93%31	93%32	94%33	94%34
	Number of urgent new titles (books and serials) added to the Library’s catalogue within timeliness service standard Target: 100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
	Senators’ and members’ offices using the iSentia Mediaportal Target: 90%	89%	96%	99%	99%
	Senators’ and members’ offices using social media monitoring service (new KPI 2016–17) Target: 45%	-	56%	66%	70%
	New items added to the Library’s Electronic Media Monitoring Service and the ParlInfo newspaper clippings database within timeliness service standard Target: 95%	94.7%	94.4%	99.07%	95.8%
	Number of complaints from clients remains low	0	1	0	0

Client satisfaction with Library Collection and Databases

See the discussion on client satisfaction indicators.

Cataloguing

The key performance indicator for ‘urgent new titles (books and serials) added to the Library’s catalogue within timeliness service standard’ measures timeliness in relation to cataloguing items obtained as a result of direct client requests (with a turnaround deadline of 24 hours). These items are classed as urgent and are catalogued as a priority by Library staff.

The cataloguing team met both its timeliness target for direct client requests and exceeded the target (5,000) for the number of new titles (books and serials) added to the Library’s catalogue by processing 5,756 titles. The team also exceeded its target of 85 per cent for adding routine items (those selected by the Library’s Acquisitions staff) to the catalogue within the two week service standard, with 100 per cent of material being added within this time-frame.

Expansion of news services

The Parliamentary Library provides a comprehensive news service to clients. The Library is proactive in its endeavours to enhance its news services within its available budget. Several services that were procured in 2017–18 were successfully implemented in July 2018, these included: the Front Pages service that conveniently bundles all daily front pages of national and metropolitan newspapers; access to Analytics, another service available through the iSentia MediaPortal that provides quantitative analysis tools for measuring media coverage and; IP access to The West Australian. These services performed well over the past 12-months and have seen good usage by clients. During 2018–19 the news services were further expanded to include online access to The Canberra Times.

The Library has had a strong focus on broadening the scope of news services for the Parliament and making them more convenient to access. The costs for online news services for the Parliament are funded as business as usual through the Information Resources allocation. In 2018–19, the Library spent $0.746 million on all its news services. This includes online news services, news databases and hardcopy newspapers located in the Newspaper Reading Room.

iSentia MediaPortal

Senators and members are able to access a wide variety of metropolitan and regional press and broadcast news media through the iSentia MediaPortal, including news from over 300 regional radio and television stations. Clients are able to set up alerts to push news stories directly to their inbox and to have easy access to the news services even when they are not on the parliamentary network.

Use of this service has grown significantly since it was introduced in 2013–14. As of 30 June 2019, 99 per cent of clients have a logon to this service, well above the target of 90 per cent. These users have received over 1,440 email alerts per month.

Social media monitoring

iSentia retired its BuzzNumbers product in December 2018. The service was conveniently rolled into the iSentia MediaPortal allowing consolidated access through a single interface. The MediaPortal now provides access to social media commentary from assorted blogs, Twitter and Facebook. Users can ask iSentia to set-up searches to monitor particular areas of interest and receive alerts. During the year 70 per cent of senators and members offices made use of the Library’s social media monitoring services (target 45 per cent).

Performance

The news services’ KPI in table 26 above combines the performance outcomes of the daily press clips service and Electronic Media Monitoring Service against their individual performance benchmarks or standards. Performance against this KPI was excellent, with both teams overall achieving 95.8 per cent against a target of 95 per cent.