Application of the ISO 9000 standards of quality management in professional services: An information sector case

The subject of this article is the implementation of the ISO 9000 series of standards for quality management in professional services based on experiences from the information sector. However, the purpose is not to give a plain answer like 'yes' or 'no' to the question of the relevance of ISO 9000 certification in libraries and information centres. The aim is two-fold: (1) to present a framework for analyzing and evaluating the validity of the criticism and (2) to specify the conditions and management options to avoid pitfalls and dysfunctions in connection with ISO 9000 implementation. The general idea of quality standards is outlined and its specific usefulness to the information sector is evaluated. The ISO 9000 series of standards is then briefly introduced, focusing on identifying the different types and purposes of the standards and discussing information sector criteria for choosing the appropriate standard. Recently, quality experts have heavily criticized the standards. For that reason, a systema...