Michele Reid, dean of libraries, has published, "Is the Balanced Scorecard Right for Academic Libraries?" in The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances.  

Reid considered the potential utility for higher educational institutions, and in particular libraries, of the Balanced Scorecard performance measurement tool, originally developed for use in businesses and since adapted for the public and non-profit sectors. She examined key aspects and functionalities of the Balanced Scorecard framework and its appropriateness as a budgetary instrument. 

The Balanced Scorecard supplements financial accounting with non-financial leading indicators to link performance drivers and outcome measures in cause and effect relationships that can predict future performance and drive a single organizational strategy. Also intended as a reporting "dashboard" revealing whether improvements in one area have been at the expense of another, the Balanced Scorecard is considered more effective as an aid in forecasting the overall health of an organization than traditional accounting-based models. It provides a capacity to monitor obligations to stakeholders and to produce transparent and reliable financial information, and the resulting internal control environment can promote integrity and ethical values.

Reid found the Balanced Scorecard can be a useful approach in determining service value, in demonstrating fiscal responsibility, and – through metrics focused on organizational goals and strategy – in validating a knowledge-based and networked institution’s role in the delivery of a quality educational product.