Rate My Professor Simon Hart

Simon Hart is the Policy, Planning, and Evaluation Librarian at the University of Otago Library in Dunedin, New Zealand, where he leads the library's Quality and Planning team. In this capacity, he oversees performance measurement initiatives and has managed key projects such as the Matariki Network of Universities benchmarking effort, developing activity-based performance indicators across an international consortium of academic libraries. Hart contributes to library strategy through frameworks like the Library Assessment Management Framework (2021) and supports collections development, including the Koloa Mei Moana project to preserve Pacific legacy materials. His work extends to fostering communities of practice, including the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) Value and Impact group, promoting data-driven improvements in library services.

Hart's research specializes in library assessment and performance optimization, evidenced by his development of the Library Assessment Capability Maturity Model with Howard Amos, published in 2018 in Evidence Based Library and Information Practice. This model aids libraries in benchmarking and enhancing effectiveness. Key publications include 'Student views on the cost of and access to textbooks: An investigation at University of Otago (New Zealand)' (2017, Open Praxis, 48 citations), co-authored with Sarah Stein, Philippa Keaney, and Richard White; ''There are other people out there!' Successful postgraduate peer groups and research communities at a New Zealand university' (2013, Higher Education Research & Development, 40 citations), with Nikki Buissink-Smith and Jacques van der Meer; and 'The development of performance measures through an activity based benchmarking project across an international network of academic libraries' (2014, Performance Measurement and Metrics, 19 citations). More recent contributions feature 'Driving value and impact through a community of practice: a case study from Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand University libraries' (2025). Hart advocates for open scholarship via the Open Otago blog and presents at conferences including Northumbria International and LIANZA symposia, influencing library practices regionally and globally.