The purpose of this paper is to explore the relevance of market orientation (MO) as a strategic orientation in the management of libraries.
The literature is examined to identify aspects of market orientation, and evidence of adoption of market orientation in libraries. Lessons that can be learned from other sectors regarding market orientation are presented, and their relevance for libraries is examined.
It is found that market orientation is relevant for libraries as one of many strategic orientations. It found that there is a lack of systematic application of MO in library management, with the focus on selected aspects of MO, e.g. customer orientation.
The paper provides an overview of how library managers can adopt a market‐orientated approach to the strategic management of their library services.
