Developing Library Staff For The 21st Century

Transforming Medical Library Staff for the Twenty-First Century focuses on how the medical library can redeploy its staff to support these new services through actively engaging and empowering them in the process. It shares best practices in developing and motivating staff to accept and welcome the changing priorities of medical libraries.

Developing Library Staff for the 21st Century presents a variety of insightful perspectives on how proper human resources management strategies can provide library staff members at all levels with the skills needed for libraries of the future. The shift of the concept of management from control to development means that library administrators must adapt to a more inclusive definition of the human resources field. In addition to such administration activities as recruitment, wage and payroll management, and benefits, human resources management now encompasses all activities that promote greater job satisfaction and support the development of individuals within the context of the workplace. This valuable book examines some of the procedures that can help library managers identify the human resources in their organizations; design and implement programs, policies, and procedures to address these issues; and commit the necessary resources to support the full development of all library staff. These perceptive chapters present discussions of the general issues in human resource management and development. They suggest a variety of practical ideas for developing academic library staff at all levels in preparation for the twenty-first century. Academic libraries must be prepared to face unique challenges in the recruitment of talented, qualified individuals to the library profession, the provision of adequate pay for the level of knowledge and skill required by library work, and the very nature of library education. Developing Library Staff for the 21st Century presents a wealth of innovative ideas for reshaping library staff at both the organizational and staff level including: technological training for staff members a model of leadership development based on the library's organizational culture and level of maturity a "green movement" for librarianship that presents an action agenda for the creation of librarianship as a learning and self-renewing profession research findings about the role of the academic library director and some specific areas that need development the changing role of library assistants and the steps libraries need to take to attract, retain, and develop support staff practical experiences with the implementation of innovative human resource programs at Yale University and the University of California, San Diego Administrators, managers, librarians, and staff members will become better prepared for the future with a broad understanding of the various models, approaches, and specific actions described in this book. By making important human resources management changes now, academic libraries will successfully adapt to meet the administrative challenges of the 21st century.

This book, first published in 1991, presents a variety of insightful perspectives on how proper human resources management strategies can provide library staff members at all levels with the skills needed for libraries of the future. The shift of the concept of management from control to development means that library administrators must adapt to a more inclusive definition of the human resources field. In addition to such administration activities as recruitment, wage and payroll management, and benefits, human resources management now encompasses all activities that promote greater job satisfaction and support the development of individuals within the context of the workplace. This valuable book examines some of the procedures that can help library managers identify the human resources in their organizations; design and implement programs, policies, and procedures to address these issues; and commit the necessary resources to support the full development of all library staff.

Workplace culture refers to conditions that collectively influence the work atmosphere. These can include policies, norms, and unwritten standards for behavior. This book focuses on various aspects of workplace culture in academic libraries from the practitioners’ viewpoint, as opposed to that of the theoretician. The book asks the following questions: What conditions contribute to an excellent academic library work environment? What helps to make a particular academic library a great place to work? Articles focus on actual programs while placing the discussion in a scholarly context. The book is structured into 14 chapters, covering various aspects of workplace culture in academic libraries, including: overview of workplace culture, assessment, recruitment, acclimation for new librarians, workforce diversity, physical environment, staff morale, interaction between departments, tenure track/academic culture, mentoring/coaching, generational differences, motivation/incentives, complaints/conflict management, and organizational transparency. Includes the most current best practices and models in academic libraries Represents the viewpoints of both the employee and manager Focuses on the academic library as workplace rather than as a service provider

Creative Management of Small Public Libraries in the 21st Century isan anthology on small public libraries as centers of communities serving populations under 25,000 that make up most of the public library systems in the United States. A wide selection of topics was sought from contributors with varied backgrounds reflecting the diversity of small public libraries. The thirty-two chapters are arranged: Staff; Programming; Management; Technology; Networking; Fundraising; User Services and provide tools to lead a local public library with relevant and successful services. This volume shares a common sense approach to providing a small (in staff size or budget) but mighty (in impact and outcome) public library service. The contributors demonstrate that by turning the service delivery team outward to the community with enthusiasm and positive energy, it is possible to achieve significant results. Many chapters summarize best practices that can serve as checklists for the novice library director or as a review for the more seasoned manager working through new responsibilities. Chapters are tactical, focusing on specific issues for managers such as performance evaluations, effective programming, or e-reader services. Time management is crucial in a small or rural public library as well as the challenges associated with managing Friends and volunteers. While most public libraries do not have the resources to satisfy customer expectations for instant gratification, ultra-convenience and state-of-the-art technologies, The authors of this book details strategies and methods for providing top-notch customer service while moving beyond customer service to the creation of meaningful customer relationships. This volume makes an important contribution to the literature by reminding us that public libraries transform communities of every size. In fact, never before has the role of the public library been a more critical thread in the fabric of community life.

Cohn & Kelsey explore changes undergone by libraries since the advent of technology & the Web, & offer new strategies for personnel & organisation. They define 21st century library competencies, develop competency-based job descriptions & offer other ideas for achieving a lean organisation.

Creating Research Infrastructures in the 21st-Century Academic Library: Conceiving, Funding, and Building New Facilities and Staff focuses on research infrastructures, bringing together such topics as research and development in libraries, dataset management, e-science, grants and grant writing, digital scholarship, data management, library as publisher, web archiving, and the research lifecycle. Individual chapters deal with the formation of Research & Development teams; emerging scholarly forms and new collaborative approaches to knowledge creation, dissemination, and preservation; managing small databases requiring the same level of support as large databases: metadata, digital preservation and curation, and technical support. Motivation for such services is provided in a chapter that considers how assessment and data now drive decisions and new services in higher education in general and academic libraries in particular and how statistical data can help to tell stories, make decisions, and move in new directions. Conceptualization of the research process also receives attention through the presentation of a research lifecycle in the university environment with the library as an integral partner and leader. Also, a topic that is increasingly important: the library as publisher, with new institutional repositories tied to journal creation, curation, and management is examined with a discussion of the workflow and expertise necessary for the library to be successful and responsive to the research needs of its institution, and become a leader in providing publishing services to its faculty. A related topic, Web archiving in libraries is explored in a chapter that includes discussions on the process of establishing buy-in and legal permission, the policies and procedures, and the technology necessary for its success. All of these efforts require funding and chapters are included that address this need: finding funding outside of the university for support of the library is now a necessary and vital part of academic libraries: guidelines and steps for how to write a grant and be successful at obtaining outside funds. A second chapter deals with the problem of developing a grant-seeking culture in the library, what some of the barriers are to the grant-writing process and how to create a reward system for a grant-writing culture. The volume concludes with two case studies related to implementing research data management services at two liberal arts colleges. They demonstrate that the integration of data management services for undergraduate and faculty research in liberal arts colleges is just as important as it is for the large research universities, and that new service models should be incorporated so that all librarians and library staff participate in this integration in their duties and responsibilities. It is hoped that this volume, and the series in general, will be a valuable and exciting addition to the discussions and planning surrounding the future directions, services, and careers in the twenty-first-century academic library.