Managing User Centred Libraries And Information Services

Aims to encourage the development of libraries and information services which meet the needs of the user, and to promote the application of management methods which put users first. This edition has been substantially revised, and also contains practical management advice for other professions.

The authors developed the "How Libraries and Librarians Help (HLLH) Outcome Model," field testing it in six libraries over two years. In this practical reference, they share their findings, step-by-step HLLH methods, and library success stories that bring the process to life with outcomes like, "Empowering Youth" and "Strengthening Community."

This internationally acclaimed text serves as the basic management text in programs of library & information studies throughout the world. It is also used as a ready-reference & for workshop discussions in all types of libraries & information centers. As with previous editions, the authors present the principles of library & information center management in a conceptual framework as it examines the dynamics of organizational missions, goals, policies & programs, & people, as well as in relation to external forces (e.g., users & funding authorities) that encourage change. This current edition features expanded sections on the change process, strategic planning & management, & managing conflict through Total Quality Management (TQM) in a technology intense environment. Charts, diagrams, & appendixes of library policies, procedures, organograms, & other forms are included.

This Gower Handbook is an authoritative guide to both the traditional and newer aspects of library and information management. Edited by Ray Prytherch, it brings together the insight of a range of respected contributors, who offer advice on the management, storage, retrieval, analysis, marketing and delivery of information. The book begins with Part I analyzing the context and trends of the information world. In Part II, Strategy and Planning, the information environment is explored in more detail, with Chapters 3 and 4 presenting the main issues and principles of financial planning and strategic planning. Part III, The Service Infrastructure, looks at customer care, the role of performance measurement and research in service improvement, and the influence of copyright law in the delivery of information products to customers. Part IV, Managing Resources, includes five chapters on strategic management, information auditing, human resource management, preservation and disaster management. The last part of the Handbook, Part V, Access and Delivery, focuses on the potential of electronic systems with chapters on subject gateways and Z39.50, electronic publishing, intranets and new models of access and delivery. Each part of the Handbook begins with an introduction by the editor and the book concludes with a directory of organizations, including useful URLs, and a glossary. Flexibility and adaptability are crucial for information professionals if they are to maintain their skills at the right level to provide the services needed by both information-rich and information-poor. In this one book librarians from all backgrounds, information managers and officers, document and records managers, and network and Web specialists will find answers to a wide range of questions that confront them in their working day. The Handbook will become a standard reference on best practice for professionals and students. It will be of interest to information analysts, knowledge managers, and others, including publishers, involved in information maintenance and provision.

Rapid developments in information technology and media have resulted in increasingly diverse strategies for information retrieval by readers and users. The duty to cope with this phenomenon and to master the situation forms one of the biggest challenges facing libraries. In order to strengthen the awareness of the potential of tools for management and strategic planning, a two-day meeting was held under the auspices of IFLA's Management & Marketing Section in Bergen, Norway in August 2005. Managers of different types of libraries, researchers and educators from five continents shared their experiences with research methods, data collection, evaluation, performance measurement, best practice strategies and policies. This book contains their presentations in the form of full length articles.

How do we begin to assess the impact of economic, technological, demographic, and management trends in our environment and understand the long term implications? How can administrators, managers and information professionals take advantage of these trends? How can librarians empower staff and change organizational hierarchies to create more responsive and rewarding environments? How do we restructure organizations to make them more learning- and student-centered and more responsive to the needs of new clienteles? These are just a few of the questions addressed in Libraries as User-Centered Organizations, which examines organizational change from the point of view that academic institutions are experiencing a paradigm shift in the definition of their mission, their focus, and their activities. As librarians move into a new paradigm of library as gateway and connector, they must also shift their focus from the information product to the user of information. This profound change in vision is explored in this book through the concept of user-centeredness, a focus on the habits, needs, desires, dislikes, abilities, and preferences of the user. Libraries as User-Centered Organizations explores a variety of important aspects of organizational change including: leadership styles sustaining and expanding staff empowerment and creativity collaboration between libraries and computer centers creating multicultural organizations remolding the library science educational structure organizational change in professional associations Libraries as User-Centered Organizations looks at current trends affecting higher education, research libraries, professional education for librarians, professional associations, and publishing from the point of view of some of the leaders in these fields and offers readers a context for viewing organizational change. The book is of particular assistance to library administrators and educators engaged in planning for change and rethinking operations and services.