The Small Library Manager S Handbook

The Small Library Manager’s Handbook is for librarians working in all types of small libraries. It covers the everyday nuts-and-bolts operations that all librarians must perform. This handbook, written by experts who are small librarians themselves, will help all small librarians to do multiple jobs at the same time.

This fully revised and updated edition provides current information on automation and technology and on advocacy to help small public libraries strive to make available the same basic services as larger libraries. This book is written for the directors of these honest-to-goodness small libraries, providing both a philosophical as well as a common sense basis for decision making. Appendices provide sample documents for a library's Statement of Purpose, worksheets for job descriptions and personnel policies, a volunteer application form, ALA documents (Library Bill of Rights and Code of Ethics), a list of discount book dealers, and a sample meeting room policy.

Examine the nuts and bolts of successful management in today’s rapidly evolving libraries! This book is an essential primer for new library managers and directors. In addition to providing an overview of the practical aspects of management, it is a vital reference tool for managing your library and its staff. The Practical Library Manager’s informative text and comprehensive bibliographies of print and electronic resources can guide you to solutions to the issues that every fledgling library manager must deal with upon appointment. While there are many publications on library management, The Practical Library Manager is one of very few to focus on the practical issues of staffing and the importance of continuous staff training. Also, unlike other books on the subject, this book features a chapter that points you to relevant management texts originally written for the corporate world rather than the library profession. The Practical Library Manager is the perfect single source to help you: understand the challenges of staffing your library and training your staff explore new technology’s impact on library workers and evaluate training programs to help them keep up ensure that your staff has the core competencies they’ll need in the current climate build a “virtual library” decide whether your library should join a consortium and much more! In the words of the author: “Today, the most successful libraries in the country are those addressing the needs of both external and internal customers. However, it takes more than technology to change the working relationship between the institution and its customer. The guiding force for change must include a strong and respectful relationship between the library manager and staff. Much of what is written in this book can assist the fledgling manager in creating an environment of trust, teamwork, and respect.”

Finally, here’s a handbook that includes everything administrators need to keep a handle on library operations, freeing them up to streamline and improve how the organization functions.

Written by contributors from across the field, this eclectic guide offers best practices suitable for managers in all types of libraries.

Increase your effectiveness as a manager by developing essential interpersonal skills with the creative approach offered in this practical reference. Designed for library school graduates, paraprofessional librarians, and aides who have the responsibility of managing school or small public libraries, this publication focuses on skills that are not part of a librarian's technical training. The techniques are easy to implement, and the book includes numerous examples that illustrate the principles. A must read for those who wish to become leaders in the field.

New technology and aging buildings are making library facility management more complex and difficult than ever before. Many librarians have inherited buildings that not only need to be retrofitted for today's technology, but also require repair and replacement of basic systems. The handbook was written by a Director and a professional facilities manager to provide the practical advice, techniques, and solutions library managers need to ensure that their facilities can function for their intended purposes. Chapters cover planning and evaluating, security and safety, lighting, climate control, parking, access, costs and finances, preventive maintenance and repairs, record-keeping, contracts, bidding, specifications, and much more. An extensive glossary of terms provides the language needed to communicate with facilities staff and contractors.

Most professional librarians, even recent graduates, manage something, whether it be a project, service, department, or a whole library. This book explains the different managerial roles at libraries, looking at the levels of managers, what they do, and how they do it. The goal is to explore the unique challenges faced by different types of library managers, in order to prepare early and mid-career librarians to step into new roles, and to think about how they might progress toward upper-management in a library. The approach is practice-driven, with a particular focus on the soft skills that are needed to be successful as a manager. Library Management: A Practical Guide for Librarians features three parts: project management, middle management, and upper management. These sections cover the different kinds of challenges that face people at each level of their career, exploring how these challenges can help prepare librarians for promotion to the next level. The purpose of these sections is to show how management skills develop over the course of one’s career, and to explore how leaders changes from context to context. Though each section focuses on a particular level of authority, the lessons can be useful for and applied to all of the levels discussed. For example, the same librarian might fill different roles in different contexts. A dean might serve as a library’s executive, but also manage a university-wide project or a middle manager might step into the role of dean temporarily, or might wonder what the next level of management would require.