Time And Project Management Strategies For Librarians

As budgets for libraries continue to shrink, the key challenge facing the 21st century librarian is finding how to do more with less. This book features more than thirty essays that provide valuable tips for the professional who must cope with increasing demands upon their resources. Librarians will get tips on how to identify the most important tasks for the library; eliminate non-essential functions and processes; increase reliance on volunteers, interns, and students; optimize daily routines; and more.

This volume of Advances in Library Administration and Organization attempts to put project management into the toolboxes of library administrators through overviews of concepts, analyses of experiences, and forecasts for the use of project management within the profession.

A recent study showed that only 53 percent of projects come in on budget and only 49 percent on schedule. So what does it take to be an on-budget, on-time finisher? Successful project management may seem like a quixotic pursuit, but it doesn't have to be.

Library work often involves coordinating projects with many tasks and many stakeholders where cost and time limitations can be seen as opportunities. Effective project management is worth learning! This book provides library staffers at every level--whether in public, academic, school or special libraries--with the basic tools of project management so that they can gain confidence and an expectation of success. The first section, Preparing for Project Management, covers the terminology, the philosophy, the resource management and the return on investment of project management. The second section, Planning and Implementing Project Management, introduces the basics of the methodology designed by the Project Management Institute. The third section, Library Resources, discusses practical techniques for specific types of library projects, gives an introduction to agile management, and features success stories in library project management. The book includes many examples of project management.

One of the most critical problems for the librarian in a small library is not enough time. This book offers hundreds of practical ways to maximize limited time, based on actual experiences of the author and other practicing librarians. It explains how to use planning and prioritization to determine what to do and what not to do. It also provides techniques to make the most efficient and effective use of your limited schedule. All of these suggestions, which have been developed and proven by working librarians, are accompanied by specific examples from corporate, hospital, law, government, and association libraries. Topics Include: Determining the difference between efficiency and effectiveness Avoiding procrastination Managing email Organizing the workspace Dealing with job stress Optimizing the time spent at conferences Also includes an extensive annotated list of resources, including books, articles, web sites, and electronic lists. A valuable resource for any librarian working in a school, small public, or special library.

The library and information profession builds skills and expertise that cover a wide spectrum. These skills are often desirable in other fields and industries. Likewise, the skills we build before entering the library and information professions can help us as professionals. Skills to Make a Librarian looks at both sides of this equation through a collection of essays by current and former librarians and information professionals who make use of this wide range of cross disciplinary skills. Chapters written by authors at various points in their careers detailing what skills they have developed outside of librarianship Chapter authors discuss skills that have benefited their practice and careers, and how the skills of librarianship fit into life outside libraries Authors open up about personal experiences while keeping it professional

A librarian's time is arguably his or her most valuable and scarce resource. Using the process outlined here, librarians can find both short-and long-term time management strategies that work best with their personalities and management styles. Specific time problems encountered in various types of libraries are illustrated with examples and anecdotes, and various strategies and techniques.

This revised edition of Legal Research and Law Library Management retains the best elements of the previous edition while covering the latest in law library management.