Today's workplace -- Becoming a manager -- Communication -- Work climate and the art of motivation -- Team work and group dynamics -- Inclusiveness and diversity -- Policies and the legal environment -- Hiring and interviewing -- Orientation and training -- Planning and organizing work -- Managing performance -- Budgeting basics -- Facilities, space, and safety -- Meeting management -- Managing rewards -- Project management -- Career management.
You're about to become a library supervisor! In addition to excitement you may also feel some uncertainty. Mentor, creator, monitor, and negotiator are some of the roles a supervisor must play, and wearing that many hats is a challenge that requires discipline and organization (and a healthy sense of humor). This newly updated and revised edition of a classic text will give you the grounding to supervise, manage, and lead with confidence. A perfect handbook for those just moving into a supervisory position, and a welcome refresher for current managers, this resource focuses on daily, real-world issues, offering discussion of how to foster a positive work environment by determining the character of your organization; dozens of sample interview questions suitable for different contexts, and other pointers on the hiring process; advice on supervising all different kinds of employees, from those with "structural" personalities to creative types; tactics for leading productive and focused staff meetings; guidance on how to develop shared accountability, overcoming the decision dilemma so common in group settings, and other strategies for building successful teams; easy to follow tips for making email a genuine productivity tool; methods for meeting deadlines through backward planning; 11 steps for developing a clear and balanced performance appraisal; techniques for actively addressing complaints; and examples of non-monetary staff rewards such as flexible scheduling, job enrichment, and celebrations. Guiding supervisors through the intricate process of managing others, this to-the-point handbook addresses the fundamental issues facing those taking on this position.
The manager or supervisor told employees what to do and employees did what they were told. That world does not exist today. Today's managers, supervisors, team leaders, project managers, and unit heads face a more complex environment. Managers need to balance production goals with concern for people issues in a continually changing setting. The workplace and the workforce are different. Managers may now find themselves overseeing four generations of staff, each with its own characteristics and needs. Each group responds best to a different management style. Use of library services may be increasing as the public turns to libraries for Internet access and job-hunting services, as well as recreational reading, media, and computer games. Library managers and supervisors face staffing decisions every day. When priorities change quickly - whether relating to diversity, legal challenges, new technology, or simply a desire to build an exciting team and bring people together to do their best - it takes more than good intentions to achieve results. In these difficult times, good supervisory skills are essential. Supervisors must take a leadership role in providing support for their staff and ensuring the library can meet its goals and objectives. Poor supervisory skills will only compound the morale problems that arise during difficult times. Excellent supervisory skills can lead to departments and units that not only cope with the challenges they face, but are able to move forward and become excellent organizations. This comprehensive handbook Fundamentals of Library Supervision and Control addresses the fundamental issues facing new managers.
Many library support staff (LSS) who do not have management training will assume supervisory roles in library services during their careers. This book is written to help LSS understand, support, and apply the basic principles of library supervision and management in their work on the topics of regulations and bylaws hiring, staff performance expectations, leadership and professional learning. Readers will learn how to engage in effective decision-making and participate in productive library meetings. The importance of library policies, and procedures are explained through many practical examples. The scope of the book addresses many different aspects and examples of library management and how LSS can seek supportive roles to enhance library services and programs. Chapters are written on these topics: Basic regulations and bylaws Principles of management Hiring Staff performance expectations Leadership, professional learning Library policies and procedures The book also addresses budget, fundraising and grants, partnerships, community demographics, marketing, goal management, customer service, conducting meetings, and effective decision-making. This book is aligned with the revised ALA- LSSC competency standards for management and supervision, and may be used as a textbook by instructors of Library Science programs or as a reference manual for library support staff who are learning on the job about the ever changing environment of working with others.
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.
Trained library support staff play a critical role in assisting the user in locating and interpreting the resources available in libraries. To do so requires the knowledge and practice of library missions and roles in different types of libraries and the delivery of that information to an increasingly diverse clientele. The plethora of resources available today requires that support staff understand and implement the basic principles of information services as well as the responsibility and relationships among library departments and functional areas. Foundations of Library Services is both a text for professors who teach in library support staff programs and an introductory reference manual for support staff who work in libraries. As part of the Library Support Staff Series, this updated edition will guide the LSS to be able to: Understand the mission and role of the library in its community Be familiar with the ethics and values of the profession, including those of the Library Bill of Rights, the ALA Code of Ethics, freedom of information, confidentiality of library records and privacy issues Know the responsibility and relationships among library departments Practice the basic principles of circulation, including interlibrary loan; current cataloging and classification systems; and acquisitions and collection development policies. Understand how libraries are governed and funded within their organizations or government structures Realize the value of cooperation to enhance services Practice quality customer service Communicate and promote the library’s values and services Recognize and respond to diversity in user needs
This essential, single-volume textbook supplies a comprehensive introduction to library management that addresses all the functions of management, specifically within the ever-evolving modern library environment. Strategic planning. Facilities management. Leadership, ethics, communication, and motivation. Human resources and staffing. Change, library development, and innovation. Marketing. Measurement and evaluation. Fiscal responsibility and control. These are just some of the wide range of responsibilities and necessary skills of contemporary library managers—not all of which are typically covered in detail in LIS educational programs. Now updated and expanded for its ninth edition, Libraries Unlimited's Library and Information Center Management is the core management text for library information science programs. This latest text adds new information on grant writing as well as more about budgets, marketing, financial management, assessment, and evidence-based management. The authors include various real-world examples from international settings to help readers understand and conceptualize the place of the library and information center in our global world. Each chapter ends with two helpful sections that present numerous examples and opportunities to apply newly gained information: "Practice Your Skills" and "Discussion Questions."
Reflecting the rapidly changing information services environment, the third edition of this bestselling title offers updates and a broader scope to make it an even more comprehensive introduction to library management. Addressing the basic skills good library managers must exercise throughout their careers, this edition includes a completely new chapter on management ethics. Evans and Alire also pay close attention to management in "new normal" straitened economic conditions and offer updates on technological topics like social media. Among the areas covered are The managerial environment, including organizational skill sets, the importance of a people-friendly organization, and legal issues Managerial skills such as planning, accountability, trust and delegation, decision making, principles of effective organizational communication, fostering change and innovation, quality control, and marketing Key points on leadership, team-building, and human resource management Budget, resource, and technology management Why ethics matter Tips for planning a library career, with a look at the work/life debate
