Middle Management in Academic and Public Libraries


Book Description

Drawing from the contributions of 20 academic and public library middle managers, this book reveals knowledge, expertise, and insights on a variety of management topics and responsibilities. Conflict resolution. Professional development. Budget cuts. Mentoring and performance evaluations. Time management. Diversity and workplace culture. All of these topics—as well as many others—represent challenges for library middle managers. This unique resource provides the key insight needed to successfully advance a middle management career to the highest levels in librarian administration. Middle Management in Academic and Public Libraries examines managerial topics such as the balance of authority and responsibility as viewed by middle managers, views of middle managers engaged as youth services librarians, collaboration efforts between public and technical services, integrating modern technologies into library services, and recommended career ladder steps. Each of the 20 contributors shares his or her specific expertise, resulting in an engaging compilation of great depth and breadth containing the "pearls of wisdom" that an aspiring middle manager needs in an academic or public library setting.
















Leadership in Academic and Public Libraries


Book Description

In a time when libraries have to face constant change, this book provides examples and advises on how to lead when change is needed (for example, when quality management is implemented or when libraries have to merge or to relocate). Engaging with how constant change affects leadership in libraries and how leaders in libraries act in times of change, this book is aimed at practitioners and students of Library and Information Science (LIS) alike, and is based on both theory and expert interviews from leaders in academic and public libraries that are in the midst, or are now coming out of a process of change. Provides practical solutions for real change situations and problems in libraries Includes expert interviews Written by a professor with nine years experience as a member the management team for the German National Library of Science and Technology




Managing in the Middle


Book Description

Fully a third of all library supervisors are “managing in the middle:” reporting to top-level managers while managing teams of peers or paraprofessional staff in some capacity. This practical handbook is here to assist middle managers navigate their way through the challenges of multitasking and continual gear-shifting. The broad range of contributors from academic and public libraries in this volume help librarians face personal and professional challenges by Linking theoretical ideas about mid-level management to real-world situations Presenting ways to sharpen crucial skills such as communication, productivity, delegation, and performance management Offering specific advice on everything from supervision to surviving layoffsBeing a middle manager can be a difficult job, but the range of perspectives in this book offer strategies and tips to make it easier.




Now You're a Manager


Book Description

Now you?re a manager. Maybe you sought the position and interviewed for it, or maybe you were appointed to fill a need. Perhaps your long-term goal is upper-level library management, or maybe you?re happy where you are and aren?t sure how you?d like your career to progress. Whatever the case, this guide will provide you with quick, easy-to-implement tips and strategies for tackling the most common issues encountered by mid-level managers in an academic library. 0With ten chapters covering everything from building teams to creating a respectful workplace to managing university politics, Now You?re a Manager provides lists, exercises, and techniques for assembling and managing an effective, happy team.0Many of us were never taught how to be managers before we began managing. This book is designed to meet the specific needs of new mid-level managers in academic libraries, and can be used for individual use and group discussion, and by librarians and paraprofessionals who manage teams and departments.




Transitioning from Librarian to Middle Manager


Book Description

Through her unique perspective the author provides insight into the many different areas of expertise that are required in a good manager. These include how to handle cliques, how to handle the perceived or real excellence of the previous manager, how to handle difficult subordinates, and many others. The aspiring manager, or one recently promoted to management, will benefit from the sage advice offered for these and many other situations that arise from the new responsibilities of being a manager. Consider, for example, the need to establish and maintain good relationships with those above one's position and also those in positions parallel to one's own. Accomplishing this end requires recognizing that the need is there, giving careful thought to how it is to be accomplished, and then monitoring results. This book provides the recognition and the processes for success.




Catalysts for Change


Book Description

Learn more about innovative management techniques library administrators can use to adapt to the rapidly changing information environment. Catalysts for Change features the perspectives of library practitioners as well as other higher education professionals on using innovative management techniques. The book includes practical discussions of Total Quality Management, team management, the impact of gender differences, managing an older work force, and educational needs for the 1990s. Librarians will find these techniques and solutions helpful for dealing with change. They will benefit from the case studies and practical overview from professionals who have already experienced change in their own libraries. Through this valuable book, library administrators will find the best methods for adapting management strategies to the major political upheaval, economic reprioritizing, and organizational restructuring that has been characteristic of this decade. Some of the important topics covered by the contributors include: fostering the democratization of the workplace and the development of the staff through empowerment proactive, assertive, and collaborative roles of libraries in the scholarly communication process library management education that prepares professionals both to anticipate change and to bring about change in their institutions in response to societal needs and shifts managing the academic library through teamwork the possible impacts and implications of female leadership on the library profession organizational change in research libraries older workers in technical services the role of the collection development librarian in the 1990s and beyond using the budget as a planning tool Catalysts for Change demonstrates how to approach library services in ways that are a result of a "revenue diet," technological advances, and changing philosophies of library constituents. Practitioners in the library field, middle managers and administrators in libraries, and beginning level management classes in library schools will find essential information in this book to help them create library management strategies to adapt to the turbulent changes in the library profession.