Respondents to "Library Journal's" ("LJ") annual book buying survey of public libraries nationwide reported that adult book budgets were down eight percent overall, the largest plunge recorded since the survey began in 1998. What's more, for the first time ever, cuts were reported for every region of the country and every size of population…

America is facing what many have called the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, with one in ten Americans unemployed. It's no surprise, then, that the 2010 book-buying survey of public libraries is on the dark side. Representing some 100 institutions nationwide distributed equitably by size, type, and location, "LJ"'s annual survey…

Drupal is a PHP-and MySQL-based system for managing web sites, developed in 2000 and released in 2001 under the open GNU General Public License (GPL). It is modular, extensible, and scalable. In recent years, Drupal has gained a huge following within libraries as a content management system (CMS). Probably the best-known extension of Drupal in the…

In commemoration of the Librarian of the Year Award's 20th anniversary, this article presents brief vignettes on all 19 of the title holders. When "Library Journal" named them Librarians of the Year, these inimitable 19 (for the 20th, Norma Blake, see EJ788676) had singled themselves out as risk takers, visionaries, bulldogs, pragmatists,…

Like every institution that uses energy, consumes resources, and engages in construction or renovation, libraries have an impact on the environment and on the critical problem of climate change. Taking action to protect library collections is not only an idealistic professional goal but also a very practical one. Disaster preparation measures and…

Six years ago, the author shared some strategies on managing a cutback ("Budget Shortfalls," "Library Journal" 5/15/03, p. 34-35). Now, people are in an even more severe economic downturn. In this article, the author offers some additional tips on how to cope with more budget shortfalls during this recession.

How librarians came to their careers is as varied as the people themselves, but despite some often highly publicized challenges for college and university librarians in the digital age, academic librarianship is good work, according to the "Library Journal's" Job Satisfaction Survey. This article presents the results of this survey. The…

Despite the discussion about the greying of the profession, librarians seem to agree on little but this: the jobs being vacated are generally upper-level and the departure of retiring library managers fails to translate into a glut of entry level spots. This article describes how NextGens should prepare to move into management and other upper…

In the evolving librarian profession, perhaps the most important skill is the ability to become change leaders within the organizations. If librarians truly want to bring the NextGen enthusiasm, outlook, and skills to bear on institutions and profession, then they must be able to inspire colleagues. Librarians need to be able to show when and why…

Discusses corrective action and employee discipline in library management, covering: (1) factors affecting the library manager's right to discipline; (2) employee orientation and training; (3) employee performance measurement; (4) corrective strategies; (5) termination as an option; (6) the importance of fairness; and (7) positive results of…

Discusses how women library managers can use efficient time management techniques to help them make the best of both career and home work environments. Nine basic steps to greater efficiency are presented, and external and internal time wasters are listed. (EM)

Reviews the current literature to provide information on openings and recent appointments at the state librarian level around the country. The varied roles of state libraries are also described, and a brief discussion of the qualifications of a state library director is included. (21 references) (MES)

This article offers five ideas librarians should review every now and then to make sure the right services are being offered in the most effective manner to the people they serve. These five exercises or ideas may not be completely easy but neither are they difficult or expensive. However, they will guarantee an increased awareness of, and…

Suggests that gender is irrelevant to good library management, questions the argument that women make better managers because they are more nurturing, and stresses the need to challenge preconceptions about the roles of working parents if representation of the sexes among library managers is to reflect the librarian population. (EM)

Reports results of a biennial survey of public libraries serving populations of 100,000 or more, including data on per capita expenditures, directors' salaries, and beginning professional salaries. Sixteen tables break down data by region, size of population, and sex of director. Three references are listed. (MES)