Traces the recent history of libraries and mentions loss of status, insufficient funds, insufficient evaluation methods, and unspecified goals as major contributors to contemporary management problems. Also outlined is a management strategy, which includes public relations, long-range and short-range goals, and budget and financing. (JVP)

Discussion of application of cost benefit analysis (CBA) accounting techniques to libraries highlights user willingness to be charged for services provided, reasons why CBA will not work in library settings, libraries and budgets, cost distribution on basis of presumed or expected use, implementation of information-seeking behavior control, 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)

Discusses several pitfalls that face corporate special librarians, including: defining the library role; management control; decentralization; budgeting; user expectations; purchasing control; organizational propaganda; reporting; clerical staffing; and end-user searching. (five references) (MES)

Examines issues of special library management and the emphases in SLA (Special Libraries Association) continuing education courses dealing with these issues. Five courses taught for SLA are described, including one-day courses on management communications, delegation, and effective supervisory skills, as well as seminars dealing with human…

This discussion includes a review of Drucker's concept of entrepreneurship, a current management trend in which organizations encourage entrepreneurship and innovation from employees. Drucker's discussion of public service institutions and the relationship of those points to library management are highlighted. (CLB)

Because of the researcher's greater appreciation for library services, it has been generally assumed that special libraries operate more effectively reporting through research than through management. Experiences during the recent wave of industrial retrenchments make re-examination of this assumption appropriate (2 references) (Author)

This book is a collection of the author's following publications and speeches, primarily from 1995-2000: "Look at All Those Beautiful Birds Overhead!""Priorities for the Research Library Budget,""What Do We Give 'Em?""The Legacy of John Swan,""Small Public Libraries-Challenges, Opportunities, and Irrelevancies,""Lead Me Not into Temptation To Do…

Outlines an approach to budgeting in the research library. The following priorities are addressed: an adequate student labor force; adequate support staff; professional staff; education, training, and professional involvement; physical facilities and equipment; and the access--rather than collection development--budget. (EA)

Suggests that the main reason for the presumed surplus of librarians is that these professionals refuse to defend, let alone expand, their territorial boundaries from "experts" who decide results independently of library staffs and budgets. Argues that librarians should provide better service, rather than encouraging self-service and that certain…

This in-depth report discusses findings from a survey of academic, public, and special libraries to determine the effects of budgetary curtailments on acquisition and retention policies for scholarly journals. Effects of budget reallocation, library efforts to alleviate economic pressures, and borrowing/lending activities are described. The…

Discusses the problem of incompetent library supervisors in terms of the process that results in the selection of such supervisors, inappropriate supervisory behaviors, and the effects on employees. Several strategies for coping with an incompetent supervisor are suggested. (4 references) (CLB)

Discusses expectations of public library reference service and the reality of what librarians can provide amid declining resources. Suggests reference librarians should define the gap between potential and reality in reference service, and inform the customers about how little money it would take to provide better service. Argues that librarians…

Directors of academic, public, and special libraries were asked to relate curricula of master's degree programs in library and information science to their own perceived needs and preferences in hiring of junior professionals. Options for alternatives to education outside one-year degree setting were examined and ranked. Seventeen references are…

A study of library school faculty and academic library directors' perceptions of the educational quality of master's and doctoral programs in library and information science and of the professional contributions of library school faculties is reported. Perception rankings are compared to similar studies carried out in 1980 and 1986. (18…