Library public services staff have primarily focused on providing services through interactions with their users. Although service quality and customer satisfaction are important in the delivery of these services, the emphasis and nature of the work have often been influenced by a library-centric philosophy rather than a user-centric philosophy.…

This article discusses a public service review and redesign that resulted in a blended service desk combining reference and circulation functions, staffed by nonlibrarians. The redesign implements a number of organizational structures that encourage service excellence, as found in the business literature and in examples of nonlibrary organizations…

Special collections and area studies librarians face similar challenges in the changing academic library environment, including the need to articulate the value of these specialized collections and to mainstream processes and practices into larger discovery, teaching, learning, and research efforts. For some institutions, these similarities have…

This report is based on a series of presentations at the second CLIR Seminar on "Participatory Design of Academic Libraries," held at the University of Rochester's River Campus June 5-7, 2013. Participatory design is a relatively recent approach to understanding library user behavior. It is based on techniques used in anthropological and…

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of academic librarians on two topics: the delivery of services to students and faculty in a time of rapid technological changes and an organizational structure appropriate for delivering services to students in a time of rapid technological changes. Several researchers agree that to…

The purpose of this multi-case study was to describe how library deans and directors at large comprehensive community colleges strategically advocate for and support instructional and technological innovation despite the reality of limited resources and the stress caused by recurring funding crises in higher education. It further sought to examine…

The position of electronic resources librarian was created to serve as a specialist in the negotiation of license agreements for electronic resources, but mission creep has added more functions to the routine work of electronic resources such as cataloging, gathering information for collection development, and technical support. As electronic…

Anyone at the helm of a small public library knows that every little detail counts. But juggling the responsibilities that are part and parcel of the job is far from easy. Finally, here's a handbook that includes everything administrators need to keep a handle on library operations, freeing them up to streamline and improve how the organization…

Technological innovations have transformed all areas of community college libraries. Automated library systems, office software, and Internet access have altered work processes for library personnel and have changed research methodologies for students and faculty. The purpose of this bounded multiple case study was to explore how the adoption of…

This article uses Wellington City Libraries as the basis for a case study of a future-focused, reorganized staffing structure in a public library network. It covers the change from why, how, departure from a building-based hierarchical structure, new staff and line responsibilities, union involvement, implications for staff training to culture and…

Describes a one-year experiment with collective management--i.e., management in which decision-making rests with the department as a whole--in the Oberlin College Library reference department. The planning process, problems, and advantages and disadvantages of this style of management are discussed. Several questions are raised about the…

Deals with the reasons why so many "services to the disadvantaged" and other innovative projects end up being disadvantaged services. (Author)

Data from 16 university libraries in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand are used to determine, but not evaluate, the variety and extent of library services offered by ASEAN university libraries in the context of their organizational operating modes. These libraries, representing 80 percent of those queried, responded to…

The Task Force on Goals, Organization, and Planning, established in January 1976 to review the operations of the Library of Congress (LC), recommends changes to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the institution. Suggestions are made without regard to budgetary restraints. Major recommendations included in Part I concern the areas of: (1)…

A nine month self-study aimed at improving public and technical services, internal operations, and overall management was conducted during 1979-80 by the library staff at Saint Mary's College. A part of the Small Library Planning Program, the study was funded by the Lilly Foundation through the Office of Management Studies, Association of Research…