How do you find good library shelvers and keep them for more than a few months? Tunstall gives practical advice to help you do just that with a complete overview on how to hire, test, train, and retain shelvers. A complete toolkit, this book includes templates for signs advertising employment, screening tests, interview questions, employment letters, job descriptions, and employee assessments; the dos and don'ts of hiring and firing; and checklists for procedures and training. Every librarian will be able to hire, train, and supervise library shelvers with confidence with Tunstull's down-to earth advice.

Designed to improve any board's effectiveness, this resource offers proven advice about what it takes to make everything from meetings to evaluations run smoothly and addresses the critical questions every board member needs to understand: What does it mean to be on a library board of trustees? How does advocacy work and why is it important? Who makes library policy? Is there a more effective way to do strategic planning? Practical checklists, tables, and 'what have you learned?' review items will help anyone maximize the experience of serving on a board. Trustees, administrators, consultants, trainers, and library students will welcome this hands-on, 'bring it along and mark it up' reference.

From McDonald's arches to Nike's swoosh, logos are part of the everyday landscape. These are the visual representations of brands' extensive marketing stories, defining the meaning and message of the company.Branding is one part of the marketing process that focuses on developing a laser-clear message and the means to communicate that message to the intended audience. But, as a library, where does branding fit?In the new media mix, libraries need to stand up and effectively communicate their benefits as a preferred provider of information and entertainment resources. By following the step-by-step guidance of Doucett, branding pro turned librarian, libraries can begin to develop branding that makes a difference. With branding scaled and tailored to the nonprofit public library arena, this guide: clarifies marketing and branding; explains where to start; shows how to define the message and grab attention with visuals; and, considers pitfalls.The book covers everything from working with outside experts to evaluating and maintaining your library's brand, illustrated by case studies from other libraries. For those who have made a start, the chapters stand on their own - librarians can pick up wherever they left off. End-of-chapter exercises enhance the feedback process. Tips, suggestions for success, and answers to frequently asked questions ensure your team collaborates on a library brand that will bring more patrons through the door!

The extensively updated fourth edition of this best-selling classic is an essential practical resource for anyone responsible for the creation, maintenance, management, control and use of electronic records created by computer, audio and video systems. Written by renowned author and educator William Saffady and co-published by ARMA International, this timely guide thoroughly examines the pertinent concepts, procedures, methods of protection and daily management guidelines involved in this rapidly expanding field. Saffady provides start-to-finish guidance for initiating effective programs for storing, retrieving and controlling electronic records, with coverage of vital components including: Concepts and Issues; Storage Media; File Formats; Inventorying; Retention Schedules; Managing Vital Electronic Records; and Managing Electronic Files and Media. Valuable appendices provide suggestions for further study and research, and a comprehensive glossary defines important terms as they relate specifically to the records management arena.

In two parts, this expert guide from ALA's Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) provides the necessary resources librarians can use to connect patrons to specific information via government sites and electronic documents.Managing and providing access to the ever-expanding wealth of electronic government information now available presents a significant challenge for librarians, even those who are government documents specialists.In two parts, this expert guide from ALA's Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) provides the necessary resources librarians can use to connect patrons to specific information via government sites and electronic documents.In part one, the contributing authors discuss historical contexts and contemporary issues of electronic government collections. In part two, they give practical guidance for implementing and improving services.Deftly edited by Andrea Morrison, this book: navigates the local, state, federal, and international e-government landscape; provides in-depth description and examples for cataloging electronic government documents; suggests outreach methods for sharing resources internally and externally; and recommends practical tips for keeping up with electronic government information. Libraries of all types will find this comprehensive book a very useful bridge to serving more patrons through electronic government collections. Offering sound advice for anyone who is or should be working with government documents, this book is especially useful for reference, map, digital, and technical services librarians.

Based on more than 50 years of author expertise in organizational improvement, ""The Quality Library"" offers a methodology to pinpoint trouble areas and improve processes.In an environment of budget cuts and freezes, libraries must keep a tight rein on costs and inefficiencies. The efficiency of systems and processes goes hand-in-hand with excellent customer service. Managers, however, often find themselves far enough removed from the day-to-day activities in the library that they don't know where inefficiencies, mistakes, and poor customer service may occur.By developing a customer-focused system outlining library processes and networks, administrators and managers can quickly determine areas for improvement that directly apply to the library's goals and missions. Staff will also learn how to statistically document the new process' performance, giving the library a means to quantify its effects.This book gives administrators a clear understanding of their suppliers and customers. It empowers front-line staff to make improvements and better decisions. It boosts employee and team morale as they work together to bring about change. It offers real-life success examples showing how process improvement works. It includes figures, appendices, worksheets, and a glossary.By continuously evaluating processes based on the guidelines and worksheets provided here, public and academic library administrators and managers will improve the quality and efficiency of service for patrons and staff alike.

This is a worst-case survival handbook for protecting your library's valuable technology assets.A must-have preparedness handbook for every library and information center, this non-technical guide offers you comprehensive strategy for protecting your library's technology assets against the growing array of threats - from viruses and worms to hackers, system failures, and natural disasters. Here is a step-by-step, easy-to-implement guide for securing servers, systems, and networks against both internal and external threats.Beginning with the fundamentals, the authors will guide you through the steps necessary to build a comprehensive security plan. You will learn how to take a detailed inventory of your library's many technology platforms and identify the threats specific to each. Next is a detailed how-to for performing a thorough needs assessment leading to clear and detailed written policies, and finally, an appropriate recovery action plan.The authors explain the relevant technologies, security measures, and available software and hardware tools in simple terms, allowing you to see the big picture and create an effective security plan without getting bogged down in the technical details that are the province of the IT department. A carefully chosen collection of model plans and a glossary of technical terms round out this invaluable guide.

This book is ideal for anyone who aims to obtain an overview of the current status of Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) development. It helps identify the key FRBR issues that need to be addressed and investigates the future directions of FRBR development. Implementing FRBR in Libraries: Key Issues and Future Directions is the first book to address the theory and implementation of FRBR in a unified discussion. Authors Yin Zhang and Athena Salaba, winners of the 2009 ALISE/Bohdan S. Wynar Research Paper Competition Award,"" give readers a clear framework for understanding FRBR's current and potential implications on library catalogs. They provide a thorough introduction to the history of FRBR and its possible benefits, a detailed description of the FRBR model and its components, and a discussion of its practical influence in transforming description standards, cataloging and metadata practices. The book includes examples of how professionals are successfully applying FRBR in real-life library settings, and explores various methods for effectively implementing the FRBR model. Each chapter includes illustrations to help reinforce fundamental concepts. The book contains a comprehensive appendix of key terms and acronyms to aid readers new to the field and a list of projects and software to showcase practical FRBR applications. Library catalogers, indexers, metadata creators, reference librarians, researchers, and LIS educators and students who need to know, or know more about, FRBR will find this refreshingly straightforward book invaluable.

Using paraprofessionals to answer reference questions is a great way to expand your library's reference reach while getting the most value out of your staff. But how do you begin training them? What training materials should be used? What skills should be taught? How important is the reference interview for paraprofessionals? What are the pros and cons of using paraprofessionals in this manner? Morgan answers these and other questions in a new edition of this bestselling book. Revised and updated to include basic and advanced skills using both print and electronic resources, this volume includes modules on government information, international and corporate information, statistics, medical and health information, and more. This guide will help you prepare paraprofessionals for the issues front line library staff face on a daily basis. Once you've trained them, you can turn again to the book for tips and strategies on evaluation and supplemental training. If your library has catalogers, students, newly hired staff, or other staff members with untapped potential, this book is for you.

Specifically designed to accommodate the frantic pace of the busy public library professional, the first title in this new series from the Public Library Association provides clear and accessible insight into the most relevant topics and complex challenges in the library world today. From working with a board of directors to making library policy recommendations, overseeing strategic plans, preparing budgets, supervising personnel, evaluating services, administering facility maintenance, overseeing materials selection, and more, directors and managers will find relief in the book's practical guidance and solutions - all of which are organized into brief, information-packed sections. ""The Reader""'s collected writings span the gamut of hot topics and challenges facing today's library directors and managers. Chapter coverage includes: advocacy basics; tips for retaining and motivating high-performing employees; improving directorship; library communication; intellectual freedom matters; reference services; and, technological applications. This latest from the Public Library Association provides both the crucial knowledge and practical answers that will help public library managers and directors more effectively and successfully lead their libraries.

Despite the volumes of information they contain, few libraries, whose population at any given moment is as unpredictable as the weather, know how to prepare for, endure, and survive a disaster, whether natural or man-made, and even fewer put their know-how to paper. Emergency Preparedness for Libraries provides library management with a comprehensive guide to planning and executing emergency procedures. Based, in part, on an emergency preparedness seminar the author has presented for the American Library Association, Emergency Preparedness for Libraries provides library personnel with detailed instructions for protecting staff, patrons, and the facilities themselves, including Steps to take now, before disaster strikes People and procedures to include in an emergency/disaster action plan Practical ways to turn written plans into an instinctual team response Safety considerations to take into account when caring for people on-site during an emergency Information to provide to the umbrella organization and the media after a disaster Key things to do the first few days after an event Tips for getting back to business In addition, the author examines possible scenarios and provides step-by-step solutions for all types of libraries academic, school, public, and special and all types of disruptions, including floods, fires, civil disturbances, and theft.

In this clearly written and easy-to-understand guide, Healey explains the threat of potential liabilities, and most importantly, recommends how to avoid them. This vital guide clarifies how liability issues differ not only between institutions - public libraries, academic libraries, museums - but also between varying information related jobs like reference librarianship and cataloguing. The book's introduction covers basic issues - enforcement mechanisms, defenses to claims and more - and follows with specific theories - negligence, malpractice, defamation and material torts, and more. Also covered are potential sources of claims, and suggestions for actions to take should you be faced with one. Audits, checklists, and sample policies are included for those wishing to further enhance their knowledge concerning a top legal issue among today's information professionals.

Expanding on the highly effective ""PLA Results Series"", Goodrich and Singer offer PLA colleagues a strategic approach to the human resources (HR) function in the library. The book focuses on a variety of possible projects and how to staff them, allowing each library to decide where and how to focus their attention. It includes everything needed to deploy HR strategically in the library and: align staff resources with what needs to be done; identify the right people for the right jobs and develop meaningful job descriptions; create a high-performance work force through performance plans, coaching, and evaluation; and retain the best and brightest by creating the culture, designing expectations, and building commitment.Packed with practical tools, this hands-on guide includes a familiar case study that illustrates how the information can be applied, along with twelve workforms to help you collect and organize the data you need to make informed HR decisions. Using this project-based approach, library directors, administrators and human resource managers can identify and motivate the right team members to achieve the library's goals and service priorities as identified in the planning process.

As the profession's newest members take their places in our libraries, it's vital to learn what helps them grow as managers and leaders. In this compelling and personal new work each chapter showcases new librarians sharing the strategies that ignite their professional development. It's inspiring for the new members of your library team and highly informative for management teams committed to building effective professional development programs. The editors have strategically highlighted those practices and programs that work best in supporting emerging library leaders. And to further support your library's staff growth, each chapter features a recap of best practices and lessons learned. From building personal networks and creating innovative job descriptions, to mentoring programs, organizing first-year experiences, and providing intensive training, this book will help you support your entry-level librarians, as they build effective leadership skills, assume greater responsibilities, and provide a valuable source of new energy and insight for your library community. If you're committed to engaging a new generation of library leaders and attracting the best and brightest to your institution, put this book at the top of your "must have" list.

For nearly two decades, the ""Public Library Association's Results Series"" has been the definitive resource for practical everyday management. This latest addition to the series offers: tips to help determine which activities effectively support goals and objectives; fourteen easy to follow tasks, presented in order; the tools needed for staff to prepare and effectively communicate change; and, all the necessary tools for reviewing current and potential library activities. After the time and effort spent developing your strategic plan, take the next step with this must-have book.

A complete guide to the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress classification of subjects relating to the Second World War.

An informed citizenry, capable of informed participation, is one of the principles on which U.S. democracy is based, its premise represented in Constitutional principles of intellectual freedom. To what extent does participation in the political process and civic engagement require access to information representing various viewpoints and perspectives? And in turn, how do issues of race, ethnicity and culture, language, economic disparity, and geographic isolation limit such access? Mark Winston offers a cross section of individual, collective, and organizational efforts--from both ends of the political spectrum--to control information access in the hopes of protecting society from itself. Beginning with Brown v. Board of Education, he considers the role played by equality of educational opportunity and agencies such as the library as essential influences on public discourse and sound decision-making.

Libraries need to be open and inviting, yet safe for patrons, staff, and collections. How can you ensure your library is both accessible and secure? Security planning, part of disaster response and continuous operations planning, is the key to proactively addressing potential safety issues.Look over the shoulder of disaster expert Kahn as she walks through key safety and security issues step by step. This new book outlines hands-on plans to: identify potential security problems; put prevention strategies in place; create guidelines for libraries and staff in case something does happen; and, minimize risk, whether to building, collections, patrons, staff, or computers.Case studies, along with 20 checklists and 10 sample policies and forms, are the basis for organizing and evaluating security plans tailored to your institution. Library administrators, building managers, special collections and preservation staff, IT managers, and facilities directors at libraries and cultural institutions of all sizes and types can easily adapt the tools. Follow these proven strategies to keep problems small and manageable, and know what to do ""in case of emergency.

Connection. Competition. Collaboration. These three words define management of college libraries, today and in the future. They also describe the contents of this book, which focus on planning for the multiple directions that college library managers must consider and act upon. Contributed chapters cover the challenges nearly all must face, such as understanding users, information literacy, staff alignment, and the integration of physical building and function. Some chapters contain studies and models that can be replicated at similar institutions. Others offer documentation that can be used in reports or presentations to administrators and boards. Together, they convey a plethora of good ideas for responding to customers, competitors, technologies, and stakeholders.

Taking a management position in a new library or being promoted to a higher position in your library means a new approach to interpersonal relations. How to make this transition can be a challenge. This book provides the information you need to learn so you can become an effective leader and to recognize and circumvent the legal pitfalls that you may find in your path. Written in reader-friendly language, two seasoned veterans share their experiences and the experiences of others in this introduction to managing people. Managing a small library requires skills in working with personnel, the library board, patrons, and the key people in the community. Understanding these requirements will help the person with no formal education to be a more effective administrator in this setting.

Where would a library be without its student employees? In academic libraries, the number of student employees, in real numbers, often exceeds the number of regular staff. They assist users, shelve materials, and work as security staff; many perform very technical and demanding work, or provide the coverage needed for long hours of access to collections and services (both physical and virtual). Motivated by their appreciation for these unsung heroes, Baldwin and Barkley cover the basics of good supervision, with specific reference to student employees in libraries: how to hire, how to fire, and everything in between. An unparalleled compendium of facts, advice, and checklists.

Library computer users are often novices and may not be aware that even seemingly innocuous information supplied to Web sites can be mined by government agencies, unscrupulous businesses, and criminals. Even the donated computers that libraries accept and pass on to otherwcan reveal confidential information like social security numbers. The recent discovery that online service providers have been supplying vast quantities of data to government agencies without the public's knowledge dramatically brought this threat to light. This book will help you, as a librarian, understand the threats and pitfalls of electronic privacy and develop a solid plan to protect the privacy of your patrons. A glossary of terms and acronyms is included.

This book provides an overview of approaches to assist researchers and practitioners to explore ways of undertaking research in the information literacy field. The first chapter provides an introductory overview of research by Dr Kirsty Williamson (author of Research Methods for Students, Academics and Professionals: Information Management and Systems) and this sets the scene for the rest of the chapters where each author explores the key aspects of a specific method and explains how it may be applied in practice. The methods covered include those representing qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. Both a chapter on the topical evidence-based practice approach, and another critiquing it, are also included. The final chapter points the way towards potential new directions for the burgeoning field.
Renowned information literacy researcher Dr Christine Bruce affirms the usefulness of the book: New researchers and early career professionals will appreciate the clarity of the introductions provided' to each of the methods covered.

Designing a school library media center may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so take advantage! In this hands-on guidebook, school library construction and media specialists Rolf Erikson and Carolyn Markuson share their experiences of working on more than 100 media center building projects around the country, using conceptual plans from actual school libraries.Combining all aspects of design for the school library media center - floor plans, furniture, technology, bidding, and evaluation - this newly updated edition addresses: current and future technological needs of the student population; unique needs of the community library that combines school and public library services; sustainability and conservation issues to help designers and planners ""go green""; accessibility requirements, including all ADA regulations from the first edition plus the latest material on learning styles and accessibility; and, cost control and ways to minimize mistakes using proven bidding and evaluation methods.With 30 new illustrations and floor plans and an updated glossary of technical terms, readers will be knowledgeable and organized when discussing plans with contractors and vendors. Using the guidance here, you'll avoid the classic building and renovation hazards and build a library media center for the future!