This monograph offers writing that is both professional and academic. Volume 18 continues to be characterized by a focused eclecticism, informed by theory and reflection, and stretching the boundaries of practice. Among the 11 contributions here are forward-thinking pieces on professional stress resulting from the impact of virtual libraries, an integrated approach to the development of an information resources strategic plan, an international perspective on quality assurance in library support of distance learning, and a research study that offers a methodology to determine and measure gender-based salary disparities in academic libraries. Additionally, this volume includes papers presented at a symposium at the University of Michigan in honour of the career of Richard Dougherty, one of America's most well-regarded library administrators. These papers note some of the obstacles and challenges that those working in today's academic libraries face in their attempts to clear the way for fresh visions of library leadership suited for the years ahead.

Volume 20 includes important contributions to the field from the UK, Germany, and the United States. These deal with the evolving role of the chief information officer, information ethics, library services at a distance, e-metrics, and continuous quality improvement.

This volume addresses an eclectic mix of topics that adapt theoretical concepts relating to the management of libraries to stretch the boundary of practice. The nine contributions include a definition of knowledge management and an outline of a curriculum designed to train knowledge managers developed in Australia, a case study of the application of change management at SMU, and a discussion of how ebooks fit into collection management policies. It also includes two pieces on research on the Internet, one that focuses on student use of this tool and the other on the ethical implications of Internet research. Other contributions include a study of how effective managers work and a discussion of quality assessment in libraries and in American higher education. The volume concludes with discussions of consortia that are developing in Ohio and in Taiwan. While each of these articles are quite different in focus, each deals with an issue that we who are charged with leading libraries must address, and each contributes to the discussions that are likely to clarify our visions of where libraries are going and how we might adapt them to meet the future needs of our clientele. As a result, this volume should take its place beside others in the series as a significant contribution to the literature of management within librarianship.

"Advances in Library Administration and Organization," since its inception in 1982, has had as its primary aim the provision of a forum for research articles of interest to library managers that are longer than the typical journal article but shorter than most books in library administration. Over the years, "ALAO" has been successful in allowing more experienced managers to discuss fully topics that interest them and in identifying scholars who are talking about issues that are of importance to all library administrators. From the outset, "ALAO's" mix of contributions to the literature of library administration and organization was intended to be both diverse and eclectic. Now in its 17th year ALAO has remained true to its purpose. The series is widely read by practitioners, library and information science graduate students, and those working in associated fields of information management. "ALAO" remains the premier monographic series in library administration and organization.

Intended for librarians and library managers in academic institutions, this series aims to cover advances in library administration and organization. The collected articles draw upon practical situations to illustrate administrative principles.

This collection of essays is designed to challenge working administrators and researchers to look more closely at their operations and consider again how they develop people and the organizations in which they work. It leads off with an article on skill development in reference service using a holistic approach to analyze reference in context. Then comes an article on the importance of organizational culture in defining service organizations in general and libraries in particular. It argues that when one considers libraries in this light, the importance of a strong ethical framework becomes evident in our institutions. The third article looks at advice networks, and addresses the importance that contacts within and outside of the library in which we work and within and outside of our profession play on individual's receptivity to innovation. The next three articles relate to personnel matters. The first discusses issues relating to the relationship between faculty status and tenure and salaries in academic libraries. This is followed by a piece that looks at the development of leaders for small, rural libraries, most of whom will not have formal training in librarianship. A third piece analyzes the criteria for selecting academic library directors that are considered important by those administrators who oversee this key leadership position. We then close with an article that looks at the validity of SERVQUAL as applied to a large public library system. LibQUAL+, an adaptation of SERVQUAL designed for use in academic libraries has become a staple in our literature for years, but there is little available that really turns a critical eye to the use of this important tool. This article will perhaps begin a healthy discussion about how this tool is applied in our libraries and how the results have been used in library operations. As always, this volume of Advances attempts to look at what it is we do as managers and to bring research and theory into our operations. It is designed to combine the practical and the theoretical in a way that will inform working managers and provide interesting questions for those engaged in research about library organizations.

This is "ALAO"'s first nation specific volume. It represents part of an effort to further internationalize the journal's contents and interests. The volume's papers describe the Library & Information Science community in Finland, outline the history of Library & Information Science in the country and reviews the scientific achievements of its Library & Information Science scholars. These papers deal with some universal themes and topics in Library & Information Science research and practice and demonstrate the unique Library & Information Science contribution Finnish scholars/practitioners bring to these problems and issues. This book series is available electronically at website.

This volume includes a series of papers designed to help administrators meet the challenges of running organizations in an ambiguous climate. All of the articles address real management problems from a research perspective. The volume leads with a bibliometric study designed to help us understand the development of library science and higher education as disciplines and follows with a piece on the importance of place for libraries, a study of interactive services and professional culture within librarianship and then pieces on staff development and mentoring. Then we look at the work processes of research librarians and management education for librarians. Finally, we look at service programs aimed at the Hispanic population and provide a location analysis of public libraries in Calcutta. As in past volume, this edition of ALAO includes an eclectic collection of strong papers that convey the results of the kind of research that managers need, mixing theory with a good dose of pragmaticism. The resulting volume adds significant value to our literature as the essays it contains treats classic problems in new ways.
*Includes papers designed to help library administrators meet challenges in the profession
*Mixes theory and pragmatics to provide a valuable resource
*Essays treat classic problems in new ways

This volume of Advances in Library Administration and Organization is designed to help administrators meet the challenges of running organizations in an ambiguous climate. It leads with a paper that uses innovation theory and a communications model to track how LIS practitioners acquire the theoretical base required to undergird their efforts. This theoretical piece is followed by a very personal view of what knowledge one must acquire to succeed as a leader of libraries, offering a more practical view of how administrators develop. Then comes a set of papers that address very real problems - performance assessment and its impact, the question of whether it is profitable for communities to completely outsource public library operations, and then three separate articles that look at career paths for public and academic librarians and the retention of those people by organizations. On a different tack, another contributor looks at how libraries communicate with their clients while cutting journals to insure consumer confidence in the decision-making process of the library; subsequently developing a model for joint decision-making that should be of interest to our community. The final paper leaves the realm of the library and examines how public and private organizations in the United Kingdom manage information as an asset and how that affects their performance in the marketplace.
As in past volume, this edition of ALAO includes an eclectic collection of strong papers that convey the results of kind of research that managers need. mixing theory with a good dose of pragmaticism. The result should add value to the literature.
Series information at: http: //www.elsevier.com/locate/series/alao
*Addresses theoretical and practical issues administrators face in ambiguous environments
*An eclectic collection of papers that reflect the myriad challenges library administrators face everyday

This volume of Advances in Library Administration and Organization offers papers of interest to practitioners and researchers in the library community throughout the world.. All of the papers in one way or another address the tension between what researchers can deliver, what they define as reputable knowledge, and what library practitioners need to know "to get the job done." While these papers differ from each other by problem, scale, methodology and theory, one question "What can science tell us about practice?" unites them all. These papers include a discussion of the principles that underlie collection development, two papers that critically examine the relation between distance learning and on site library service and two more papers that use the notion of sense making to look at what the terms leadership and public space mean when we talk about libraries.

The last three papers address a series of pragmatic issues anyone who works within a library can identify with, namely, "what does it mean to "market" a library," "how can we define "value" in relation to what goes on in a library and create "value" for our communities," and, finally, "What constitutes and impedes 'success" for library professionals?," especially if those who are minority women.

These papers, taken together, raise the issues of how well we understand, researchers and practitioners alike, the institutions we study, manage and work within. What we in the profession often regard as common sense and "good practice" may not really be either. In short, these papers point to a number of issues, ones we often do not even acknowledge, that researchers need to help practitioners address if science is to makea difference in how librarians understand and manage the institutions they work within.

Volume twenty one of "Advances in Library Administration and Organization" offers timely articles from scholars and administrators working throughout the world. It adapts theory to practice in a variety of areas of interest to those who manage libraries. These include a demographic study of Canadian librarianship, an article on the implementation of ISO9000 in Thailand, pieces on information literacy programs in the United States, and a discussion of organizational culture within libraries from South Africa. The idea is to provide food for thought for practitioners and theorist alike so that they might be spurred to think about the challenge of making libraries run well. Whether one is interested is service philosophies as discussed in a symposium held in honor of Johannah Sherrer, the definition of command work, or the process used to thoughtfully develop and refine an assessment program in a Colorado university library, there is something here for every manager that will help them confront the challenges facing them. The articles address obstacles facing all of us every day and offer insights that can be of value as we seek a vision for libraries and librarianship in the 21st century.

Intended for librarians and library managers in academic institutions, this series aims to cover advances in library administration and organization. The collected articles draw upon practical situations to illustrate administrative principles.

Recent years have seen numerous and substantial changes in the processes, expectations, and criteria that inform the work of regional accreditation commissions and professional accreditation associations. This sourcebook offers an overview of the accreditation process focused specifically on contemporary expectations for and challenges to libraries, information technologies, and academic computing, and offers practical advice to those librarians involved with academic accreditation activity. Chapters in this professional reference book overview and discuss the principal issues and challenges of academic accreditation, the process of accreditation, and the role of libraries in that process. Throughout the book, attention is given to changing student demographics, the impact of new technologies on the mission of the university, and the evolving expectations placed on the library and other campus information centers. Chapter authors include several executives associated with regional accreditation commissions, library administrators who have extensive experience with accreditation, and university administrators knowledgeable of accreditation issues.

This handbook offers a comprehensive discussion of the consultant/library relationship. It includes chapters written by full-time professional library consultants, information specialists, and library administrators who have had extensive experience in using consultants to solve a range or problems in information service. Parts I and II address the need to provide a solid foundation, based on an understanding of what the consultant will do, before arriving on the scene. Practical advice is offered by the contributors which should allow for the library or information center staff to more fully accept the activity of the consultant. A common thread woven throughout the chapters is the need for strong communication. Part III offers views on the roles that consultants may play in the negotiation process, the development of proposals, and in the evaluation of large-scale information systems. Specialty areas of consultancy are discussed in Part IV, while Part V explores the more vexing dilemmas associated with the consulting process. Parts VI and VII provide insights into the future use of consultants and explores alternatives to the use of the traditional external consultant. A bibliographic essay and comprehensive index complete the volume.

New library administrators will find this book of value as they seek to understand the value of using consultants and in establishing effective working relationships with them. Middle management library administrators will find the book of interest as they seek to appreciate the range of specialities that consultants now offer. In addition, library and information science students, as well as consultants themselves, will find the book of practical value.