Menu:
But I Want To Hold It In My Hand! Print Resources
Giesecke, Joan. Practical Strategies for Library Managers. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2001. $40.00. ISBN 0-8389-0793-8. Purchase from Amazon.com.
Practical Strategies for Library Managers is a concise book for the new library manager. Joan Giesecke provides a good overview of what is needed and expected, and gives numerous questions for managers to ask themselves. Not only does she discuss how to become a manager, but she also covers the changing environment of middle managers and the new roles they play. She walks readers through the steps in taking charge of a department, emphasizing that how a new manager begin the job greatly affects her acceptance. Other issues addressed are the management skills one needs: mentoring and managing professionals, planning skills, decision-making skills, and communication skills. Chapters on how to structure the department and how to tie everything together round out the book. Practical Strategies is designed to help the middle manager by outlining strategies to successfully manage a department or team and explaining how to become a leader with these innovative and hands-on strategies.
Reviewed by Cassandra Osterloh, Instruction and Reference Librarian at the University of New Mexico, Zimmerman Library.
Stueart, Robert D. and Barbara B. Moran. Library and Information Center Management, 6th ed. Greenwood Village, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2002. $50.00. ISBN 1-56308-990-4. Purchase from Amazon.com.
The new edition of this standard text on library management contains few surprises; it aims to build a decision-making foundation for library and information center managers in a variety of environments. Those keeping older editions as reference should update for discussion of new developments. While the title is thorough, and most examples are library-specific, a good deal of discussion seems to be based on general data about "the American workforce" and on general management theories and principles. More attention to the special nature of library management would be useful. Sections include:
- Evolving (including managing change and the evolution of management theories over the years)
- Planning (including strategic planning)
- Organizing (including structuring the library/information center as an organization)
- Human Resources (including staffing and hiring, evaluating, and legal issues)
- Leading (including the use of psychological and management theory to motivate and manage employees, becoming a leader, and communication issues)
- Coordinating (including statistics and benchmarking, and budgeting)
- Managing in the 21st Century (including needed skills)
Those seeking theory-heavy comprehensiveness and a historical perspective should invest, while those seeking more succinct, hands-on discussion should instead turn to shorter, topical management titles from ALA and other publishers (see above). Most useful for students and those seeking a thorough introduction to management theory as it affects libraries; excessive jargon, extensive footnotes, and a decidedly academic tone might put off working library managers. A supporting web site is available.