Critical human resources are becoming more scarce and management needs to be more knowledgeable about people-related issues. However, many libraries do not have human resource specialists. This book relates the field of human resources to the library world in concept and in specific example.

Human resources are the people who work for the organization; human resource management is really employee management with an emphasis on those employees as assets of the business. In this context, employees are sometimes referred to as human capital. As with other business assets, the goal is to make effective use of employees, reducing risk and maximizing return on investment. Library "staff" refers to all the people employed by a particular library. Libraries have increasing become complex and dynamic organizations that need strategic thinking and more complex processes in order to compete in an environment challenged by technology and independent users. Academic libraries, because of their relationship with a centralized larger institution, can very well overlook the importance of developing their own strategic plans and initiatives for developing personnel and the human role of total operations and relevance to its mission and value added to institutional goals and objectives. Understanding how the human resource components of the organization adds to the dynamics of the library as a whole can offer a higher level of intelligent decision making for the road ahead. In every academic library employee, from the dean or director down to a student assistant, is subject to a number of complicated, confusing, and intertwined employment policies and procedures. Because of the complex interplay of these forces, human resources (HR) management and personnel transactions can seem mysterious or confusing.

In this book, first published in 1989, educators, library administrators, and human resources managers will find helpful insights into the vital role they can play in attracting pro-active people to the profession, changing current library structures and staffing patterns to meet emerging information needs, and developing existing staff to cope with conflicting demands. Contributors to this valuable new book also explore the human resources implications of the changing mission of libraries; the challenges faced by public services; the need to reallocate, reclassify, and retain existing staff; and the increasingly important role that human resources specialists play in libraries in transition.

Emerging Human Resource Trends in Academic Libraries presents the collective wisdom of human resource librarians and administrators who have been in the forefront of practicing and applying the human resource principles in academic libraries. The book is divided into five Parts: Part I focuses on the present academic library environment and the unique human resource challenges that can be found there. Part II looks at the role of LIS education in preparing Masters level librarians to work within academic libraries and beyond. Part III examines how human resource departments in organizations can continue education beyond the degree for professionals and other staff. Part IV is concerned with how academic libraries show their value to the parent institution. Part V focuses on the library staff roles, how they have changed, and how they are valued in relation to faculty and professional positions. These chapters within each Part represent the emerging trends within academic libraries that impact how librarians are educated, mentored and given the ability to obtain professional development training as incumbent librarians as changes occur in the field. Each chapter is written by a practitioner in HR who has experienced related problems and sought solutions.

... "HRM is a strategic process having to do with the staffing, compensation, retention, training, and employment law and policies side of the business." -- Page 1.