View the author's companion website for more information and extra materials Whether they have full governance powers or are just there in an advisory capacity, trustees on library boards need to understand the complex issues that affect a library's ability to provide its community with materials and services that support lifelong learning, jobs, and quality of life. Authors Ellen G. Miller and Patricia H. Fisher have created a strategic guide that will help library board leaders handle important issues such as managing risk; local values and first amendment rights; leadership capable of achieving the library's ideal vision; getting and growing diverse funding sources; and becoming part of the community's leadership team. These issues are discussed in laymen's terms designed for busy trustees and directors who have only a few hours per month together to consider options and make decisions. Library Board Strategic Guide: Going to the Next Level seeks to help trustees and their directors in three broad areas: understanding complex issues and their local impact, assessing the trustee's role in addressing those issues, and reviewing experiences and best practices from other libraries. With many other uses, including use as a tool for board meeting discussions, for self-study, or as a benchmark for assessing your board's performance, this guide will help your library leaders reach that next level of community support.

Written by a team of authors with decades of library administration experience between them, this powerful resource enables academic libraries to produce plans that will offer directional guidance to employees while also demonstrating the library's power to meet institutional goals.

Public libraries have historically faced challenges as viable units in local government. As society struggles with issues related to the scope and effectiveness of government, librarians must ask, “How and why will communities support public libraries in the 21st century?” Public Library Administration Transformed covers public library administration in a comprehensive and detailed manner Chapters cover: administrative functions of the library public finance administrative law library governance human resources leadership strategic planning program management and evaluation marketing and public relations intergovernmental relations cooperative government The discipline of public administration develops skills that are vital to successful libraries. Grounded in the context of public administration, this book provides a framework for future library services, focusing on effective public sector skills, organizational and service innovation, information technology, readers, and the full range of library constituents. Suitable for use in public library classes, exam copies are available to qualified instructors of such courses upon request.

Put simply, there is no text about public librarianship more rigorous or comprehensive than McCook's survey. Now, the REFORMA Lifetime Achievement Award-winning author has teamed up with noted public library scholar and advocate Bossaller to update and expand her work to incorporate the field's renewed emphasis on outcomes and transformation. This "essential tool" (Library Journal) remains the definitive handbook on this branch of the profession. It covers every aspect of the public library, from its earliest history through its current incarnation on the cutting edge of the information environment, including statistics, standards, planning, evaluations, and results;legal issues, funding, and politics;organization, administration, and staffing;all aspects of library technology, from structure and infrastructure to websites and makerspaces;adult services, youth services, and children's services;associations, state library agencies, and other professional organizations;global perspectives on public libraries; andadvocacy, outreach, and human rights. Exhaustively researched and expansive in its scope, this benchmark text continues to serve both LIS students and working professionals.

This book helps readers explore how public librarians have reinvented the ways they bring people and information together to meet 21st-century challenges. Public Libraries in the 21st Century provides an up-to-date picture of what the public library is today, what the public librarian needs to know, and how to apply that knowledge. The book offers a thought-provoking exploration of the social, political, economic, cultural, and technological influences that determine the role of the public library in our society. It also looks at ways in which that role continues to change to meet new challenges, while always keeping true to the mission of bringing people and information together. Beginning in the latter half of the 20th century, the library reinvented and repositioned itself to be a force for people and their interaction with information. To illuminate that process, the book outlines the history and purpose of the public library. Issues of leadership, planning, decision making, organizing, and staffing are discussed, as is the impact of technology on how the library is managed and how it serves the community.

The Medical Library Association Guide to Developing Consumer Health Collections guides both library graduate school students and seasoned librarians from academic, health sciences, and public libraries, to develop, maintain, nurture, and advertise consumer health collections. This authoritative guide from the respected Medical Library Association covers all that is involved in developing a new consumer health library including: Conducting community needs assessments and forging community partnerships Concerns about physical space, computers, and materials Funding, budgeting, and staffing Privacy and confidentiality concerns Publicity and advertising This book guides both graduate library school students and seasoned librarians from all types of libraries—academic, health center, hospital, public, and school--to develop, maintain and nurture not only consumer health collections, but also community partnerships and outreach programs. Examples of librarians’ innovative and creative consumer health initiatives are included. Chapters include all that is involved in developing a consumer health collection including conducting community needs assessments; concerns about physical space, computers, and materials; budgeting, licensing, and staffing; privacy and confidentiality concerns; and community partnership and outreach.

Hage is the director of a public library in Michigan, has worked in libraries for some 32 years, and has experience in creating new libraries and library facilities. She offers a practical manual for library practitioners, civic organizations, and community leaders seeking step-by-step guidance on starting libraries from the ground up. Coverage includes building the project team; securing financing; selecting a director and the staff; establishing personnel and service policies; creating a long-range plan; participating in collaborative arrangements; building, furnishing, and equipping the library; developing the collection; planning and developing services; and promoting the library. Annotation ♭2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).