In library and information science, there is a strong emphasis on technical skills like indexing, database design, and information retrieval. This column shows the importance of interpersonal skills, which reference librarians have traditionally employed, to the current special library environment. Librarians increasingly recognize that people seek information and knowledge from each other just as much if not more so than from databases and documents. Given appropriate mechanisms, experts readily share their knowledge. Decision makers seek information selected and curated by a knowledgeable human being, not just raw data.
At the same time, successful organizations recognize that the most important part of information management is not the library but the librarian, who can employ information strategically. The special library community should worry less about library closures and more about ensuring that librarians understand the work of their clients and deliver relevant information at the appropriate time with context and interpretation, making them an integral part of organizational decision-making. 相似文献
Library consortia are under increasing scrutiny regarding their value to member libraries. Most consortia offer a suite of services which can be valued either quantitatively or qualitatively to determine a return on investment for money and time put into consortial activities. Various common consortial activities are discussed with thoughts regarding their value to local libraries. Recommendations and suggestions are provided on how to perform a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA)/Return on Investment (ROI). 相似文献
Reading this contribution caused me to think about the issues relating to human resource management in a broader global context. This article is a timely reminder that library workplaces are pretty much the same across the world—something I was reminded of recently when I spent some time at an academic library in Malaysia. Local context and issues are important in any consideration of library human resource challenges and opportunities with local factors (such as enterprise agreements, workforce composition, etc.) never far from the focus of library leaders. However, leaving aside local context, library workplaces are also impacted by global factors (including information and communications technologies, global economic conditions, etc.). More so than ever before, the challenges and opportunities playing out when it comes to leadership and management of library human resources, have many things in common. This feature column highlights this point well as it brings a nice mix of applied research and professional practice experience. Based on some large scale research, its findings may be helpful to library leaders in contexts beyond Pakistan.
I am pleased to feature this contribution to help highlight the global nature of our practice of professional skills in librarianship and the leadership of library human resources. As always, I invite contributions to the column on topics broadly addressing themes or issues for library workers throughout their career lifecycle. Please submit articles for this column to the editor at vicki.williamson@usask.ca. Please mark the subject line of your submission “IILR contribution.” 相似文献
Very few students who have taken Wayne State University's required management course from me have any interest in library careers in management. Some are even more firm in their decision after taking the course though most graduates will have management responsibilities in their first library position and some will manage a small library. I polled current students and recent graduates about this reluctance. The sixteen responses considered the following possible causes: personality traits, a preference for traditional library activities, a dislike of managerial responsibilities, prior management experience, and salary. Additional, more systematic research is needed to test this hypothesis. 相似文献
The core argument is that academic libraries need to continue to adapt their roles and develop stronger relationships across the university in order to maintain and promote their relevancy to all stakeholders. Embedded roles in research and teaching, and an embedded existence through collaboration and outreach will strengthen the academic library's presence within its parent institution. 相似文献
This article discusses the launch of BiblioTech---its impetus, mission, timeline, and challenges. The evolution of BiblioTech over its first four years of operation is presented, along with various community and intergovernmental partnerships that the library has forged in fulfillment of its mission. Finally, future opportunities and plans for development are also explored. 相似文献
ConnectNY has been involved in consortial e-book projects since 2010. Based upon the experience of these group e-book projects, we will explore different methods for assuming the shared cost of group e-book programs and then describe ways in which DDA programs may promote a positive Return on Investment (ROI) for groups as compared to individual institutions. We will argue that while use is a factor that can be taken into account when distributing cost amongst members, a budget-based percentage approach will allow consortia to effectively initiate and manage such projects over time. 相似文献
The article presents the project Spatial Analysis of the public library network in Slovenia; the approach, related work, methods used, main findings, impacts, and transferability to other environments. The network of public libraries in Slovenia is quite well developed and consists of slightly over 1,000 service points, i.e., local libraries, their external service points, and bookmobile stops. Public libraries are one of the pillars that preserve the Slovenian language and enhance the local social life. The travel distance to the nearest library is highly important, even more when taking into account social gatherings, access to online databases, and participation in educational and other meetings. Spatial analysis has been performed by using the methods of geographical information systems. A part of the project is also the development of a lightweight Web geodatabase/geoprocessing tool for the planning of library services. Library administrators could directly and easily use the tool for daily and strategic planning to analyze in detail the spatial level of the sociodemographic characteristics of the potential users in the vicinity. The findings have shown significant differences among regions, recommended improvements of the library network, suggested the refinement of the role of the library services according to the perceived needs of the local people, and confirmed the importance of the mobile libraries for rural and remote areas. 相似文献
This study examines the dimensions and impact on both libraries. It will inquire whether it resulted in a limited, primarily administrative arrangement, or whether the libraries were able to achieve true collaboration. The findings highlight some issues libraries could take into account before embarking into a merger process. 相似文献
The Taylor Family Digital Library is the central library opened in 2011 at the University of Calgary dedicated to supporting digital scholarship, creativity, analysis and a supportive learning environment for students. The new building is a technologically advanced converged cultural institution, with mandates to continually evolve in order to meet the needs of students and researchers. The infrastructure to support these mandates required research, collaboration and intense planning, resulting in new construction and technology standards for library renovation and construction projects. This pragmatic article is written for those who will follow in similar footsteps; it provides a roadmap for those embarking on the construction of a new technologically advanced library building. 相似文献
The cost of building library collections continues to increase, forcing librarians to think differently about their budget models. Increasing costs of IT infrastructure needed to connect to information resources also adds to budget concerns. The idea of changing the emphasis of collections budgets to one of broader access is not new, but formally acknowledging the need to support local technology infrastructure and other means of access may offer a new way of promoting the collections budget to university administrators. We propose a budget model that acknowledges these broader requirements and includes concepts of surfacing and discovery, provision, creation, and acquisition. 相似文献
In this issue, Anne Marie Casey, Dean of Retention and Student Success at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, reminds us that real life challenges such as staff resistance and reallocation of campus space have serious impacts on planning. She presents a case study of one library's attempt to deal with these challenges by using a variety of methods, including active employee input, appreciative inquiry, and scenario planning to encourage staff buy-in. For the most part, these attempts proved successful.
Strategic planning is often considered a managerial tool. The management of an organization surveys the environment and develops a plan that they introduce to the organization as a whole. Most modern organizations seek employee involvement in the planning process and feedback to some degree with varied results. But for one academic library, employee involvement in the development and execution of the strategic plans has been a vital part of the processes. The Hunt Library at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has been developing strategic plans for several years with active input from the librarians and staff. This case study chronicles the different approaches the library staff have used to create new plans. One method was to hold a set of retreats where all library staff provided ideas for new initiatives to explore and old processes to retire. Another involved the SOAR approach, which uses appreciate inquiry to determine strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results. A third method employed scenarios to encourage staff input into the next strategic plan. Each of the different approaches yielded interesting results; some failures and many successes. Some processes were more positive than others but they all included mutually agreed-upon strategies that guided the library as it planned future innovations. 相似文献
The purpose of this comprehensive study is to conduct a cross-sectional observation of four Portuguese university libraries, thus contributing to the knowledge of this reality and achieving an overview of the administrative structure, resources, and user instruction in these university libraries. The overall contribution to the field is mainly a focus on the state of the art of university libraries in Portugal. 相似文献
If you would like to send a submission for a future Global Postcards column, please contact either of the column's co-editors: Jacqueline Solis, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, jsolis@email.unc.edu, and Robin L. Kear, University of Pittsburgh, rlk25@pitt.edu. 相似文献