Library and Information Center Management

by Barbara B. Moran

Strategic planning. Facilities management. Leadership, ethics, communication, and motivation. Human resources and staffing. Change, library development, and innovation. Marketing. Measurement and evaluation. Fiscal responsibility and control. These are just some of the wide range of responsibilities and necessary skills of contemporary library managers--not all of which are typically covered in detail in LIS educational programs.



Now updated and expanded for its ninth edition, Libraries Unlimited's Library and Information Center Management is the core management text for library information science programs. This latest text adds new information on grant writing as well as more about budgets, marketing, financial management, assessment, and evidence-based management. The authors include various real-world examples from international settings to help readers understand and conceptualize the place of the library and information center in our global world. Each chapter ends with two helpful sections that present numerous examples and opportunities to apply newly gained "Practice Your Skills" and "Discussion Questions."

Genres: Nonfiction, Library Science, Textbooks, Librarianship, School, Adult, Professional Development

570 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the textbook for my Library Management class, and the book completely sucked. It's poorly written and clearly did not get the benefit of any real editing, which is surprising considering that it's the seventh edition. In one chapter, the authors mentioned adhering to an employee's "preferred preferences" for something or other. And then there was the chapter that was over thirty pages long yet managed to say just about nothing. The only things that made using this book bearable were the snarky comments the previous owner had made in the margins. I added several of my own for the benefit of the person who buys it from me.
As further evidence of how bad this book is... One of the authors is the retired former head of the Simmons College library school. Do they use this book in the management class there? No! (According to a friend of mine who is a recent alum)

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a textbook and I will definitely be counting it toward my Read Harder Reading Challenge.

My favorite highlights include:
• "Managers are usually very busy people"
• "As a result of this heavy workload, [managers] often feel stress"
• and the "Preferred pay, benefits and rewards" for the "general managerial competence" is that "you measure success by income level and expect to be highly paid."

[Emmers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me just leave you with this line: "...,many librarians, especially women, lack confidence that they would be successful as managers, and thus, never apply for managerial positions."

Thanks. I hate it.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fat book. Again, not the most exciting of subjects; however, it is great for people who know nothing of library management. It is also good for people who just haven't done any studying on management in general.

There is a lot of text in the book that seems to be there just for entertainment value. Aside from that, I think this book serves its intended purpose, and not just the purpose to bore me to the point of wanting to jump in front of a bus. Though, it does that too!

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really did read this book cover to cover. Well, I ran my eyes over the pages, anyway. What I discovered is that there will be one sentence in each paragraph that is informative. The rest of the sentences repeat that sentence in various formats, over and over, or offer vague examples. I bet if I had a background in management this book wouldn't have been so sleep-inducing... it's like a brief whirlwind through management concepts and theories. Too much information, so it just touches on everything. For someone like me, it made my management course more difficult (no class lectures, just book reading) but worked wonderfully in curing insomnia.

[sheena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe I read the whole thing!

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.9 Stars. Not bad, not great. Some parts interesting, some parts really boring.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say. It's just like every other textbook - marginally useful in certain situations. I will say I learned more from this book than I did from the actual class. It is an amazingly broad and shallow overview of everything an LIS manager would need to know about managing a library, from HR to budgeting to building a new building. It's so shallow that I'm sure an actual manager would find it almost useless. As an introduction to LIS management though, it's all right. The authors often have difficulty trying to come up with new and inventive ways to say "don't treat your employees like trash, please treat them like living breathing human beings for the love of god" which is hilarious.

[Kari Schooley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for a class. As far as textbooks go, this has been one of my favorites of my MLS. I’d actually give it a 3.5 if it was possible. I learned a lot from this textbook as it was written in a very understandable text with much knowledge imparted.

[Joe Lopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a textbook about management. It was a slog to get through sometimes. It was really interesting sometimes. It helped fulfill all of my assignments for the class. "Like" and "Don't Like" don't really apply in that situation.

[McKenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dry material with a dry writing voice. However, the examples, links, graphs, and charts were helpful.

[Dean Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good textbook. I would recommend this be purchased by anyone who is in a management role in a Library. Worth the purchase.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

uuuuugh

[Ali Ahmed]

i want to read this book becasue it is very knowledgeable book

[collbrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.5 stars. I'm not sure how such a dense book also manages to not explain certain things well...

[Lyz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually really easy to read which is a nice feature in a textbook.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will not finish.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview of critical managerial skills pertinent to all library employees, but particularly those seeking leadership roles. This text provides just the right amount of information to introduce important concepts. Readers needing further information will have the means to research specific subjects using the bibliographies. The call-out sections mentioning real-life examples and hypothetical situations are great for group discussions or personal reflection.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a disclaimer, I'm a graduate student pursuing a Master's in Library Information Science, specifically in Informatics. My forte is web development, graphic design, social media, and usability. The class for which I read this textbook was required.

That said, while I find the topic of library administration outside my interest and more than a little boring, the class itself was well instructed and engaging, and I learned much with which I could align to my day job as a library web master. This particular book was the foundation for the organization of the class and the means to foster and support discussion/posts and student research.

I feel the content of this textbook was above average in utility, especially the sections regarding strategic planning. I would have given this text another half a star if the sections on marketing and advocacy were larger, but I'm biased toward the field of design, so take that with a grain of salt. Most of the time the authors' voices were light and readable, but a little overly verbose and redundant.

My major dislike for this textbook is the price - over $50. To be fair, I don't like spending money in general. Nevertheless, if you're like me and have no real use for a book on library management, I would suggest you inter/library-loan it, or borrow from a friend, or checkout an eBook via your local library's digital collection (if any of those options are available to you).

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's be fair. This book was read for a Library Management and Administration class, so odds are that unless you are really interested in this topic, you would find a textbook of the same material dull. This book had some varying strengths ad weaknesses. For instance, it explained many points thoroughly, but it also could have been about half its current size if it had focused more on the actual information one needed/wanted to know rather than rambling on and harping on various points. Also, a great variety of subjects, but there was a large difference in coverage: some had entire chapters or sections, while other were relegating to a few paragraphs within a chapter.

The higher star rating truly comes from the breakout boxes, which present scenarios, case studies, or general facts in a more interesting manner. I found these to be the most well-done portion of the book! This book is highly informative, if not a little long.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

As is the problem with many textbooks, this book explains its subject well, just not in an interesting fashion. Admittedly, many writers would have trouble making an explanation of budgeting processes (just to choose a topic) fascinating. I do want to give the authors credit for understanding their audience. At the end of the book, they talk about how most library science students don't intend on becoming managers and that many of them have really negative feelings about managing. (They figure students should study management anyway, since most librarians will have to manage someone at some point in their careers).

[CluckingBell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Simplistic, redundant, and often cringe-worthy. Read this excerpt on motivation and decide for yourself:

"No reinforcement leads to the extinction of a behavior. Skinner's model posits that when a behavior is not reinforced in one way or another, it will decrease in frequency and then stop. For example, if a manager neither praises nor criticizes the worker who yells across the room to get his attention, that unwanted behavior is not being reinforced and should eventually cease."

Yeah, that's how that works.

It wasn't like this for the entire 489 pages, but often enough I can't possibly give it two stars.

[Adrienna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I reviewed some of the material in the book, read most of it, and scanned through pages (highlighted some areas and very few pages were already highlighted with the used copy my father purchased for me). I really wanted to focus on library trends, but didn't really touch on the subject except giving other titles to read. I also wanted to read about staffing and what it is like for management since I have been getting library jobs interviews, but wondering what are they looking for. I know it has something to do with the culture and if I will fit in instead of experience and education at most times.

Leisure read 2015

[Catfish · Rating 2 out of 5]

A required reading for my MLIS program, the repetition in this book is staggering. I realize that even common sense needs to be put on paper, but it hurt to read some of this. I gave it a two instead of a one because it *does* recognize that authoritarian management styles are being supplanted by team management. The "What do you think?" segments are partly engaging and there is a great deal to read about the history of management thought and strategic planning, but most of the time I write curses in the margins and "Ha!" A necessary but utterly unsatisfying read.

[Sheri · Rating 1 out of 5]

worst. textbook. ever. I can't believe that someone actually was paid to write/compile this textbook and that Libraries Unlimited can, in good conscience, charge $50 for it. So thankful a friend passed it along to me for free & I just owe her a nice dinner for it or else I would be pissed at having wasted money as a poor graduate student. To illustrate my point, just take a peek at Figures 8.4 & 9.1. If I can bear to peruse the book again I'll add some of the pointless text later.

[Ariel Dagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who thinks librarians or for that case any person working in a non profit organization has an easy day, think again. This book clearly addresses significant issues raised by and dealt with organization that are in constant flux and change.
Highly recommended for any person involved in management of non profits.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cut-and-dried textbook of theory with limited practical applications. Stueart offers some critical examination of historical library management and interesting ideas for organizing libraries in the future. However, the exploration of these ideas are never fully realized and the book leaves much to be desired.

[Walt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very theoretical and academic. It is hard understanding some of their concepts. However, if the reader blocks out the fact that the text looks at library management, one can see that it draws heavily on Peter Drucker and Henry Mintzberg.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the worst textbooks I have ever read. The book suffers from either poor proofreading or poor editing or both. Highly unrecommended. I'll give it two stars because there were a few chapters I didn't completely hate.