Marie Keen Shaw - Supervision and Management: An Introduction for Support Staff

Supervision and Management

Library Support Staff Handbooks

The Library Support Staff Handbook series is designed to meet the learning needs of both students in library support staff programs and library support staff working in libraries who want to increase their knowledge and skills.

The series was designed and is edited by Hali Keeler and Marie Shaw, both of whom teach in support staff programs and have managed libraries.

The content of each volume aligns to the competencies of the required and elective courses of the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) Library Support Staff Certification (LSSC) program. These books are both textbooks for library instructional programs and current resources for working library staff. Each book is available in both print and e-book versions.

Published books in the series include:

1. Foundations of Library Services: An Introduction for Support Staff
2. Library Technology and Digital Resources: An Introduction for Support Staff
3. Cataloging Library Resources: An Introduction
4. Working with Library Collections: An Introduction for Support Staff
5. Communication and Teamwork: An Introduction for Support Staff
6. Supervision and Management: An Introduction for Support Staff

Supervision and Management

An Introduction for Support Staff

Marie Keen Shaw

Hali R. Keeler

Library Support Staff Handbooks, No. 6

Rowman & Littlefield

Lanham Boulder New York London

Published by Rowman & Littlefield

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706

www.rowman.com

Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB

Copyright 2019 by Marie Keen Shaw and Hali R. Keeler

All rights reserved . No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Shaw, Marie Keen, author. | Keeler, Hali R., 1952 author.

Title: Supervision and management : an introduction for support staff / Marie Keen Shaw and Hali R. Keeler.

Description: Lanham : Rowman and Littlefield, [2019] | Series: Library support staff handbooks ; no. 6 | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018020511 (print) | LCCN 2018043090 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538107676 (electronic) | ISBN 9781538107652 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781538107669 (paperback : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Library administrationUnited StatesHandbooks, manuals, etc. | Library personnel managementUnited StatesHandbooks, manuals, etc.

Classification: LCC Z678 (ebook) | LCC Z678 .S52 2018 (print) | DDC 023/.9dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018020511

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

To the communities of library users around the world

and the dedicated library staff who serve them

Preface

Aligned with the revised national American Library AssociationLibrary Support Staff Certification (ALA-LSSC) competency standards, Supervision and Management: An Introduction for Support Staff provides clear explanations on key principles and concepts of library administration and how library support staff (LSS) can support or perform its functions. In todays libraries, LSS often serve in supervisory roles, particularly in schools and small or rural public libraries. Such LSS need to know the basic concepts of supervision and management to effectively oversee a library department or, in some cases, an entire library building and its staff, services, and programs.

This book is essential for those who work in libraries who need to know and apply the fundamental policies and practices that guide library services and programs. It is also essential for those LSS who have been or will be undertaking administrative roles in areas of leadership, professional learning, fundraising, budgeting, hiring staff, customer service, planning, and many other aspects of library management. Embedded throughout the book are textboxes that provide examples or give easy-to-understand information about a concept or topic. At the end of each chapter is an extensive list of online references and suggested readings for further exploration of library management. This important handbook is geared to improve the readers knowledge and skills of library supervision and management. Each chapter is broken down into short subheadings to make complex topics easy to find, read, and understand. Tables and illustrations are abundantly used throughout the text to present key ideas simply and clearly.

The text is written for three intended audiences: working library staff, college instructors, and students in college library certificate or degree programs. No matter the type of library, there is even greater need today for LSS to understand how library management supports the work of staff, the needs of customers and library functions, services, and programs.

There is a shortage of practical texts written for library staff on supervision and management. Other books on this topic of supervision and management are written at a level that is aimed for professional librarians and not support staff. However, while the majority of LSS do not hold professional degrees in library and information science, many will become department managers or library directors. By writing in clear language, we hope to help LSS understand the context behind the principles of library management with many examples and practical suggestions.

Students who are training to work in libraries and those who currently are employed as LSS will want this book because it provides understandable explanations about todays challenges and accepted practices of library administration. At the end of each chapter, there are discussion questions and guided practice exercises for situational practice and problem solving of some of the issues library supervisors may encounter.

Professors in library technology certificate or associate degree programs will want this book as a primary instructional resource. With extensive chapter bibliographies, this book supports the curriculum and instruction in supervision and management in library support staff academic programs.

Students will find this a useful text for the way the information is presented in clear, nontechnical language. An abundance of tables and figures makes concepts easier to understand. Suggested websites and readings at the end of each chapter can further students knowledge of topics that are introduced in the book. Many references are from academic journals that are cited for further reading.

The scope of the book addresses many different aspects of supervision and management staff should know about and be able to perform in their working with others and with patrons. Sequenced in thirteen chapters, this book contains:

• Basic Regulations and Laws Libraries employ personnel; purchase materials, electronic equipment, and furniture; and provide a service to their constituency. In this respect, they are also considered businesses. As such they must comply with federal employment laws. This ensures fairness in the hiring and dismissal process as well as in the workplace overall.