Lisa K. Hussey (editor) - Library Management 101: A Practical Guide

ALA Editions purchases fund advocacy, awareness, and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide.

2019 by the American Library Association

Extensive effort has gone into ensuring the reliability of the information in this book; however, the publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.

ISBNs

978-0-8389-1715-2 (paper)

978-0-8389-1864-7 (PDF)

978-0-8389-1863-0 (ePub)

978-0-8389-1865-4 (Kindle)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hussey, Lisa K., editor of compilation. | Velasquez, Diane, editor of compilation.

Title: Library management 101 : a practical guide / edited by Lisa K. Hussey and Diane L. Velasquez.

Description: Second edition. | Chicago : ALA Editions, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018055397| ISBN 9780838917152 (paper : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780838918630 (epub) | ISBN 9780838918647 (pdf) | ISBN 9780838918654 (kindle)

Subjects: LCSH: Library administrationUnited States. | Library administrationCanada.

Classification: LCC Z678 .L4725 2019 | DDC 025.1dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018055397

Cover image antishock/Adobe Stock.

For Richhere goes another one.

For Penelopethanks for making me laugh at your antics.

Thanks for keeping me grounded.

Love, Diane

For Ian, who keeps me sane.

For Moochie, who always cheers me up.

And for all my students who ask me the difficult questions so I have to work to find the answers.

Love, Lisa

Lisa K. Hussey

Mnica Coln-Aguirre and Diane L. Velasquez

Jennifer Campbell-Meier and Lisa K. Hussey

Adriene Lim

Lisa K. Hussey

Mnica Coln-Aguirre and Mary Wilkins-Jordan

Mary Wilkins-Jordan and Lisa K. Hussey

Mary Wilkins-Jordan and Lisa K. Hussey

Lisa K. Hussey

Diane L. Velasquez and Lisa K. Hussey

Diane L. Velasquez

Diane L. Velasquez

Jennifer Campbell-Meier

Diane L. Velasquez

Diane L. Velasquez

Lisa K. Hussey

Lisa K. Hussey

Diane L. Velasquez

Diane L. Velasquez

Diane L. Velasquez

Mnica Coln-Aguirre and Catherine Hakala-Ausperk

Heather L. Hill

T he biggest change in this second edition of Library Management 101: A Practical Guide is the introduction of a coeditor who is in the United States because the other lives and works in Australia. Lisa Hussey is an associate professor at Simmons College; Diane Velasquez is a program director of information management at the University of South Australia (UniSA).

The library and information science (LIS) schools accredited by the American Library Association (ALA) do not all consider a management course a requirement. Many of the schools consider a specialty course, such as academic libraries, public libraries, and the like, to be enough of an introduction to the topic of management for library and information science students. We disagree wholeheartedly, but then we are not unbiased viewers on the subject. Lisa teaches the overview management course at Simmons College, which is one of the ALA-accredited programs; I was teaching the management overview course at UniSA but now have someone else teaching that class.

The sad fact is that the majority of students in LIS programs do not believe they will ever be managers of anything at any time in any type of library in the United States or Canada. We beg to differ. We start the book off by saying that even if you are only a professional librarian or paraprofessional, the majority of us manage something. A section of books, a budget, students, volunteers, your time, acquisitions, reference collections, kids, kids and youth materials, technology, facilitiesand we could go on and on. All of us are managing something all of the time. Just because it is not formally called management does not mean that it is not management.

Management is very squishy because the majority of the time it involves managing aspects of people. People are what make up our organizations, whatever type they areacademic, public, special, or school. In this book, we do not address school libraries because school libraries or library media centers tend to be specialized due to their placement and their audiencechildren and teenagers. Many excellent books about school libraries and media centers have been written over the past few years.

This edited management textbook pulls together best practices from people who teach management in LIS schools all over the world. Many of us have practical management experience along with other degrees besides the MLS or PhD. Many of the academics in library and information science departments and schools take one of three tracks: they use bits of the books available, they choose a book from outside LIS, or they use articles from all over LIS, management, and public administration, which is essentially a homegrown course pack.

This book came about because as professors in LIS, although there are management textbooks in our field, there was not one we would use and like. The students would complain about them. We resorted to going outside our field for texts. We always complained that there should be a simpler text that did not try to do too much but that covered the basics. We finally stopped complaining. That text has now been written by Lisa, myself, and six collaborators who either teach management at ALA-accredited LIS schools in the United States or Canada or have experience working in public or academic libraries. Some of us do both.

Some of the chapters are converted lectures with more detail added that conveys good information that is simple to understand, with a case study or exercise at the end. Most chapters have some references at the end. The outline of the book began with a 15-week course syllabus, filled in with wish list items that students in some of our classes asked for. Not everything needs to be covered, but the book does give a general feel for what an overview class should cover in LIS. Library and information center management is not a specific art or science, but the literature on the subject has in recent years been an amalgamation of bits and pieces from public and private corporate management practices along with information from public administration.

People are the basis of the organizations that we call libraries and information centers. Although this book discusses different types of management, it is all in relationship to people. If you treat your people well, they will serve the organization well. In a recent case for a management course, the CEO commented that he wanted his people to be excited to come to work every day. We understand that. If coming to work is not fun, then what is the point of the job other than the paycheck? Believe us when we say it is noticeable when someone is there strictly for the paycheckthe attitude is very different from that of someone who loves the job and the environment.

Sometimes the job is great, but the environment is not the best match. If thats the case, it is time to seek your fortune elsewhere. Do not make your coworkers miserable because you are not in an ideal situationfind the ideal situation and make everyone happy. As one of our favorite leadership writers has said, Managing people is like herding cats (Bennis, 1999, p. 7). We can relate. Cats do not like being herded and neither do most people.