Karen Starr - Public Library Administration Transformed: Developing the Organization and Empowering Users

Public Library

Administration

Transformed

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Starr, Karen, 1952, author. | Ragains, Patrick, author.

Title: Public library administration transformed : developing the organization and empowering users / Karen Starr, Patrick Ragains.

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018013576 (print) | LCCN 2018035362 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538106402 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538106389 | ISBN 9781538106389 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781538106396 (paper : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Public librariesUnited StatesAdministration. | Libraries and communityUnited States.

Classification: LCC Z678.6 (ebook) | LCC Z678.6 .S73 2018 (print) | DDC 025.1/974dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018013576

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

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to the Phoenix Public Library,

where Patrick Ragains first observed reference

interactions, adult and childrens services, and

automated library functions; used a curated local

history collection; and was inspired to pursue a

career in librarianship.

This book offers a transformative vision of public library administration, one that is outward-facing, affirmative, and, in the context of modern civic life, realistic. 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 twenty-first century? An understanding of public administration and leadership is central to answering that question. Public administration is defined as the institutional means through which contemporary governments deliver public services and regulate aspects of economic, social, and political life (Rosenbloom, 2015: xiii). The concept of cooperative federalism emerged in the 1930s and evolved over the ensuing decades into the field of intergovernmental relations (IGR), a focus of public administration (Clark, 1938; Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, 1955; US Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, 2017).

IGR has evolved rapidly since the early 2000s as government agencies have responded to emergency management crises and environmental issues. In the foreseeable future, all local government agencies and their IGR will likely be shaped by diminishing flows of vertical resources (that is, from national and state governments to local governments) and increasing horizontal flows of resources and collaboration in the form of cross-jurisdictional and interlocal agreements (Meek and Thurmaier, 2012: 1). Public libraries have a strong role in supporting communities in pursuit of economic stability, educational goals, and an improved social infrastructure. Such support involves developing partnerships and networking with local, state, and federal agencies and other organizations that share the librarys, and the communitys, vision and long-term goals.

Public administration, together with IGR, is our primary frame of reference. We articulate public library service within the larger context of public governance. Our vision of governance encompasses traditional concerns of business management, such as the effectiveness of library services and the librarys efficiency in delivering its services, but it also emphasizes values like equity, protecting citizens rights, and transparency (Morgan and Cook, 2014). The discipline of public administration promotes skills that are vital to successful libraries. There is the need to focus on these concepts and skills to carry library service successfully into the immediate future, including development of administration and leadership skills among library staff, regardless of ones position in the library.

This background 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. This perspective is new in professional library literature, and it needs to be emphasized if librarianship is to develop more effective leaders. We analyze examples and areas of expertise from the broad field of government administration (administrative law, public finance, and human resources), the history of public library service in the United States, and current library practice.

The audience for this book includes practicing public librarians such as directors, middle management, and those with supervisory responsibilities; prospective public librarians; library science faculty and students; and library board members. We hope that our use of public administration concepts will also interest faculty and students in that discipline. Here is a quick description of each chapter in the book:

• Chapter 1 briefly surveys the development of public libraries in the United States from the 1800s through the last decade and enumerates libraries defining characteristics, providing a frame of reference for the remainder of the book.

• Chapter 2 addresses administrative functions that are key to library operations. These functions include facilities management, inventory, information technology, library security, emergency procedures, risk management, contract management, licenses, grants, records management, and statistics.

• Public finance and the management of budgets, which are integral to the success of a public library, are explained in chapter 3. Specific topics are revenue, the budget process, fiscal management, audits, and budget reports.

• Chapter 4 reviews administrative law, which is the regulatory law of public administration and supports underlying constitutional values of a democratic society, including transparency, accountability, and stakeholder involvement. This chapter focuses on administrative rulemaking, federal laws, state and local laws, and local policies and procedures.

• Chapter 5 examines library governance and its organizational framework within local government, the roles and responsibilities of the board of trustees and friends of the library, and how lobbying and advocacy can work for board members and friends.

• Human resources and their management in the public sector are covered in chapter 6. This differs from the private sector, as public employees have constitutional protections that are not available for nonprofit or private-sector employees. The chapter covers federal and state laws, recruitment and hiring, compensation and benefits, staffing, workplace diversity, performance management, employee bargaining units, and volunteer staff.