Libraries as User-centered Organizations

Libraries as User-centered Organizations
Author: Meredith A. Butler
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 1993
Genre: Academic libraries
ISBN: 9781560246169

How do we begin to assess the impact of economic, technological, demographic, and management trends in our environment and understand the long term implications? How can administrators, managers and information professionals take advantage of these trends? How can librarians empower staff and change organizational hierarchies to create more responsive and rewarding environments? How do we restructure organizations to make them more learning- and student-centered and more responsive to the needs of new clienteles? These are just a few of the questions addressed in Libraries as User-Centered Organizations, which examines organizational change from the point of view that academic institutions are experiencing a paradigm shift in the definition of their mission, their focus, and their activities. As librarians move into a new paradigm of library as gateway and connector, they must also shift their focus from the information product to the user of information. This profound change in vision is explored in this book through the concept of user-centeredness, a focus on the habits, needs, desires, dislikes, abilities, and preferences of the user. Libraries as User-Centered Organizations explores a variety of important aspects of organizational change including: leadership styles sustaining and expanding staff empowerment and creativity collaboration between libraries and computer centers creating multicultural organizations remolding the library science educational structure organizational change in professional associations Libraries as User-Centered Organizations looks at current trends affecting higher education, research libraries, professional education for librarians, professional associations, and publishing from the point of view of some of the leaders in these fields and offers readers a context for viewing organizational change. The book is of particular assistance to library administrators and educators engaged in planning for change and rethinking operations and services.

Information Tasks

Information Tasks
Author: Bryce Allen
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Total Pages: 308
Release: 1996
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 9780120510405

Information Tasks summarizes user research, then presents design sketches of systems that illustrate how design is linked to research. This comprehensive user-centered approach provides an agenda for information research, design and education that challenges many accepted beliefs and suggests new directions for information work.

Integration in the Library Organization

Integration in the Library Organization
Author: Christine E Thompson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2021-02-27
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317957172

Bring technical and public services together to create a more user-friendly library!Written for public and technical services librarians, this vital book examines the changes in the profession that have contributed to the integration of the two services. It explores the responsibilities of public and technical services, the effect of dualism on libraries and the profession, and management concerns in this overlapping environment. With case studies and insightful predictions for the future, Integration in the Library Organization discusses the changes in the profession that have contributed to the integration of the two services. This book fills a gap in the available information about team management and the blurring of public/technical services lines in libraries. Integration in the Library Organization shows you how to create an environment of full staff cooperation within your library and provides examples of ways that other libraries have accomplished this. Here you'll discover management techniques to use in such an overlapping environment. Integration in the Library Organization discusses: the false dualism of technical services vs. public services working as partners in a team-based environment tailoring library positions to match individual skills outsourcing in Hawaii satellite cataloging operations and nonprint backlogs . . . and much more!Integration in the Library Organization will provide you with the insight you need to help your library balance and integrate technical and public services and improve the capability of your library to offer patrons quality services and large amounts of information.

Digital library usability studies

Digital library usability studies
Author: Bradford Lee Eden
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Total Pages: 107
Release: 2005
Genre: Library science
ISBN: 184544857X

Each summer, circulation staff in my library inventories a section of the stacks andbrings collection issues to the attention of appropriate bibliographers. Since I amresponsible for the economics collection, I see an array of government documents thathave managed to elude the cataloging process. Many of these titles are decades old, having squatted in the library undisturbed and uncirculated since our online catalogwas implemented in 1990.

Advances in Library Administration and Organization

Advances in Library Administration and Organization
Author: Delmus E. Williams
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2010-11-08
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0857242873

Provides a body of research literature that contributes to the base of organizational theory upon which library administrators rely. This title covers a variety of topics relating to the management of academic, and public and school libraries.

Leadership in the Library and Information Science Professions

Leadership in the Library and Information Science Professions
Author: Mark Winston
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2013-12-19
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1135024014

Safely guide your library into the new millennium! Like so much else in the information professions, leadership styles are being forced to change to meet the demands of technological innovation. Leadership in the Library and Information Science Professions is among the first books to focus on this increasingly important job qualification. It offers practical advice for developing strong, flexible, and creative leadership skills in yourself and your staff. This fascinating volume stresses the leadership needed to manage change. The essential skills taught here will help you update library services at a reasonable pace while preserving valuable low-tech alternatives. As one chapter recommends, “Every librarian at every level should have ready an answer-multiple answers-to the ubiquitous questions: Why do we still need libraries when everything is on the Web? How can you justify an expanding budget in the Internet Age?” Leadership in the Library and Information Science Professions offers fresh ideas for developing and using leadership skills, including: recruiting tips for identifying potential leaders staff training and development restructuring the organization to encourage full staff participation budget strategies for successful leaders issues of gender and ethnic diversity evaluating and assessing leadership Leadership in the Library and Information Science Professions is an essential resource for library administrators and staff. By developing your leadership skills and those of your staff, you can confidently face the hectic pace of change in the information sciences.

Libraries Act on Their LibQUAL+ Findings

Libraries Act on Their LibQUAL+ Findings
Author: Fred M. Heath
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2004
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9780789026026

This book focuses on participating libraries that used the 2002 LibQUAL+ survey to collect qualitative and quantitative data for assessing and evaluating their service quality, resource allocations, staffing, technology, and policies. The book provides a wealth of information on this Web-based marketing instrument that measures users' perceptions of library service quality. Library professionals dealing withor interested inlibrary service quality assessment will benefit from the practical examples and graphical representations found in this essential work.

Convergence of Libraries and Technology Organizations

Convergence of Libraries and Technology Organizations
Author: Christopher Barth
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2011-06-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1780632622

This book describes and discusses the convergence of library and technology support in higher education. Over the past 15 years, a number of institutions have pursued merging library and technology services into a single information support organization. These mergers have taken different forms, but all seek to redefine information support in a 21st century model that promotes the interdisciplinary use of information. The coming years will see significant change affect libraries with the continuing disruption of the Internet and digitally-based services. Coupled with economic pressures, libraries and technology organizations will increasingly be forced to look closely at long-held assumptions of how their teams are organized and how work is divided and shared. Convergence of Libraries and Technology Organizations provides useful and practical guidance on converged information organizations as an effective response to change in the information profession. - One of the most complete assessments of converged support models available - Designed to both allow assessment of the application of a converged model, and discussion of successful implementations - Includes experiences, perspectives, and examples from many leaders in converged information support organizations

The Eleventh Off-Campus Library Services Conference Proceedings

The Eleventh Off-Campus Library Services Conference Proceedings
Author: Patrick Mahoney
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 610
Release: 2004
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780789027856

This book is the result of the conference held in May, 2004 in Scottsdale, Arizona, focusing on librarians' challenges providing service to nontraditional faculty and students. Respected authorities discuss in detail specific problemsand fresh strategies and solutionsto further promote service to distance information users. Each chapter tackles a particular issue such as collaboration outside the contributor's organization or how services can be monitored and assessed to gauge quality, and fully explains what can be done to address those issues. Thorough bibliographies and useful figures, tables and graphs provide accessibility and clarify ideas.

The Twelfth Off-Campus Library Services Conference Proceedings

The Twelfth Off-Campus Library Services Conference Proceedings
Author: Julie A. Garrison
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 606
Release: 2013-04-03
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1136454357

An essential tool for digital services for every campus library The Twelfth Off-Campus Library Services Proceedings is a selection of superb presentations from the twelfth annual conference on library services held in Savannah, Georgia in April 2006. Respected experts tackle the latest issues in library services, distance learning, and administration, focusing on theory, best practices, and practical digital applications using the most current research available at the time of the conference. Case studies provide a clear view of the challenges present in various types of campus libraries, and practical strategies are offered to more fully utilize electronic resources in the future. This comprehensive collection provides valuable advice on copyright issues, evaluating library services Web sites, best practices for distance learning instruction, Weblogs in instruction, collaborative efforts, and many other of the latest issues. Practical ideas consider budget and knowledge constraints, emphasizing strategies using the latest digital software. The future of electronic services in campus libraries is considered in detail. The book also contains workshop and poster abstracts, including full papers when provided by the author. The Twelfth Off-Campus Library Services Proceedings contains several helpful tables and appendixes to clearly illustrate surveys and data results. Each chapter is carefully referenced. Topics in The Twelfth Off-Campus Library Services Proceedings include: providing education on the key differences between copyright and plagiarism results of a survey from users to determine usefulness of content and services offered in an electronic environment findings of a survey on the form and function models within regional campus librarians comparison between (ARL/ACRL) SPEC Kit data and a selection of current library literature survey results on the professional development needs of distance librarians the use of blogs as a supplement to face-to-face instruction and as outreach the role of e-mail reference in electronic services virtual (real-time chat) reference collaborations recommendations for modifications to the process of adapting and testing an analytic rubric used with graduate literature reviews case study in statewide cooperation in the delivery of library services much, much more! The Twelfth Off-Campus Library Services Proceedings is an invaluable resource that explores present and future digital library services challenges for campus librarians of all types everywhere.