Exemplary Public Libraries: Lessons in Leadership, Management, and Service (Libraries Unlimited Library Management Collection) - Hardcover

Greiner, Joy M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0313310696 ISBN 13: 9780313310690

Publisher: Libraries Unlimited, 2004

Synopsis

What does it take to have a great library? The right leader? A great team? A wonderful facility? The best services? How can you transform your library to better meet the demands of tomorrow? This author visited 10 exemplary public libraries in the United States and Great Britain to find answers to these questions. She interviewed directors and key staff, researched archives, and observed facilities, operations, and interactions. The results of her explorations are contained in this volume, providing readers with nuts and bolts information on public library management along with general insights into what libraries have been, are today, and can be in the future. Each chapter begins with background information on the library's location, community, and facilities; as well as its mission statement, history, and organization. Interviews (or, in some cases, summaries of interviews) with directors and key staff follow. Chapters close with the author's observations about distinguishing features of the library; and those comments are summarized in a final chapter, The Public Library: A Tradition of Service, A Future of Performance. A selected bibliography, historical timelines, and black and white photos of each of the libraries help make this a unique and treasured resource for library administrators and staff, as well as faculty and students in courses on public libraries, library history, management, and facilities. It will be of interest to anyone interested in library history, library management, and the future of public libraries.

About this title

About the Author

JOY M. GREINER is Associate Professor, School of Library and Information Science, University of Southern Mississippi. She is a former library administrato and consultant, and the auhtor of Research Issues in Public Librarianship: Trends for the Future(Greenwood press, 1994).

Reviews

The libraries in this study were selected for their unique record of service in England, Scotland, and the U.S. Author Greiner teaches at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Southern Mississippi and is a public library consultant. The purpose of her research was to discover why these libraries are good at what they do and to project their administrative philosophies and practices as blueprints for public library growth and development in the twenty-first century. Current and historical data about libraries and populations served were gathered from 1999 through 2002 via interviews and observation of library operations. Lessons learned are presented as benchmarks of service to their communities in the hope that they will inspire new generations of public librarians to pursue service with diligence. Recommended for all public libraries or academic libraries that support a library school curriculum. Diana Kirby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Libraries Unlimited
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0313310696
• ISBN 13: 9780313310690
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 248