Individual librarians and their personal leadership are contributing to changes in the library profession and the expanding career opportunities available to academic librarians. Not long ago many librarians saw their careers as limited to the confines of their library's four walls. There is a growing range of opportunities for librarians to hold influential positions outside of the library.

Libraries have been an integral part of American higher education since 1636, when the Massachusetts Bay Colony's college at Cambridge was founded and then, two years later, took the name...

The public library director needs information that helps in understanding what is involved in planning for a public library building project. This applies whether the subject is a free standing independent building, a branch library, a joint-use facility with a museum, a senior academic library, a community or junior college library, or a school library. Reading this book will not turn a reader into a qualified specialist on library buildings, but it will help librarians and others learn what should be known about a project so that they may function effectively as part of the planning...

The first comprehensive survey of its kind in English, this book examines the experience of immigration as represented by authors who moved to France from the Caribbean, the Maghreb, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia after World War II. Essays by expert contributors address the literary productions of different ethnic groups while taking into account generational differences and the effects of class and gender. The focus on immigration, a subject which has moved to the center of many sensitive social and political debates, raises questions related to cultural hybridity, identity politics,...

Librarianship has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. In addition to subject area knowledge and interpersonal ability, librarians must now possess considerable technical skill. This collection of 50 essays, all written by librarians working in college, university, and public libraries, elucidates the many facets of modern librarianship, as well as the personal and professional characteristics and skills expected of today's librarians. Topics include: DEGREESL DEGREESDBL Required knowledge and attitudes DEGREESL DEGREESDBL Interviewing techniques DEGREESL DEGREESDBL The role of...

Gerard McCabe's "Operations Handbook for the Small Academic Library" fills a real need. It should be of substantial benefit to many librarians working in such settings. The editor has done a good job of identifying the issues, finding a range of skilled practitioners to write intelligently and succinctly about those issues, and arranging and presenting the material in a straightforward fashion. . . . The information and advice is consistently sound and reliable, which makes this a text that can be recommended as a solid manual for those responsible for the management of small academic...

Computerized database searching is a common phenomenon in libraries today. Everyone does it, but not everyone does it well, especially when so many options for computerized searching are available. This is not a book about how to search; rather, it is a book about how to integrate computerized database searching into the fabric of library operations. Managers of automated information retrieval services will find practical advice and suggestions for managing an integrated service. Library management will find this book useful for understanding how the various components of automated...

In the decade ahead, libraries will have to do more with less. Fewer journal titles owned by each institution, less detailed cataloging, and fewer staff will become realities as libraries are forced to cope with budget restrictions. Serials management, in particular, will require a greater degree of adaptability and flexibility. This professional reference overviews the most significant emerging issues concerning serials management in academic libraries and provides practical advice to aid librarians in responding to a changing environment. Among the issues discussed are the debate of...

The future of reference librarianship as a viable and essential part of the library depends on developing a proactive, participatory, and hands-on approach to automation. This book pulls together the most important elements of change likely to influence library information services and explains them clearly. It covers both the conceptual context and practical real-life implementations of current automation in reference services. The automation technologies include OPACs, CD-ROM, international networks, expert systems, natural language processing, and virtual reality.

In addition to...

The techniques of time management explained in this handbook provide a framework from which professional librarians in academic, public, and special libraries can benefit. Included are time management techniques for one's personal work habits, techniques for work routines involving other staff members, and techniques for library administrators. Cochran, a law library administrator focuses on effectiveness (doing the right job) rather than efficiency (doing a job right).

The major topics include setting goals and objectives for one's personal and professional life that support one's...

This handbook offers a comprehensive discussion of the consultant/library relationship. It includes chapters written by full-time professional library consultants, information specialists, and library administrators who have had extensive experience in using consultants to solve a range or problems in information service. Parts I and II address the need to provide a solid foundation, based on an understanding of what the consultant will do, before arriving on the scene. Practical advice is offered by the contributors which should allow for the library or information center staff to more...