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...

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...

This professional reference for academic librarians provides detailed guidance for the strategic management of academic libraries. While strategic planning is important, this volume recognizes that even the best plans must confront the reality of implementation of services and facilities within the library on a daily basis. This book offers solutions to immediate operational problems within the academic library and treats strategic planning as but one component of overall strategic management. The first part of the work overviews definitions and discusses the issues and objectives central...

Because libraries are costly to build, the location of new library facilities, as well as closures or mergers of existing ones, must be carefully analyzed. Numerous factors must be taken into account, including community demographics and information needs, the closeness of the proposed library site to prospective users, the presence and proximity of other library facilities, the elasticity of user demand, and the accessibility of the location. This professional reference provides a complete discussion of library facility siting and relocation issues, discusses marketing concepts of...

Public libraries must function in a time of limited funding, increasing technology, and shifting demographics and client needs. To fulfill their role, libraries must manage change through effective planning. This book analyzes case studies of planning at several representative libraries, illustrating how formal planning procedures are adapted to changing circumstances. The study is based primarily on interviews with staff members at each site, drawing wherever possible on their own words and on related documents and surveys.

The heart of the book is a set of narrative descriptions of...

Health sciences librarianship today demands a balance among computer files, human ingenuity, and print sources. The many information sources presently available enable health sciences librarians to do a better job, but that job has also become correspondingly more difficult. This professional reference surveys the various types of print and electronic resources important to the health sciences and provides valuable practical advice to librarians for meeting the information needs of researchers, practicing physicians, and other health professionals.

Health sciences librarianship today...

As advertised, the book offers a source of strategies and practical solutions to vexing and recurrent problems which readers can tailor to their individual needs. By and large, the authors eschew the theoretical and anecdotal extremes in favor of applied, first-hand experience with good effect. The book is carefully edited, well indexed, has a serviceable binding, and clear sharp type. It is highly recommended as an important resource that belongs in the professional collection of every small academic library.

"Journal of Academic Librarianship"

"The Smaller Academic Library," which...

Most librarians are unaware of the laws governing the retention of library records. In addition, librarians often assume that state confidentiality laws offer more protection than they, in fact, do. The proper management of library records is an important legal issue for all librarians. This professional reference work outlines laws regarding the retention and confidentiality of library records. Part I explains why some library records should be saved and not routinely discarded. It also explains why public record retention laws apply to library records, and it then examines the variety of...

Recent years have seen numerous and substantial changes in the processes, expectations, and criteria that inform the work of regional accreditation commissions and professional accreditation associations. This sourcebook offers an overview of the accreditation process focused specifically on contemporary expectations for and challenges to libraries, information technologies, and academic computing, and offers practical advice to those librarians involved with academic accreditation activity.

Chapters in this professional reference book overview and discuss the principal issues...

Business information is in strong demand by a wide range of library patrons. Academic librarians must meet the needs of undergraduates, graduates, and faculty who require information about businesses for their coursework and research; school librarians must deal with sophisticated financial questions from students in a variety of classes; public librarians must provide investors and job seekers with information about financial trends, prospective employers, and particular industries; and special librarians must provide their users with immediate and current data about clients, competitors,...