Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Library Management for the Digital Age: A New Paradigm

This revolutionary introduction to library management is the first conceived in and written for a digital age. Julie Todaro, one of America's leading management experts, posits a new paradigm for planning, administering, and assessing library services. She explains each facet of administering both "old" (physical) and "new" (virtual) libraries. Library Management for the Digital Age covers ·hierarchies, ·policies, ·communication, ·working relationships, ·facilities, ·human resources, ·settings, ·customer services, ·budgeting, ·emergency management, ·appendixes including model positions descriptions, interview questions, evaluation forms, and other necessary management tools. Each chapter concludes with an illustration of the old-to-new paradigm shift in that particular aspect of management as well as concise case studies that illustrate the real-world nature of the shift and discussion questions to facilitate active learning. A platinum-quality editorial board comprised of both LIS faculty and expert library managers has reviewed this book in order to ensure authority. Review This book would be an excellent resource for library school students as well as a good refresher for library managers and directors. It contains useful case studies and a comparison of paradigms. The author illustrates the difference between past management methods and those that will apply to libraries in the future. It also shows that more leadership skills need to be incorporated into library management training and that the path for new librarians to become the next managers and leaders of the profession is always growing more complex. Flexibility is very important as new services continue to pop up and old services are dropped. Switching from old paradigms to newer, constantly changing paradigms is never easy, but this source provides help through a variety of comparisons of old and new, highlighting budgeting, policies, communication, facilities, human resources, customer services, emergency management, and many other issues vital to the management of a library. In addition, planning, administering, and assessing services for both physical and virtual libraries are covered.--American Reference Books Annual With Library Management for the Digital Age: A New Paradigm, Julie Todaro adds to her impressive bibliography of monographs that deal with management, staffing, and training in 21st-century libraries. Writing with a variety of audiences in mind, Todaro makes the case that library administration has entered a different age that is defined by a variety of new requirements that deviate so significantly from previous practices as to constitute a new paradigm of leadership. The book is organized around the most substantial issues that managers, new and old, are likely to encounter. . . .Library Management for the Digital Age is useful for those new to library administration as well as those established in the profession who are grappling with the changes that the digital age continues to force on libraries.While the book is a dense treatment of its subject, the pick-and-choose organizational system makes it a handy reference for those hoping to address specific areas of library management through either individual reading or focused group discussion. With its emphasis on distinguishing between past and present managerial characteristics, Todaro's contribution is unique in the field of library management in charting a finely granulated map of the new landscape of library administration in the second decade of the 21st century. Its usefulness extends beyond process to encapsulate a snapshot of where the larger profession is and, above all, where it might be going as evidenced by the well differentiated and myriad management techniques it offers.--Technical Services Quarterly Library Management for the Digital Age: A New Paradigm will make experienced managers rethink the traditional role of management within new and emerging o