Management Basics for Information Professionals

by G. Edward Evans, Patricia Layzell Ward

Completely revised and expanded to reflect the rapidly changing sphere of information services, this comprehensive introduction to the management of libraries builds the basic skills good library managers must exercise. The authors offer an authoritative approach on the fundamental concepts of management while recognizing the diverse needs of different operating environments. This edition features two new chapters - Managing Diversity and Career Development - and is kept up to current by material housed on the Web. Drawing from examples of successful leadership techniques from a variety of services archives, information brokers, libraries, records managements and more, this book demonstrates the most effective ways to plan, delegate, make decisions, communicate, and lead a team. Equal emphasis is placed on personal, fiscal, and technological issues, as well as a look at what the future may hold for incoming managers. A practical, up-to-date introduction to library management, here is a text that will appeal to LIS educators, new and experienced libraries in management positions, students, and anyone wishing to acquire a sound knowledge of both the theory and practice of management within the changing information workforce.

Genres: Nonfiction, Library Science, School, Textbooks, Grad School, Reference, Information Science

567 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Kiri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. It sorely needs editing and updating. Too often, the writing devolves into this format: "Concept A can be broken into these four sub-concepts. Here is a citation to someone who wrote about each one. Okay, here is the next concept." These parts read like an inexperienced student essayist who knows she needs to mention concept A, but hasn't taken the time to think about it, or analyze what others have said about it or even, for goodness's sake, report what the others actually said.

However, despite the occasional false notes, I learned a *lot* from this book. It opened my eyes to the world of management theories, something I knew nothing about. My newly opened eyes were suddenly able to spot missteps and reasons for various failures in my own workplace. I found the chapters on Change, Leadership, and Motivation to be the most valuable.

Apparently there's a third edition that will come out this year, so perhaps future management students are in for a treat!

[Kerry Crabbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually didn’t mind this textbook but I’m glad to be finished reading it.

[Aleya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have finished my last textbook for my MLS degree with this one. I'm glad this was my last book because it provided some great managerial advice which I will take and use in the future. There were a few things here and there I wish would have been explained better, but overall I am very happy with this one. I'm glad I will have it on my shelf for my future career in librarianship.

[Sabrina Pisciotta]

I read this for my management class this session and it's taken up so much of my time that I am counting it

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for one of my MLS classes. It's not perfect by any means, but it is the basic management book that I wish I'd had when I became a library manager for the first time. Not only does it offer general wisdom for leadership, it also focuses on library-specific dynamics. I'd say this has been my favorite textbook so far during my graduate school experience, if only because this book is so practical and straightforward and doesn't try to re-hash every single topic out there like a lot of other MLS textbooks do.

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

My main problem with this book is that it never critically engages with the managerialism it is touting. It's for librarians, and it does apply different aspects of management thinking to the library and to non-profits, but it never takes a step back to ask if maybe this stuff shouldn't apply. Maybe all this Harvard Business Review chatter is actually harming the library. Somewhere between "it comes from 'business' it must be bad" and "the solution to bad management is more management" lies maybe some specks of truth glittering in the slag, but this book never does the work of sifting.

As another goodreads poster pointed out, it is basically a literature review. Under each topic, a chronological tour of management thought, and every once in a while a comment about what that is like in libraries.

Not that Library and Information Center Management is any better, although at least the cover is slightly less disturbing.

[Suzanne LaPierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few of the chapters are a little outdated (especially the technology chapter, not surprisingly). However, most of the information is classic and contains broad rules of conduct that can be applied to a variety of situations. I liked the chapters on ethics and motivation. The ethics chapter begins with this quote by one of the authors, Camila Alire, who was ALA President, 2009-2010: "I have a dog-eared and stenciled piece of paper that I have taped to my office wall in each position I have had. I don't even recall where I found that piece of paper. However, the saying on the paper is: Once you lose your integrity, everything else is a piece of cake." The chapter on ethics goes on to explain a situation that arose in which Alire chose to resign rather than compromise her professional ethics. Each chapter begins with a few pithy quotations and often goes on to evaluate the meaning of these before outlining the subject more objectively. Another one of my favorite quotes leads into the chapter on managing money: "When conscientious librarians try to absorb budget cuts without any fuss or disruption, they provide a disservice to the community. They hide the real costs of operation and suggest that there is no real consequence for inadequate funding."(American Libraries 2010). That one could have headed the chapter on advocacy as well. Overall, this is a textbook, not a beach read, so it has slow parts, but it is exactly what the title advertises: a basic primer for library and information management. It was a less dry and boring than I had feared and I did learn a lot from it.

[HaileyAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the book for my MLIS required management class, so of course I didn't love it. But, it provided a good overview of the subject. The authors provide frequent input and examples, which keeps the text from being too terribly heavy. Overall, as far as management textbooks go, it was pretty good.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one for school. It was definitely helpful, and definitely not the worst textbook I've been assigned.

[Karlene Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for supervisors, managers, and leaders! No matter if it's for business, small groups, or faith groups, this book can help!

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot from this book. Not as dry as some textbooks. I appreciated the practical examples from the field.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is chunky and may seem daunting for students to read, but it is so informational and worth in in the end! I highly recommend it!

[Zee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a newer edition. It was pretty chill and exactly what I was expecting but I wouldn't reccomend it.

[Anna Latimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A basic introduction to several management concepts for library professionals. Various parts are more or less relevant depending on your job position.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really solid textbook - it's been a while since I've read one cover to cover and genuinely got a lot out of it. Good read!

[Eric Phetteplace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just wrote a long review and then Goodreads redirected to some other page for no apparent reason and I lost it all. So infuriated right now.
Anyways, here it is again in terse form: horrid book with rampant tendency to schematize. See Fig. 13-5 on pg. 318 (chapter 13 on Motivation) for example where authors layer four or five theories of basic needs and motivation on top of one another with no regard for reader's sanity. Like something out of parody of bad Powerpoints or lecture on how not to visualize concepts. Nietzsche ranted against philosophers who are really just schematizers for a reason: book leaves you with no analytic tools, practical tips, concrete examples, psychological wisdom. Example chapter: "there are four kinds of decision-making: fluid, fallopian, dystopic, and mordant. [Insert one sentence describing each style:]. There are also three types of cheese--American, fragrant, and exotic--which can come into play with either of the latter two decision-making styles except during odd-numbered years or the month of June. Some management professor said something about this in 1972. Now here's a box with ten hyperlinks and fifteen questions in it, discuss amongst yourselves." This would work in a history of management theory class but is also totally worthless to an actual manager. That it's specific to information centers did not mitigate the horrible writing in the least.

textbook for LIS505A Administration and Management of Libraries and Information Centers

[Jen]

Reading for a class like the rest of the crowd.

Thus far have read the intro chapter and part of Chapter 14 ("teams") as assigned. From what I've read, the overall tone of the authors skips from down-to-earth relatable casual to detached and clinical.

Some sections I've re-read over and over and still glean little meaning without examples to back up these definitions... it reminds me of the time a colleague in retail mentioned that their crew of managers was directed to read a management book and report back, but hardly anyone did it. The exercise and book itself were widely viewed as meaningless.

The first few pages were promising but since then most of it has made my eyes glaze over.
An actual sentence:
"Teams and time go together like bacon and eggs."
(p. 345, 3rd edition 2013).

A few notions have provoked some broader thinking, but I suspect reading this book will be a trudge. I hope it gets better.

[Heather Bolwar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so technically I didn't read it cover-to-cover. Who does? Except maybe that one overachiever in each class, who happens to not be me. Overall, for a library science text, I enjoyed this one (of the chapters I read). I especially gained insight into management techniques that, although I may never put into practice myself, may help me to understand why my bosses operate the way they do. I especially enjoyed the insights into emotional intelligence, and how that comes into play in management's dealings with the underlings of the workplace.

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read this one for class like most everyone else who has reviewed it. Overall, not horrible. I doubt there are a whole lot of books on the topic of library management, so I can see why it was required. Generally easily readable, but got extremely dry at times too. I would have had no use for this book if I were not a library studies student, and will probably try to sell it second hand or donate it as soon as the semester is over.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was required reading for a class I am taking for the graduate degree in Library and Information Science.

I'll keep this review basic. I enjoyed the readings I had in this book for my class. They were relevant to what we were learning at the time. It was easy to follow and I love the "tips" and "author's experience" parts of the chapters. I feel that it made the information I was learning relatable and easier to understand.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those management guides that should be read every couple of years as a refresher. It gives clear outlines of various traditional managment styles, encouraging the reader to find one that works for themself. It also does a great job of relating everything back to libraries and information institutions.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read every word in this book but I used it as a supplement for planning my Library Admin class. I found the Launch Pad section at the end of each chapter especially useful as it provided additional articles to look at.

In alignment with the title, I do have to say a lot of the book is "basic" but the management theory section was very helpful in preparing for my class.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just no. The rampant repetitiveness of useless obviousness became overwhelming. Guys, did ya know that you should communicate and foster a sense of collaboration with your work underlings and team members? Beyond that, everything boiled down to the suggestion to avoid being an idiot or a giant dick.

[Melissa Rosales · Rating 3 out of 5]

for my library management class. and for a dry text book it has really boring parts like questions you cannot ask during interviews and such, but it's errie how it mirrors work and overall it has good stuff for running a library.

[Juliana · Rating 2 out of 5]

A textbook for my library management class. All in all, one of the driest textbooks I've ever read. The only reason I listed it as okay was because the class itself was just okay. If you're not a library science student, stay far far away from this book.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more readable textbooks I have encountered. It covers a variety of management styles, ethical issues to be considered by managers in the information profession, and discusses a variety of library types.

[Monica St. Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't call this book interesting, by a long shot, but it is easily one of the least painful textbooks I've ever read on a subject I'm not interested in. The examples are helpful, and the writing is straightforward and easy to understand.

[Elyssa Gooding · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would not have read this, if not for assigned reading. It was good information, but the format leaves a bit to be desired. If you need this information, there's not much choice. I would love it reformatted for readability and retention.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appropriate survey book that covers the basics of information management.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

For class! Kinda boring...