Stanford University is going through the difficult and highly fraught process of figuring out a plan for the library of the future. Coming on the heels of the "bookless library," touted as the vision for a new engineering library, a preliminary proposal in 2007 to tear down the seismically unsafe Meyer Library and digitize and house off campus…

Summarizes benefits and problems of participative management in library administration. Various approaches to participation are described, and a staff development program to improve managerial skills is recommended. Implementation, anticipated reactions of staff, and evaluation are discussed. (MES) use cij81888 unn

Discusses the use of quality circles within the college library. Defines a quality circle; examines the history, philosophy, characteristics, and objectives of quality circles; discusses the relationship of quality circles with library management; and explains their creation, implementation, benefits and limitations. (DMM)

This discussion includes a review of Drucker's concept of entrepreneurship, a current management trend in which organizations encourage entrepreneurship and innovation from employees. Drucker's discussion of public service institutions and the relationship of those points to library management are highlighted. (CLB)

Discusses the tasks of library administration in relation to autocratic, participatory, and contingency approaches to management problems. The psychological and organizational side-effects of the three management styles are considered and a humanistic combination of approaches is suggested. A bibliography is included. (JL)

Discusses administration, leadership, and management in academic libraries. Factors that meet the work-related needs of librarians and that lead to successful management are suggested, including sufficient knowledge, a measure of control over work, participation in decision making, and a sense of ownership in library service. (three references)…

Argues that service is better in libraries whose staff participate in management activities than in libraries run by authoritarian methods, and that staff educational diversity and adequate collection resources linked to a participative management style enhance staff satisfaction and, concomitantly, library performance. (RAA)

Provides an overview of Japanese management theory and suggests applications to library administration. Highlights include participative management; shared decision making; long-term objectives; organizational philosophy; staff training and human resource development; strategic planning; staffing issues; cooperation; quality control; and total…

Urges the design and implementation of strategies in academic libraries for the development of leadership potential. Discusses the components of organizations that lead to organizational maturity, and calls for library leaders with vision, skill, and commitment to nurture an organizational culture that emphasizes leadership development. (20…

Explores areas of middle management in which community/junior college librarians could be more involved and productive (e.g., planning, coordination, and public relations). Offers guidelines for effective group decision making. (DMM)

Steps for implementing team management in libraries are discussed in the first of four articles. The second reviews the use of quality circles in librarianship, the third describes the implementation of self-management teams in technical services, and the fourth discusses nominal group technique as a team development tool. (CLB)

Academic libraries, pursuing excellence in their products and services, are a natural entity for total quality management (TQM). Basic TQM principles include making decisions based on objective data, respecting people and their ideas, empowering all library staff, focusing on the process, and doing the job correctly the first time, all to benefit…

Describes a survey of librarians in the California State University that examined the extent of professional staff participation in decision making. Organizational structures that facilitate participative management are identified, and librarians' perceptions of its degree and effectiveness are discussed. (6 references) (Author/CLB)

Marchant's essay and reactions to it by five library educators and librarians discuss the pros and cons of extending the MLS (Master of Library Science) program in response to requests by directors of university libraries for increased instruction in evaluation, decision-making, administration, and automation, without reduction in traditional…

The manager of a corporate library describes five strategies for special libraries to increase services and resources without increasing staff or budgets: automation, reorganization, using temporarily available employees, using in-house services, and participatory management. (Author/EM)