World Café, sometimes termed Knowledge Café, is now an established method of facilitating productive dialogue between a group or groups of people around an issue that matters to the group as a whole. Now a world movement, the methodology is straightforward and uses conversation as a key process to connect people, who may be from different…

This kit on personnel organization in member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a revised and updated version of a 1973 kit. In the past, personnel functions within libraries were often carried out through the parent institutions' personnel offices in conjunction with existing administrative offices of the libraries.…

As the entity traditionally responsible for serving the information needs of the university, research libraries have little choice but to change dramatically in the next 25 years. This SPEC Survey on library reorganization seeks to understand how librarians have sought to meet this challenge through the redesigning of their organization.…

Based on the comprehensive library self-study method developed by the Association of Research Libraries' (ARL) Office of Management Studies (OMS) and first used as the Management Review and Analysis Project (MRAP), this resource notebook presents surveys and diagnostic aids, OMS self-study reports, and ARL member library documents related to…

Presents the Readiness, Planning, Training, Implementation and Maintenance Model (RPTIM) for staff development. The results of a survey of staff developers that examined the appropriateness of the RPTIM model to academic and research library settings, and the extent to which existing staff development programs meet needed criteria, are discussed.…

Based on the results of a June 1984 survey of 30 Association of Research Library (ARL) member libraries, this kit contains documents related to automation training programs for ARL library staff members. A summary of survey results indicates that few libraries performed formal needs assessments before embarking on programs related to automation…

A 1977 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) survey showed that more than 80 member libraries had staff persons designated as personnel officers. In a series of in-depth interviews in the spring of 1978 with some of these personnel officers, the main factors contributing to changes in personnel functions were identified as: (1) a growing number…

This kit focuses on information that is useful for starting a collection development program. It contains 7 position descriptions, 10 documents on the role of committees, 4 organization charts, 5 documents on the organization of functions, and an analysis of a Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) collection development survey. The survey,…

This set of materials on staff development in research libraries was assembled by the Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Selected portions of management studies, reviews, and evaluations are included from the University of Washington Libraries, the University of Rochester Library, the…

This report describes the following 1986 Office of Management Studies (OMS) programs and services: (1) the Academic Library Program, which includes the Management Review and Analysis Program, the Public Services Study, the Planning Program for Small Academic Libraries, the Collection Analysis Project, the Leadership Development Program, the…

This report describes the following 1985 Office of Management Studies (OMS) programs and services: (1) the Academic Library Program (ALP), which includes the Organizational Screening Program, the Collection Analysis Project (CAP), the Preservation Planning Program (PPP), the Public Services Study (PSS), the Management Review and Analysis Program…

This report describes 1983 Office of Management Studies (OMS) programs and services, including: (1) the Academic Library Program (ALP), which covered the Public Services Project, the Collection Analysis Project (CAP), the Small College Collection Assessment Project, the Preservation Planning Program, the Organizational Screening Program, the…

Designed to serve both as an activity report on Office of Management Studies (OMS) progress during 1987 and a catalog of OMS services and products, this annual report focuses on the management of technology in a scholarly environment. Programs and services are reported in five sections: (1) Applied Research and Development (the Institute on…

This paper describes the Duke University Libraries' transition in early 1994 from its traditional hierarchical model to an organization emphasizing Total Quality Management (TQM) concepts such as self-managing teams and continuous improvement. Existing conditions at the libraries that played a role in the decision to switch included: (1) rising…

Based on a spring 1979 survey on communication in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions, this Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit focuses on upward communication from staff to administration by looking at individual responsibilities of staff members and supervisors. Results indicate that the two most commonly…