At Dickenson College, librarians have found ways, such as professional sharing, to become more significant partners with faculty and students in the educational mission of the college. This is one of the top five winners in American Libraries' competition to identify innovative library programs. (LLS)

The performance of 43 library work groups was assessed by means of supervisor's ratings. Characteristics of the groups' tasks, membership, leadership, structure, and process were measured by averaging their members' responses to factor of the Work Group Survey. The implications for both organization theorists and change agents are discussed.…

Discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages of adopting a subject specialization approach in university libraries. Also described are some of the difficulties which have arisen with the introduction of subject specialization in some of the newer or provincial universities. Four references are listed. (LLS)

Discusses the feasibility of integrating present library office functions through the use of voice, text, digital, micrographic, facsimile, and related information technologies, and describes the processes and component features of the automated office. (Author/FM)

Reviews a number of studies done to identify the personality characteristics of librarians. Fifteen references are cited. (CHC)

Explains that library reference personnel usually need to be increased as library instruction flourishes, that staff should be carefully evaluated in order to detect incompetencies, and that all library staff should be recognized for their contributions in order to maximize the effectiveness of the program. (CWM)

Discusses the relationship between innovative public library services and library administration's need to seek cooperative relationships with outside organizations to implement such services. The formation of the Consortium for Public Library Innovation (1976) is described, and a list of references is provided. (FM)

Presents a chronological overview of the initiation and operation of the State University of New York at Albany library's computer-based reference services, with a discussion of costs, planning, organizational, and managerial considerations. (Author/CWM)

A national survey of administrators in the resource centers of community colleges reveals that they are assuming a new expanded role in a total program. They are becoming educational technologists for individual and curricular instruction assisting in teaching strategies and becoming involved in areas such as design, production, graphics and…

Explains benchmarking, a total quality management tool used to measure and compare the work processes in a library with those in other libraries to increase library performance. Topics include the main groups of upper management, clients, and staff; critical success factors for each group; and benefits of benchmarking. (Author/LRW)

The desire for load leveling in interlibrary loans arises from a concern for fairness most often expressed by net lending institutions, libraries that lend more than they borrow. This article examines interlibrary loans; strategies for load leveling; and "best lending partner," a total quality management model for load leveling. (PEN)

Offers practical advice to new library committee chairs on when to call meetings and how to prepare for, conduct, and evaluate them. Discusses the quality of committee leadership in terms of coaching, communicating, and troubleshooting skills. (Author/AEF)

Presents interviews with Fred Kent, founder of the Project for Public Spaces (PPS) and Phil Myrick, PPS's assistant vice president, about transforming libraries into desirable public spaces. Discusses qualities people value in public spaces; great library buildings and what they are doing right; the first thing library directors should do when…

Presents methods to gain management support for information resource center projects. Topics include: expressing expected results; and understanding the project in terms of business and organizational objectives, competitors' actions, internal needs, external conditions, customer needs, vendor support, and colleagues' experiences. (LRW)

The rationale for using Activity-Based Costing (ABC) in a library is to allocate indirect costs to products and services based on the factors that most influence them. This paper discusses the benefits of ABC to library managers and explains the steps involved in implementing ABC in the user services area of an Australian academic library.…