by:
Hayes, Robert M.
Walter, Virginia A.

Publisher:
Greenwood Press
Published:September 30, 1996
ISBN:0313289549
Format:Hardcover
Pages:248

Description: From Library Journal
In a work that is both an update and companion to his Strategic Management for Academic Libraries (Greenwood, 1993), Hayes and coauthor Walter apply strategic management thinking in the public library. The role of libraries in the information economies is the focus here, stressing strategic management rather than strategic planning. Strategic management is defined as the emphasis of an organization on relationships with external environments and an orientation toward long-range institutional goals. The ideas here deal with community problems and needs, users and their needs, the external environmental pressures on a library, and techniques for assessing strategic position, future position, library operational costs and services, and community information economies. While the ideas presented are a welcome addition to public librarianship, the densely academic approach of this dissertation-like work, however, places this tome entirely outside the reach of most public librarians. It is much more suitable for a library science management class. Wait for an entrepreneurial version complete with onsite training and consultation that will pragmatically apply these ideas in a more user-friendly format.?Dale Farris, Groves, Tex.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description:
Drawing on Hayes's previous work in Strategic Management for Academic Libraries, this professional reference addresses the unique circumstances and needs of public libraries and provides thorough guidance on how to manage change successfully in the community library environment. The volume provides a conceptual framework for strategic management, identifies its major concerns and relationships to the tactical and operational management of public libraries, discusses the particular problems and needs of community libraries, and details the assessment of the library's strategic position. The final section of the book offers extensive practical information for formulating and implementing strategic management in the public library setting.