by:
Flemming, Arend

Publisher:
Scarecrow Press
Published:November 17, 1999
ISBN:0810835789
Format:Textbook Binding
Pages:112

Description: From Library Journal
With library services around the globe increasingly becoming more complicated, the world of public libraries has correspondingly become just as complex. Challenges for public librarians abound, including increased customer expectations, economic pressure from municipal governments, and the fundamental shift in the basic concept of a library driven by the electronic age of information. In response, the Bertelsmann Foundation, with its principle of tangibly contributing to the solution of social problems, conceived projects in the sphere of public libraries to emphasize the construction and promotion of model libraries and the development of future-oriented methods of library management. Borrowing heavily from examples set by successful corporations, Bertelsmann created the International Network of Public Libraries, a group of 16 library experts from ten different countries who have successfully applied many of these solid business strategies in their own public library. The nine scholarly papers in this superb six-volume series discuss the practical realities of implementing these corporate practices in public libraries, including leading organizational change, strategic improvement in customer services, quality management applied in a library, product-oriented management, cost accounting, marketing tools used in libraries, fundraising, and the evaluation of electronic media. The authors are an international array of seasoned public library veterans, and you will not hear a single one patronize their customers by referring to them as patrons. This package of ideas represents the best of today's cutting-edge thinking in the anxious world of public libraries, and all public librarians genuinely concerned about their future would be highly advised to seek counsel from this excellent set. Highly recommended for all MLIS school libraries.DDale Farris, Groves, TX
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description:
Sponsored by the Bertelsmann Foundation, the International Network of Public Libraries series recognizes the challenges faced by today's librarians. Consisting of sixteen experts from ten countries, the network strives to create a forum in which information and expertise can be shared in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of libraries. Their approach is highly practice-oriented; case studies present especially successful solutions. This series is an innovative resource for public library professionals. Arend Flemming advocates the integration of public libraries as a necessary part of reforming public administration. He suggests that a change from the current system of budget-based management to more product-oriented management would benefit libraries by preparing them to meet the challenges of the future with greater ease.