Management Of Library Services Research Articles

Defining market orientation for libraries

PurposeThis paper is the result of exploratory research forming part of ongoing study into the value and relevance of market orientation as a strategic option for library managers. The aim of the study is to define the concept of market orientation relative to the library sector.Design/methodology/approachA series of focus groups and field interviews were carried out in order to validate the established constructs of market orientation prevalent in the management literature. Focus groups were used to gather data from librarians working at different levels in two different sectors, health and arts. Interviews were carried out with library service managers in two other sectors, academic and public. Senior library policy makers were also interviewed. The object was to gain an indication of the breadth of opinion across sectors. The data were coded and analysed using a taxonomic map developed during the study.FindingsMarket orientation is a concept that library professionals see as being valuable. Library managers define market orientation in the same way as the concept is defined in the management literature. Their understanding of the concept is developing.Research implications/limitationsThere are implications for further research. Methods used to measure market orientation in other domains are likely to be relevant for libraries.Practical implicationsFostering an organisational culture that supports market orientation has implications for service management and development.Originality/valueResearch in market orientation in libraries is limited. This study provides the basis for research development into market orientation and its value for libraries.

Public Libraries in England: A valuable public service or a service in distress?

Compares and contrasts the Department of Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Reports of 2000 and 2005. Suggests that an increasing focus on public library matters can mean either that public libraries are moving up the political agenda or that they are a cause for concern. Discusses how the two reports show developments but also failings in public library service policy and provision over the five-year period. Both reports cover the regulatory framework governing public libraries but the 2005 report documents changes to reporting systems which, it is feared, will not improve the standard of below standard library services. Concerns about access to library buildings also featured in both reports. The success of the People's Network was praised in both 2000 and 2005 although the practice in some library authorities of charging for access to ICT was condemned strongly in the latter. The two reports emphasized the problem of the decline in the book lending service caused by a fall in the value of the book fund. It is concluded that although the 2005 report contains many criticisms of the provision and management of public library services in England, these should be viewed as an opportunity by the public library community to lobby local and national politicians for funding and action to rectify the problems identified.

Multi-site Management of Library and Information Services

The following articles were written by law librarians employed by a variety of organisations in response to a questionnaire sent out by the Editorial Board. The aim of this brief survey was to try and find out what the key issues are facing librarians who operate in such situations. We were unable to get a contribution from an academic library operating a multi-site system. Some of the articles have followed the format of the questions posed in the survey and others are more discursive, but the Editorial Board hopes that readers will find useful nuggets of information in these different accounts. They certainly offer interesting organisational schemas.

Profile of LIS Applicants Selecting Different Specialisations

The Division of Information Studies at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, revised its curriculum in 2000 and defined eight areas of specialisation. Applicants to the MSc (Information Studies) programme were asked to fill out a questionnaire and indicate the specialisation and the subjects in which they were interested. A cluster analysis of students based on the subjects they selected identified four clusters of students corresponding to the following areas: library service, digital library, information technology, and knowledge management. A statistical analysis was then performed to identify the characteristics and background of applicants selecting the various specialisations and belonging to the different clusters. Applicants selecting different specialisations were found to have different profiles, educational and employment backgrounds. Age and gender differences were also found. Applicants tend to select the specialisation that is related to their educational and employment background. Teachers tend to select the school libraries specialisation; people with finance, business and accountancy background tend to select corporate information services and knowledge management; and IT workers tend to select information systems. The library specialisations tend to be selected by arts & social sciences graduates, whereas science and technology graduates prefer information systems and the Internet specialisations. However, the Internet specialisation appears to cut across all sectors, with applicants from every industry selecting it. Gender and age differences were also found. The public library and school library specialisations tend to attract female applicants. The library specialisations also attract older applicants than the information systems and Internet specialisations. Men and younger applicants are more interested in IT subjects, and the knowledge management area tends to be selected by slightly older applicants and male business/accountancy graduates.

Management and the management of information, knowledge‐based and library services 2002

Reviews the general literature of management relevant to the information and library professions, and that of the management of information, knowledge‐based and library services published in 2002. Themes emerging at major conferences are noted and issues of growing concern are identified.

Elementary Statistics for Effective Library and Information Services Management

Elementary Statistics for Effective Library and Information Services Management

How much law should librarians know?

The paper discusses the teaching of elements of law within the Library and Information Studies (LIS) curriculum, using the programmes at the University of Brighton as an exemplar. The inclusion of legal topics in LIS teaching has been endorsed by professional associations, but has not been extensively discussed in the literature. A small‐scale pilot research project is described, which sought to characterise senior library and information service managers’ views about legal knowledge and expertise. A series of legal topics is reviewed, and discussed in the light of the pilot project results. The topics covered are: Computer Misuse; Contracts; Copyright; Court Procedures; Data Protection; Freedom of Information; Libel and Defamation; Official Secrets; Patents; and Human Rights. The project results appear to validate the assumptions underlying the University of Brighton’s provision, and suggest that teaching elements of law is worthwhile. However, further work is required and is in progress.

Management and the management of information, knowledge‐based and library services 2001

Reviews the general literature of management relevant to the information and library profession, and that of the management of information and library services, published in 2001. Themes emerging at major conferences are noted. Issues of growing concern are identified together with those that appear to be becoming of lesser interest.

Elementary Statistics for Effective Library and Information Service Management

Elementary Statistics for Effective Library and Information Service Management

Discovering Columbus

It took just a simple e-mail in the Autumn of 2000 to set the ball rolling towards one of the most informative, enjoyable and interesting professional experiences I've ever had. The e-mail in question was a request to fill in a questionnaire from the Foreign Comparative and International Law Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries. The questionnaire concerned participation in AALL's Clearinghouse for Internships & International Personnel Exchanges. This is a program used to promote exchanges and visits between law librarians in the US and abroad in order to develop both personal and professional relationships, and also to give librarians the chance to work with legal information sources pertaining to other jurisdictions. Library and Information Services (LIS) management here at the University of Wales Swansea (UWS) kindly agreed to explore both the avenues of hosting and that of ‘sending forth’ a law librarian within the program.

Elementary Statistics for Effective Library and Information Service Management

Elementary Statistics for Effective Library and Information Service Management

The security of computer and other electronic installations in Nigerian university libraries

Theft from academic libraries is a growing universal problem. This paper examines computer theft and that of audio‐visual equipment at the University of Ilorin. It aims to focus the attention of library and information service managers to this unhealthy trend that could undermine the delivery of services. It informs managers and other policy makers about effective measures for combating theft from libraries in Nigerian universities.

Management and the management of information and library services 2000

Focuses on the year 2000, reviewing the periodical literature of information and library services management, and of the relevant literature from the field of management in general. Notes the themes of major conferences in the field of information and library services management, and of reference tools for library managers.

Developing performance and impact indicators and targets in public and education libraries

The authors trace recent changes in the idea of evaluating performance in UK education and libraries and examine some of the differences in impact assessment between the two fields; concluding that little attention has so far been given by librarians to service impact assessment. A process model for generating outcome/impact indicators and targets was developed in the course of research on the effectiveness of further education college libraries. This was then adapted into a development planning model to enable education library managers to work through the processes required to arrive at appropriate impact indicators. The model is described, various issues in working with the model are explored and its further adaptation for public library service managers through another national research project is reported.

Being an intrapreneur and creating a successful information service within your organization

Suggests various ways in which library and information professionals can and should demonstrate to their organizations and to the public that their function is not merely useful but provides an essential service. These are likely to include a combination of marketing, corporate intelligence, management skills and innovative thought and to be based on the belief that library and information professionals are best equipped to make sense of the new areas of information and knowledge management that are currently proliferating. Argues that the key to success lies in a new style of management, defined as ‘intrapreneurial’ as applied to library and information service management. The fundamental nature and characteristics of intrapreneurs are discussed. These qualities include the ability to: allocate resources for service quality; delegate and organize; reduce individual and team stress; accept responsibility of leadership; motivate at all levels; select a good team; and develop a good team. The five requirements identified as being essential to allow the growth of intrapreneurship comprise: encouragement of risk-taking; financing, rewarding and recognizing innovation; improved means for dissemination of innovation in the public sector; provision of political leadership; and development of a new breed of public sector managers who are trained and motivated as intrapreneurs.

An overview of the literature of management and of information and library services management 1999

Reviews the literature of management and information and library service management for 1999.

Wanting it all: the relationship between expectations and the public’s perceptions of public library services

Discusses research that examines the relationship between user perceptions and expectations of the public library service. Emphasis is not on what expectations and perceptions of the library service are, but rather how they are formed, what influences them, and how they interact. Making use of data from the 1995 ASLIB study, and drawing on research from a variety of disciplines, it was found that the library experience had a significant impact on the perceptions and expectations that are created of the service. The “snapshot” that a user forms during the service experience was found to be crucial to the perception created and the subsequent expectation held. Similarly it was noted that internal and external factors ranging from family influence to the media also have an impact on the way an individual experiences the library. Developments in information technology have resulted in some confused perceptions of the public library service. Some areas of conflict were noted between perceptions of a traditional role, and a potential role making use of IT. Concludes that a knowledge of user expectations and perceptions is vital to the effective management of public library services.

Technology and Management in Library and Information Services. F. W. Lancaster , Beth Sandore

<i>Technology and Management in Library and Information Services</i>. F. W. Lancaster , Beth Sandore

Participative management in academic library services

Participative management is based on the assumption that empowering people throughout the enterprise will result in a more responsive, more flexible, and ultimately more successful enterprise. Participative management is more than a willingness to share influence ‐ formal patterns of participation need to be truly implemented where employees have a right to contribute on all levels of decision‐making. The empirical survey showed that participative management is applied at academic information services in the Gauteng province of South Africa, but more so in low‐level decisions. This indicates that participation is still limited and controlled by management and is not yet experienced as a right by employees.

Perspectives on organisational network communities: a review paper for library and information service managers

Computer‐mediated communication (CMC) is becoming firmly embedded into library work through the use of electronic mail, and it is likely that computer‐supported collaborative working, using e‐mail and other forms of computer‐conferencing and groupware products, will have a key role to play in the development of integrated digital libraries across sectoral, national and international boundaries. This review paper draws on a literature survey which was undertaken as part of British Library funded research into the use of e‐mail in academic libraries between 1995‐1997. It aims to provide a digest of some influential perspectives from the literature which are likely to be of relevance to managers, team leaders and systems staff in information services who are interested in optimising the use of text‐based CMC across and between library organisations, and within teams.