Lifted by a track record of accomplishments, you're a manager. No doubt, despite it all, you'll sooner or later feel a gnawing sense of incompetence. You're called on to play many roles: mentor, creator, monitor, negotiator; some will surely be new. The newly revised Fundamentals of Library Supervision will give you the grounding to supervise, manage, and lead with confidence. Weaved through the book are examples of two fictional new hires: one new to the library after a national search; another promoted from staff. You'll get practical advice and common-sense approaches, such as:Tactics for effective meetings your staff will thank you for How to develop shared accountability and other characteristics of genuine teams.Organizing work of others, both the structural types and the creativesHow determining the character of your organization will help you foster a positive climateMeeting deadlines through backward planningOvercoming the decision dilemma so common in teamsTechniques for actively addressing complaints38 sample interviewing questions suitable for 9 different contexts11 steps for developing a clear and balanced performance appraisalFlexible scheduling, job enrichment, celebrations and other ideas of non-monetary rewards. Making your email an actual productivity toolTechniques for actively addressing complaints

This step-by-step guide takes the reader through the process of successfully creating and implementing a library technology plan. Each chapter addresses an aspect of planning and implementation—from conducting a technology audit and selecting appropriate devices to deploying new technologies and training staff and users. Further, this LITA guide will help librarians evaluate the success of their work in developing and implementing their technology plans.

What do James Frey's A Million Little Pieces, Margaret B. Jones' Love and Consequence and Wanda Koolmatrie's My Own Sweet Time have in common? None of these popular books are what they appear to be. Frey's fraudulent drug addiction "memoir" was really a semi-fictional novel, Jones' chronicle of her life in a street gang was a complete fabrication, and Koolmatrie was not an Aboriginal woman removed from her family as a child, as in her seemingly autobiographical account, but rather a white taxi driver named Leon Carmen. Deceptive literary works mislead readers and present librarians with a dilemma. Whether making recommendations to patrons or creating catalog records, objectivity and accuracy are crucial—and can be difficult when a book's authorship or veracity is in doubt. This informative (and entertaining!) study addresses ethical considerations for deceptive works and proposes cataloging solutions that are provocative and designed to spark debate. An extensive annotated bibliography describes books that are not what they seem.

This is a complete, year-long programming guide that shows librarians how to integrate nonfiction and poetry into storytime for preschool children in order to build literacy skills and overall knowledge. The right nonfiction titles--ones with colorful photographs and facts that are interesting to young imaginations--give librarians an opportunity to connect with children who are yearning for "true stuff." Presenting poetry in storytime encourages a love of language and the chance to play with words. Written by authors with a combined 25 years of experience working with children and books in a library setting, Get Real With Storytime: 52 Weeks of Early Literacy Programming goes far beyond the typical storytime resource book by providing books and great ideas for using nonfiction and poetry with preschool children. This book provides a complete, year-long programming guide for librarians who work with preschool children in public libraries and school librarians who run special programs for preschoolers as well as parents, childcare providers, and camp counselors. Each of the 52 broad storytime topics (one for each week of the year) includes a sample storytime featuring an opening poem; a nonfiction title; picture books; songs, rhymes, or fingerplays; and a follow-up activity. Early literacy tips that are based on the authors' extensive experience and the principles of Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) are presented throughout the book. Helps librarians meet children's interests in "real stuff" and reach more children--especially boys--in storytime Provides new and effective ways to build early literacy skills using a unique blend of the "literary" and the "real" Supports national and state standards that emphasize the use of more nonfiction and informational text Enables librarians to make better use of their existing collections

Volunteers are crucial to the daily operation of any library. Finding and retaining the right people, motivating them and matching their skills with projects is challenging. This collection of 30 new essays brings together the experiences of numerous individuals across the U.S., providing ideas, projects and best practices for volunteer recruiting and management. The contributors--among them library board members, heads of special collections, directors of state library associations, outreach coordinators, archivists and researchers--discuss a broad range of topics in five sections: recruitment and retention; policies and process; mentoring and empowering; placement, programs and responsibilities; and outreach.

The written word is our primary tool for communication – with colleagues, administrators, stakeholders, and users. Poor use of words can lead to misunderstandings and inefficiencies.
Writing effectively will help you be a stronger colleague, manager, and librarian.
In this book, you will learn how to:
- Define your audience and your primary messages
- Simplify your writing so that it is succinct and understandable
- Structure your written content so that it is most usable and accessible to your audience
- Approach different forms of writing in a way that is most effective to
getting your message across
- Establish a voice and tone that reflects the identity of your organization
and yourself as a professional

The book covers writing for both print and Web-based publications and is aimed at all types of libraries.

Completely revised with even more contributions added by practicing school librarians, this book further examines the responsibility to lead in many areas and identifies the real-world, day-to-day application of established theory and best practices. In today's educational landscape, school librarians need to lead the way in many areas, including advocacy, literacy, technology, curriculum, vision, collaborative instruction, and intellectual freedom. All of these areas are vital to building and sustaining a school library program that enhances and encourages student achievement, as well as to providing enhanced services to students and faculty. This revised edition of The Many Faces of School Library Leadership offers invaluable insights from recognized leaders in the field of school librarianship that detail leadership roles embraced by accomplished practitioners and consider the research regarding best practices. An essential read for practicing school librarians as well as for pre-service school librarians, it offers today's school librarians actionable advice for strengthening their roles, underlining their value, and protecting their future--all while boosting student learning and achievement. The expert guidance and perspectives in this book will bolster those who are facing enormous challenges to meet them and allow school library staff to protect their jobs and to save school library programs from extinction. Emphasizes the essential role of school librarians as leaders in technology, literacy, and curriculum in their schools Presents practical, proven ways from working school librarians to get teachers to collaborate with each other and with the librarian Prepares school librarians to meet intellectual freedom challenges Outlines the key duties of school librarians in effective advocacy for their programs

This guide will show you how to reinvigorate your library's volunteer program using your community as a resource. Volunteers are essential to a library's well-being, but running a volunteer program is a complicated task that could often be done so as to bring more benefit to your library. This book draws on the author's decades of experience in public libraries and the nonprofit arena, and on cutting-edge professional trends in volunteer management, to show you how to tap into each of your volunteer's talents and match them to your library's needs. Providing multiple tactics for improving your library's volunteer program, the book covers redoubling your recruitment efforts to attract more volunteers, more logically assigning roles, and growing your relationships with volunteers. In addition, it addresses common problems with volunteers and potential barriers to success and explains how to overcome them. No matter what size your library, its volunteer staff, or its budget, this practical book will help you to streamline your volunteer program and more effectively engage the community to transform your library into a flourishing community center. Helps readers to better understand the motivations of today's volunteers and design meaningful volunteer opportunities Explains how to more successfully select potential volunteers and match them to your library's needs Shows to deal with the two most common barriers to the success of a library volunteer program: union issues and staff resistance Introduces exciting new trends in volunteer engagement Provides lists of resources to draw upon in running your volunteer program

Roman philosopher Cicero once remarked that "if you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." Today, libraries nationwide are beginning to incorporate gardens into their public services. Libraries in the southwestern US, for instance, are creating drought-tolerant gardens as neighborhood demonstration projects, while elsewhere gardens are being used to promote community engagement and even STEM learning. Citing examples of library gardens around the world that are thriving, this first-ever book on the subject not only demonstrates the many benefits of library gardens but also provides a complete overview of issues applicable to all library types and geographical environments. Featuring a full-color photo insert showcasing several beautiful library gardens, among the topics covered in the book are a brief history of libraries and gardens, with an overview of such "demonstration gardens" as medicinal and herbal gardens, native plant gardens, xeriscapes, and gardens as wildlife sanctuaries; the use of plants, such as living walls and rooftop gardens, to create ecologically healthy, sustainable environments; gardens as learning environments and spaces for storytimes and active play; food gardens, seed libraries, sensory gardens, outdoor reading areas, prison garden programs, and many other ways that libraries can engage communities; guidance on designing for inclusivity, planning, funding, staffing, recruiting volunteers, and planting and maintenance, complete with advice on determining the best plants to cultivate; and ideas on evaluating the effectiveness of library gardens and the program opportunities they offer. Readers will not only be inspired to create and nurture their own library gardens and programs, they will receive practical advice on how to proceed and sustain them.

Wilson's Public Library Core Collection: Nonfiction (17th Edition, 2019) recommends reference and nonfiction books for the general adult audience. It is a guide to over 9,000, plus review sources and other professional aids for librarians and media specialists.

MacMillian and Kirker's knack for creating storytimes that engage and delight young ones have made their previous books bestsellers. Now they're back with a completely new assortment of original fingerplays, transitional rhymes, movement songs, flannelboards, sign language rhymes and other activities to spice up storytimes for ages two and up. This ready-to-go sourcebook for children's librarians, early literacy specialists, and other adults who work with young children offers everything needed to plan and host quality storytimes, including more than a dozen thematic groupings of activities, featuring such fun topics such as "All About Me," "Bugs and Insects," "Fairy Tales and Castles," and "People in my Neighborhood"; recommended storytime books for each theme, along with material lists, patterns for flannelboards and stick puppets, and illustrations of American Sign Language signs; and coding for each entry indicating which Common Core State Standards for Kindergarten skills it supports. Using the guidance and activities contained in this book, storytimes will be more magical than ever!

How can libraries ensure that patrons from all socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds have access to advanced technology training and hardware? Everyone knows libraries provide access to computers and the internet for day to day use, but many libraries have gone beyond those basic services. Makerspaces and advanced tech training are often not equitably distributed between differing communities. The digital divide is still very real, and by not providing equal access to maker spaces and other similar services libraries may be unintentionally contributing to that divide. This book examines how the unequal distribution of resources between communities can limit access to emerging technologies. Chapters from librarians across the country give real world examples of libraries going the extra mile to bring more than just email access to their communities, regardless of economic status or geographic distribution. You'll find practical plans put forward by working professionals who have sought pragmatic solutions to issues of digital literacy. Access is a through line in this work as people look at the larger ideas of access as inclusive of training, diverse technologies, and the time and space to make genuine growth in tech literacy. Chapters include: -working with immigrants, -low cost laptops for library use, -deep dives into the underpinnings of the maker movement, and -developing community-focused technology training. After reading this book, librarians should have practical ideas to address the issue of equity in access to emerging technologies in their own communities.

Personal data in the online world has become a commodity. Coveted by criminals, demanded by governments, and used for unsavory purposes by marketers and advertisers, your private information is at risk everywhere. For libraries and librarians, this poses a professional threat as well as a personal one. How can we protect the privacy of library patrons and users who browse our online catalogs, borrow sensitive materials, and use our public computers and networks? User Privacy: A Practical Guide for Librarians answers that question. Through simple explanations and detailed, step-by-step guides, library professionals will learn how to strengthen privacy protections for: -Library policies -Wired and wireless networks -Public computers -Web browsers -Mobile devices -Apps -Cloud computing Each chapter begins with a "threat assessment" that provides an overview of the biggest security risks - and the steps that can be taken to deal with them. Also covered are techniques for preserving online anonymity, protecting activists and at-risk groups, and the current state of data encryption.

The news and scholarly literature are replete with stories and articles describing the challenges that diverse individuals face in their local communities and workplaces. Diversity and Inclusion in Libraries: A Call to Action and Strategies for Success is arranged in three parts: Why Diversity and Inclusion Matter, Equipping the Library Staff, and Voices from the Field. This book tackles these issues head on and should appeal to a broad audience interested in diversity as it relates to libraries and librarianship, including professional librarians and paraprofessional library staff. Offering best practices strategies tempered by experiences and wisdom, this book will help libraries realize a high level of inclusion.

Meet the changing needs of the contemporary reader with this current and comprehensive new readers' advisory resource. A Few Good Books will help you build a solid foundation in the theory and practice of readers' advisory and learn how exciting new Libary 2.0 technologies, including tags, clouds, e-books, virtual R, and other digitial formats will enhance your programs. A uniquely helpful section on RA for readers with disabilities, patrons who are non-native speakers of English, and adult new readers will enable your RA for underserved populations. There are strategies and tools for working directly with readers adn keeping current about books and authors, along with detailed coverage across a varity of book genres, including popular fiction; literary fiction; adventure, suspense, thrillers, and mysteries; science fiction, fantasy, and horror; and topical fiction. The author also includes real-life examples of successful RA transactions, sample scripts, and extensive appendices with important print and electronic resources. A Few Good Books will empower you with everything you'll need to serve your readers with their own definition of a "good read."