Staffing The Modern Library: A How-to-do-it Manual (How to Do It Manuals for Librarians) (How to Do It Manuals for Librarians)

Is your library the same institution it was 10 years ago? Of course not--but the question is: how can you recruit, develop, and maintain an effective and adaptable staff that can meet the needs of your community? Cohn and Kelsey explore the changes that libraries have undergone since the advent of technology and the Web, and provide new personnel and organizational strategies for libraries. They offer guidance on establishing a "lean" library organization, defining 21st century library competencies, developing competency-based job descriptions, accomplishing goals through staff development, making effective use of outsourcing and insourcing, and planning multi-faceted staffing strategies. Each chapter presents practical worksheets, tables, and tool for day-to-day use by administrators. Special chapters on providing reference service in the digital environment, ensuring a library's presence on the Internet, and developing a digital collection, offer examples! of how the book's concepts can be applied to some of today's most challenging and common scenarios. Library administrators seeking solutions for critical service issues their libraries face in the 21st century will want to keep this manual nearby.