The expatriate library director

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide library managers with information about what to expect if they are considering a post in another country. It challenges a suggestion that a senior manager's major value is their local network. Rather, the skills, experience, culture and attitude, as well as networks, can contribute to a successful career in another country. Design/methodology/approach - The paper provides an example of an Australian expatriate senior library manager who took up a post in the United Kingdom. It draws upon literature on cultural differences and knowledge transfer across international borders. Findings - The paper provides an example of a successful transfer of management knowledge to a new country, highlighting actions taken to form a new management team. Also provides practical advice on personal and social matters that have to be addressed for the relocation to be successful. Practical implications - Leadership, good management, and an awareness of, and sensitivity to, cultural differences are required for a successful transfer of management knowledge. At a senior level, it is not so much about expertise in librarianship, but management and leadership that are important. Originality/value - The paper provides a positive example of an expatriate senior library manager moving to a new country. It will be of interest to anyone contemplating an international professional relocatio

Good People, Bad Jobs Situations: A Middle Manager’s Dilemma

Middle managers play a critical role in successful library operations in both public and academic settings. Their alignment with and their ability to carry out the vision of upper management is critical to moving the organization forward at all levels. The authors offer practical strategies for any middle manager who finds herself in a position where she is not in sync with her boss, situations that can range from uncomfortable to disastrous. They examine a variety of issues and circumstances such as misunderstandings, unanticipated changes in the organization, lack of fit with the organizational culture, different work expectations, and incompatible work styles that lead to conflicts and challenges between the middle manager and her boss. Because the library management literature does not address this area well, the authors suggest approaches for coping, determining possible exit strategies as well as behaviors to avoid based on reading management literature from a range of other sources and from personal experiences

Good People, Bad Job Situations: A Middle Manager\u27s Dilemma

Middle managers play a critical role in successful library operations in both public and academic settings. Their alignment with and their ability to carry out the vision of upper management is critical to moving the organization forward at all levels. The authors offer practical strategies for any middle manager who finds herself in a position where she is not in accord with her boss, situations that can range from uncomfortable to disastrous. They examine a variety of issues and circumstances such as misunderstandings, unanticipated changes in the organization, lack of fit with the organizational culture, different work expectations, and incompatible work styles that lead to conflicts and challenges between the middle manager and her boss. Because the library management literature does not address this area well, the authors suggest approaches for coping, determining possible exit strategies as well as behaviors to avoid. The recommendations are based on reading management literature from a range of other sources and from personal experiences

Cost, value and effectiveness of librray and information service

Several things conspired to encourage me to attempt this thesis: •My job as a library manager during an economic recession forced me to take an interest in the costing and valuation of library services. I attended courses, seminars and workshops on the subject; but although I learned a great deal I found that could not progress beyond a certain point. The work done in the area seemed a confused jumble of theoretical ideas from librarians and information scientists, contributions from economists which seemed to illuminate parts of the area, and the occasional intrusion of very down to earth but apparently effective ideas from practising librarians. I needed a bird's eye view of evaluation to understand it. • The realisation that the business of cost, value and effectiveness is becoming a theoretical sub-discipline of library and information studies, and will be treated as such by educators and practitioners unless it can be seen as part of the very practical business of resource management. • A point made by Oldman (1976) about there being two approaches to the management of library resources: listening to the users and trying to fulfil their needs, and investing the resources available in a responsible manner. What is needed is an amalgam of the two approaches, she maintains. • A question from a student: "How can the library user influence the effectiveness of library services?

Reflective writing: a management skill

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze students' reflective writing in terms of identifiable outcomes and explore students' thoughts on reflection and reflective writing as a process. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methods approach is taken with a qualitative analysis of 116 written reflections from MA Librarianship studying management over an eight-month period. A quantitative statistical analysis assesses the relationships between reflective writing and a number of possible outcomes identified from the literature. Findings – A significant relationship is found between seven of eight outcomes tested; academic learning, the need for self-development, actual self-development, critical review, awareness of ones' own mental functions, decision making and empowerment and emancipation. There is some evidence of a relationship between non-academic learning and reflective writing, but it is not significant. A number of themes emerged from the reflective writings regarding reflection itself, with students seeing reflection as a positive activity, with benefits for the individual, groups and in the workplace, and identifying reflection as a skill that can be practiced and developed. Practical implications – Reflection and reflective writing as a management skill has potential benefits for personal and professional development and improving work-based practice. Originality/value – This paper differs from the previous literature in presenting statistical evidence to confirm the relationships between reflective writing and a range of potential outcomes

On the road to Enlighten-ment: establishing an institutional repository service for the University of Glasgow

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to chart the development and growth of open access and institutional repositories at the University of Glasgow, Scotland from initial work in 2001 to the University's recently launched service, Enlighten. The University of Glasgow is a signatory to the Scottish Open Access Declaration and recently released a statement on Open Access.<p></p> Design/methodology/approach – The study will focus on the key lessons learned through a twin track approach of advocacy and service development during the DAEDALUS Project (2002-2005) and the transition of that work to a University service called Enlighten. This service includes a repository for published and peer-reviewed papers which has now had over 2 million hits and over 270,000 PDF downloads since it was established in February 2004.<p></p> Findings – The paper reveals the lessons learned by the Library and the project team. It also identifies the range of issues which must be addressed in the successful implementation of a repository and its transition to a production service. These include the development of content policies, copyright clearance and the cultural change necessary to populate a repository service. These challenges have and continue to be addressed by the repository team at the University of Glasgow.<p></p> Originality/value – This paper provides details of the lessons learned in the practical experience of setting up an institutional repository and ensuring its transition to a full and supported University service. It will be of particular interest to institutions implementing a repository or running a pilot service.<p></p&gt

JISC Research Data MANTRA Project at EDINA, Information Services, University of Edinburgh: Evaluation

This document reports on the findings of an evaluation of the Research Data MANTRA project at the University of Edinburgh. The MANTRA project ran from 1 August 2010 to 31 July 2011 and, as part of the JISC Managing Research Data programme's training materials projects, produced training materials in research data management for postgraduate researchers of specific disciplines. This evaluation is intended to provide, after a light-touch review, an impression of the extent to which the project achieved its goals and suggestions for where further work may be useful

Systems Analysis as a Decision-Making Tool for the Library Manager

published or submitted for publicatio