While some library workers may think that their organisations have become overly “managerial” in the past decade, there can be no denying that good management is an absolute necessity for any library to be effective. Management texts like this one can only ever be basic or introductory, and although even experienced managers will find something useful in almost every chapter, it is worth stating that the authors have kept their eyes firmly on the target audience of young and emerging library managers. This is not a “how-to-do-it” manual despite the word “basics” in the title, and I appreciated the frequent references to management theory, for theory is sometimes ignored by managers and the results are often sad to see.
The book is organised into three parts. “Part One: Managerial Environment” has three chapters. The first chapter introduces concepts. The second, on the “operating environment”, includes coverage of organisational culture. The third, on legal issues, cannot deal in specifics, and so this really is only a very basic introduction to the issues. “Part Two: Managerial Skill Sets” contains eight chapters that cover basic management subjects: planning, the use of power, delegating, decision making, communicating, managing change and innovation, quality control and finally marketing and advocacy. “Part Three: Managing People” is about what it says: motivating, leading, team building, addressing diversity and staffing. “Part Four: Managing Things” deals with money, technology and physical facilities. “Part Five: Managing Yourself and Your Career” has two chapters: one on ethics and the other on “planning your career”. The coverage is thorough and includes subjects such as marketing that are often omitted from basic management texts.
Each chapter has boxes of text called “something to consider” or “something to ponder”. There are also boxes headed “authors’ experience” or “try this”. Some of the most relevant additions to the Third Edition are “from the Advisory Board”: a novel way of adding a practical touch. There are full and relevant readings cited throughout, and a regular “check this out” feature presents (mostly recent) readings for extended study. This is a fine volume, and I recommend it to anyone who wishes to study library management, and to those already managing who need to widen their perspective.
