Here's the first comprehensive case studies in library management book to be published since 1981! The book use case studies gleaned from TODAY'S library world to help students take analytical approaches to library problems. Much research points to the fact that students are more inductive than deductive reasoners. Therefore, books like this which provide actual examples to explore and think about are far more useful than many of the existing texts which start with theory and basic principles. Case studies are often used in business, law, and medical schools. This book will facilitate instructors pushing want students to explore how what they have learned applies to real world situations. Cases are organized in six sections that parallel basic library management functions: Planning Organizing Leading Controlling Staffing Communicating Each section features four cases, each with the case description and three responses from library leaders from a wide variety of library types and sizes. Library Management Problems Today: Case Studies will allow students to put themselves in the center of actual library problems and ask "What would I do?"
Wayne T. Disher is a retired public library director for the City of Hemet Public Library. He serves as a lecturer for the San Jose State University School of Information. Mr. Disher served as president of the California Library Association in 2012. He received his master of library and information science degree at San Jose State University in 1994, and worked at San Jose Public Library System for 22 years managing library branches and units. Disher is the author of several library science textbooks, has been recognized as a library trainer, and professional development speaker for library staff.
In today's increasingly complex library workplace, it can be hard to know how to handle thorny situations that regularly come up. The realistic library workplace scenarios included in this book are the perfect tool for students to develop their problem-solving skills. They will especially appreciate hearing how library leaders would handle these situations.--Sandra Hirsh, associate dean for academics, College of Professional and Global Education, San Jose State University Leading organizations in the 21st century has become more difficult and challenging than at any other time in management history. Students looking to absorb skills and experience that can help them find their way through this complexity will find Wayne Disher's unique text more than just a preparatory resource unlike most others. Disher's, Library Management Problems Today: Case Studies, utilizes interactive, library themed scenarios that support active learning strategies such as problem-based learning. Disher's scenarios are rooted in his immense knowledge of library science as both a past library director and a current university instructor. Readers will find that working through these timely, and thought-provoking storylines will help them apply their subject knowledge and problem solving skills in a safe, real-world context. It's not easy to find engaging instructional tools in management studies, but Disher seems to have created the definitive text. It will be useful for instructors and students in management for decades.--Jeff Sheppard, President/CEO, Ramona Humane Society Forty years after AJ Anderson's influential LIS management publication, a new generation of LIS students and information professionals will benefit from Disher's real-life case analyses of common and perplexing problems faced in 21st-century organizations. The engaging scenarios and resolutions offered by key library managers make this volume a must-have management compendium.--Susan W. Alman, PhD, San Jose State University School of Information
