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Rating: 
Summary: No Fluff - Just the Good Stuff
Review: As an MLS student informed that I'm to aspire to Management, I have since been on the lookout for more nuts and bolts training in this area. I have found a lot of theory and description of various problems but little that would help me concretely in my first library manager job- until now. Reading this small book has been like finding a great mentor. She doesn't waste time on the obvious but goes straight to clarifying the confusing, messy or difficult issues. I'll admit she seems to have no sense of humor, but she is fearless in her description and analysis of organizational problems that can plague libraries. And she has this uncanny knack of answering questions that I didn't know I had such as "What should my relationship be with my former co-workers/employer?" and "What are the legal minefields for today's library manager?". The book is aimed at first-time middle managers, a surprisingly little-served segment of the management world. Most advice for managers is directed towards first-time front-line or to those whose next career step is CEO. So its intended audience alone makes this book worthy of notice. In addition, she recognizes the unique issues of the manager also in the role of working-leader - very common in today's underfunded libraries. The author begins by explaining what you should be doing between getting hired and your first day at the job. It is thorough and goes beyond the expected. Following this is a plan for your first 24 months on the job. Here you can get a handle on what managerial task should be done when and learn that timing can be everything. Part of this effort will involve deciding on an actual organizational structure between bureaucracy and teams or both or something in between. Bureaucracy is sometimes actually the best choice for both the employees and the work involved as she explains. We also learn the difference between teams and work groups and why it's important to not confuse the two. Other areas the author addresses include meetings, planning tools , supervising professionals and supervising non-traditional employees. She teaches how to use meetings to their full advantage, but also encourages other means of communication when a high percentage of employees work part-time or telecommute (these would be the non-traditional employees). Sophisticated planning tools such as Interactive Planning and Scenario Setting are introduced along with the more standard ones. And at last someone clearly explains the difference between a Mission Statement and a Vision! I expected the chapter on decision-making to be the most perfunctory, but I was pleasantly surprised. She readily admits that the various business school decision-making models do not account for irrational people or organizations which makes them pretty hard to follow in a lot of libraries. Instead, she walks us through a "hardware store", if you will, pointing out the best tools (questions) to use for different types of materials (organizations) . These materials (organizations) have been identified/measured using other measuring devices or tools (questions of a different nature). Her discussion on this topic seemed so grounded in reality that I was not surprised to learn that her dissertation topic was "Making Decisions under Chaotic Conditions". The chapter on communication was just as useful and could easily have been titled " How to Successfully Negotiate with Anyone and Still Respect Yourself the Next Day." On the whole, this book is an excellent resource for new library managers or experienced ones who want to brush up on the latest business theories most helpful and applicable to running a library today. I do have two criticisms, though. Use of examples would facilitate an even quicker grasp of the different ideas; I suspect these were left out to keep the length more handbook and less textbook. My more serious criticism is the lack of attention to TQM - Total Quality Management. TQM is popping up everywhere in all manner of non-profits and for-profits. It looks like a business practice that is here to stay, but which few of us have learned in school. This book would have been a great place to see it discussed with respect to libraries...maybe in the next edition.
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