Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Director Evaluation -- A Communication Tool(H.W. Wilson Company, 1998) Cain, DanIt's every board's nightmare. Too much money spent on a controversial collection. Operational changes have been made and the board hasn't been kept informed. Constituents are complaining. Trust between board and director is at an all-time low.Item Public Boards, Public Meetings(H.W. Wilson Company, 1998) Ferguson, David L.Making difficult decisions about public funds and public services is not an easy assignment, and doing it in the fishbowl of a public meeting makes it all that much tougher for many public library trustees. The Indiana Open Door Law covers many of the situations that board members often worry about, from which meetings must be open to the public and which may be closed to how to handle committees and public comment.Item The Jewel of Our Community(H.W. Wilson Company, 1998) Rose, VirginiaAt the Monroe County Public Library we were out of space to conduct library business. Lengthy lines at check out, boxes under desks, double-decked book stacks, and installation of extra shelves meant fewer chairs than ever. Browsing was almost impossible at certain times of the day and week. In the midst of diminishing space, our Friends of the Library held a very popular book sale every week. Parking the bookmobile, and loading and unloading it, was difficult at best. Quiet space for anyone, including staff, was non-existent. Public use of meeting space was so constant that scheduling a room for trustee meetings was tough. Handicap accessability, a priority issue, had to be addressed far more fully that it had been. We had a leaking flat room problem, and parking was at a premium.Item Breaking Ground in the Twenty-first Century: Connecting to Our Communities(H.W. Wilson Company, 1998) Fleck, JimThe headlines in our newspaper read "Library Breaks Ground for New Building." Our local library was beginning the construction of a new $5 million dollar library facility. As president of our board of trustees, I reflected on that headline and my first thoughts were of great satisfaction and accomplishment and connection. As I thought about this headline a little more, I realized that the headline was really old news that the newspaper was only now revealing in a different form.Item Library Board Conduct and the Challenge of Team Building(H.W. Wilson Company, 1998) Farah, Jeanne T.; Otte, SallyThe gavel falls... The roll call taken... And the minutes approved... Where are you? You are attending your first library board meeting. How did you become a member of the library board and what do you do next? You have a million questions about how the library is run, how the board functions, what special interests the other board members have and what techniques you need to develop to get done what you want done. But, wait a minute, Step outside the immediate situation and take time to think.Item The First Amendment, Children, the Internet, and America's Public Libraries(H.W. Wilson Company, 1998) Cate, Fred H.In 1996, the American Library Association reported 664 formal challenges to material in schools, school libraries, and public libraries. Although that figure reflects a decline for the second year in a row, it is significant and cause for concern, in part because it reflects a net 25 percent increase in challenges during the past five years. Moreover, each of those challenges involved a formal request or demand that something be removed from a curriculum or library, thereby seeking to restrict access by other students or patrons. Judith Krug, Director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, estimates that for each challenge reported, four or five may go unreported. And, for every formal challenge, there are likely to be many informal complaints.Item Private Contributions Enhance Public Libraries(H.W. Wilson Company, 1998) Seiler, Timothy L.When Benjamin Franklin wrote about launching a subscription library two hundred seventy years ago, he effectively described the basis of how to begin the process of expanding a funding base. Today, and into the twenty-first century, this passage holds true for library fund raising. Many issues important to lending libraries echo in Franklin's words -- the concept of fines for materials returned late, or not returned; the practicality of a book-lending institution for its users; the heightened image of a community with a library; the entertainment value; and the "bragging rights" of a literate, informed citizenry. All are important still today. Yet what is even more startling about this passage is the keen intuition of Franklin the philanthropic fund raiser in quietly making the case for private support for libraries.Item Walking the Administrative Tightrope, or "It's Not a Job, It's an Adventure"(H.W. Wilson Company, 1998) Saucerman, Steve; Jurewicz, LynnLibrary directors do not make policy and library boards do not direct daily library operations. The key issue in the relationship is that responsibilities of boards and directors should be divided through careful consideration and discussion. The board/director relationship can be compared to an Alexander Calder mobile: on one side with the board rests the ultimate responsibility for the library. On the other side, responsibility for the actual operation rests with the director. For the library to function effectively the board must maintain a balance with the director in a team effort. The board relinquishes authority in exchange for the knowledge and resources the professional director can bring to the team. Together in an atmosphere of trust the many functions of the library can be accomplished. The backbone of this relationship is clear, well-written library policy, including job descriptions for both parties.Item Cover Page, Title Page, and Table of Contents(H.W. Wilson Company, 1998) Indiana LibrariesItem Introduction(H.W. Wilson Company, 1998) Laughlin, Sara, 1949-