IS554: Public Library Management & Services Spring 2006 Bharat Mehra School of Information Sciences New Year Greetings and Welcome!

IS554: Public Library Management & Services

Spring 2006Bharat Mehra

School of Information Sciences

New Year Greetings and Welcome!

Overview of the Syllabus

My Contact Information Course Goals Class Texts & Readings Class Schedule Class Outcomes Overview of Grading &

Assignments

My Contact Information

Office: 449 Suite Communications Building

Office Hours: Monday & Tuesday, 1:00-4:00 or by appointment

Phone: 865-974-5917 E-mail: [email protected]

Course Goals

Purpose of PLs during different times has been relatively constant. What aspects have been constant?

What has varied over times and (let us explore) across cultures?

THE CONTEXT: Contemporary Issues Digitization Globalization Building cultural-specific materials

Course Goals

Question: How can small libraries respond to changing contemporary expectations in the face of depleting resources and limited funding?

Question: How can functions in PL management utilize human resources via tapping into one-person librarianship principles?

Course Goals & Outcomes Understand PLs in a global society

Explore current management issues in PLs and discuss PLs as information agencies

Describe the role and authority of PLs in implementing and managing digital collections

Experience and critique cross-cultural library settings and identify PL management issues in intercultural environments

Discuss strategies for effective use of digitized cultural resources in PLs

Describe methods of gauging PL effectiveness in different cultural environments via case-study analysis

Describe and interpret collection development, policies and planning, library automation, and library governance in small libraries (or via one-person librarianship) for cultural materials

Considerations Interactive teaching

Active learning

Critical and creative thinking

Communication, participation, and sharing

Up to individual students how much you get from class interactions and make the experience interesting and meaningful to you in the process

Class Texts & Readings

Weingand, D. E. (2001). Administration of the Small Public Library (Fourth Edition). Chicago, IL: American Library Association.


Siess, J. A. (editor). (2005). The Essential OPL, 1998-2004: The Best of Seven Years of The One-Person Library: A Newsletter for Librarians and Management. Compiled by J. Lorig. Oxford: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.


Johannsen, C. G., & Kajberg, L. (editors). (2005). New Frontiers in Public Library Research. Oxford: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.

On-line readings There are some readings that

are available through on-line reserves at the UT libraries

Class Schedule Concepts and constructs: An overview of PLs and management

Brief history Core missionsDiversity, culture, and its impactsConceptions and definitions One-person librarianshipSmall librariesTechnology emergenceAdvantages and limitations of changing rolesStudying the community and developing a strategic plan

1/24 DUE BY CLASS: Students decide which topic to choose

PL management and services Library management and valuationForms of management Library governancePolicy Finance Personal administration Marketing Intellectual property rights and copyright Library’s

products Collections developmentCataloging and classification

Class Schedule Digitization and PLs

Digital public libraries Technology applications & implementationTechnical servicesUnderstanding needs and providing customer

services Patron behavior and user involvementEvaluation and assessment analysis

Culture, Globalization, and PLs PLs in a multicultural societyDiversity IssuesLibraries in other parts of the world

Meanings, Professional Identity, and the Future Meanings of PL Stories and scriptingCase Studies and NarrativesProfessional Identity of PLs

Class Outcomes Experience in cross-cultural interactions and case-

study analysis

Study the development, roles, political environment, governance, organization, fiscal management, services, marketing, and performance evaluations of PLs in the context of digital information and cultural-specific representations for library automation in small libraries

Explore both human resource management dimensions and the technological dimensions to how public libraries may respond to contemporary times

Class Outcomes Project Title: Library Automation

Framework for Digitizing Cultural-Specific Materials in Small Libraries

Class project management portfolio (PMP) for digital library services implementation in small library environments

Assumption: PMP Manual should be applicable across cultural settings

Class Outcomes PMP Manual will outline relevant criteria

and guidelines for Library Automation Training in Small Libraries for Cultural-Specific Digital Materials

Cross-cultural perspectives may be gained via participating in the EduCol India project (Educational Collaboration between the University of Tennessee, United States, and Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India: Cross-Cultural Teaching Clusters in an International Learning Community)

Class Outcomes: “How Tos” EduCol India will have UTK graduate students in IS 565 and IS

554 participate collaboratively in a distance education teaching and learning environment with students in the JU University

We will develop asynchronous teaching and learning clusters over a period of one-month

Two class students will pair up in teams to identify a topic related to management of library automation for cultural materials in small library settings

Each team will work on the following stages for their topic: 1) Project Statement 2) Feasibility Study (American Case-Study) 3) Feasibility Study (Community/ Culture Profile) 4) Analysis (Model of Solution) 5) Outline Design 6) Detailed Design 7) Evaluation and Assessment 8) Recommendations and Future Implications

Overview of Grading Evaluation of your work is based on quality not quantity

All assignments should be concise, specific, well organized, and follow the instructions

They must be turned in by the deadline

Grading A 4.0>92 Excellent B+3.586-92 Very good B3.080-85 Good C+2.575-79 Satisfactory C2.070-74 Below Standard D1.0<70 Unsatisfactory

Overview of Grading Academic Integrity Cheating, plagiarism, providing unauthorized help and

other acts of dishonesty violate the rule of academic honesty; the offender will be subject to penalties as set forth in Hilltopics

Late Assignments In order to be fair to others who hand their assignments

on time, late assignments will be penalized. Grades on papers submitted after the deadline will be reduced one-half letter grade. (e.g. a B+ will become a B) Special circumstances will be considered, but you must contact the instructor in advance

Assignments Pre-and-Post Project Questionnaire

= 10% of your total grade

Project (Topic) Statement = 10% of your total grade

Feasibility American Case-Study = 20% of your total grade

Feasibility Community/Culture Profile = 10% of your total grade

Final PMP Manual and Presentation = 40% of your total grade

Class Participation = 10% of your total grade

Project (Topic) Statement

Two-member teams identify topic

Student teams prepare a written document that will take the form of a module in the PMP Manual

Create a statement of requirements that defines your topic

Steps to do this: (1) choose and define topic (2) describe context of the topic (3) describe the topic (4) outline the scope of the topic (5) identify goals of project (6) justification for working on this topic.

a) Identification of topic b) Project rational and intent c) Identify at least five aspects each in how the topic is related to small library settings; cultural aspects and information environments in another culture; and digitization

Discuss the above listed points and share at least one possible way to address these aspects

The written module should be at least 3-4 pages and should include at least one link each to any appropriate websites that connect the topic to small libraries, cultural settings, and digitization

Feasibility American Case-Study

Part One (2-3 pages) Select an American case-study of a PL and

describe how the library represents, manages, and provides services associated with the selected topic in relation to library automation (digitization) and cultural aspects

Part Two (2-3 pages) Discuss how the selected PL addresses

elements of their Strategic Action Plan (SAP)

For the selected topic, each student studies the selected PL and its SAP for library automation in terms of the PL’s scope and objectives, activities, and resources for outlining strategic plan, and its implementation

Feasibility Community/Culture Profile

Identify elements of culture that demand acknowledgement (feedback) in relation to their topic

Each student team will then create data-collection tools (surveys, open-ended questions, other) to gather feedback from JU students and build a community/culture profile to understand library automation issues in relation to their topic

Identify ‘understanding the community’ questions about context and content for JU students to provide answers (expertise from a local perspective): Address the audience and the embedded settings

Summarized module from earlier assignments

Final PMP Manual and Presentation

Analyze feedback collected from JU students plus additional research towards building their module in the PMP manual

During the course of this class each student will keep a log of their activities (journal writing via possibly a blog)

Deliverables Activity log Report describing your experience including a

technical description of the work accomplished, recommendations for librarians who might be pursuing this same type of work and a personal account of “lessons learned”

Approximately 10-12 pages

Final PMP Manual and Presentation Report will help identify content and work with

JU students on storyboarding and scripting.

Your module for the PMP manual may include the following in relation to the selected topic:

introduction to and use of cultural collections in libraries

PL management and automation PL technical services for cultural-specific materials,

and/or PL topic specific content which benefits from cultural comparison-contrast

Assignments Analysis Create model of solution for library automation

Develop and map the project’s solution for their topic. Students will identify procedural aspects related to collections, services, and access.

Outline Design Create user-centered and system design outline for library automation

Design of conceptual model integrating solutions. Students will explore the technological infrastructures in support of digitization and the potential role of instructional technologies.

Detailed Design Create specifications and criteria for library automation

Evaluation & Assessment Implementation Identify user involvement strategies to evaluate the design solutions and assess their effectiveness to meet user needs.

Evaluation/assessment of library automation project and cross-cultural collaboration

Recommendations and Future Implications Create working prototype recommendations, guidelines, & documentation

Topics Related to PL Management

1. Community Characteristics

2. Library Governance

3. Library Identity

4. Marketplace Dynamics/Advertising

5. Personal Management

6. Finances

7. Policy Development

8. Collection Development

9. Library Products/Customer Services

10.Intellectual Property Rights and Copyright

11.Technological Infrastructure

12.Technical Services and Cataloging+Classification

13.User Involvement/Evaluation and Assessment

Core Missions American Library Association. Libraries: An: American Value

Libraries are cornerstones of community they serve Free access to information Important for education, employment, enjoyment, and self-government

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American Library Association: Principles

1. We defend the constitutional rights of all individuals, including children and teenagers, to use the library’s resources and services

2. We value our nation’s diversity and strive to reflect that diversity by providing a full spectrum of resources and services to the communities we serve

3. We affirm the responsibility and the right of all parents and guardians to guide their own children’s use of the library and its resources and service

4. We connect people and ideas by helping each person select from and effectively use the library’s resources

5. We protect each individual’s privacy and confidentiality in the use of library resources and services

6. We protect the rights of individuals to express their opinions about library resources and services

7. We celebrate and preserve our democratic society by making available the widest possible range of viewpoints, opinions and ideas, so that all individuals have the opportunity to become lifelong learners - informed, literate, educated, and culturally enriched.

American Library Association: Core Values

Access Confidentiality/Privacy Democracy Diversity Education and lifelong learning Intellectual freedom Preservation The Public Good Professionalism Service Social Responsibility

Diversity, Culture, and its Impacts

ALA Public Programs Office Leadership Resources Training Networking Opportunities

Provide an example of how a PL program may have an impact upon PL management and services?

Meanings of culture Principles and core values Policies Finances

ALA: International Dimensions

“for the purpose of promoting library interest throughout the world by exchanging views, reaching conclusions and inducing cooperation in all departments of bibliothecal science and economy"


To encourage the exchange, dissemination, and access to information and the unrestricted flow of library materials in all formats throughout the world (ALA Priority Area A: Access to Information)

To promote and support human rights and intellectual freedom worldwide (ALA Priority Area C: Intellectual Freedom)

To foster, promote, support and participate in the development of international standards relating to library and information services, including informational tools and technologies (ALA Priority Area F: Library Services, Development, and Technology)

To promote legislation and treaties that will strengthen library, information and telecommunications services worldwide (ALA Priority Area B: Legislation and Funding)


To encourage involvement of librarians, information specialists, and other library personnel in international library activities and in the development of solutions to library service problems that span national boundaries (ALA Priority Area F: Library Services, Development, and Technology)

To promote the education of librarians, information specialists, and other library personnel in such ways that they are knowledgeable about librarianship in the international context (ALA Priority Area E: Personnel Resources)

To promote public awareness of the importance of the role of librarians, libraries, and information services in national and international development (ALA Priority Area D: Public Awareness).

Brief History of PLs in the US Lowell A. Martin (1998). Enrichment: A History of

the Public Library in the United States in the Twentieth Century.

PL as a reflection of the story of the United States: need for informed citizenry and a skilled and educated workforce (ingredients for democracy and capitalism)

Foundation years (1900-1917) Innovative years (1918-1929) Depression and war (1930-1945) Recovery and understanding (1946-1959) Promise and disillusionment (1960-1979) Culmination years (1980-1999)

Brief History of PLs in the US Before 1700, reading skills and literature were

limited to the privileged and scholarly (“Popular” 1729)

In 1731, Benjamin Franklin founded a new kind of library: a “subscription library” open to anyone who could afford the fees

Over the next century, America’s expanding economy demanded educated workers. Public education produced readers who desired more books. America’s new democracy, dependent on informed citizens, also required freer access to literature.

Brief History of PLs in the US

The growing middle-class used subscription libraries, but grumbled about their shortcomings: wealthy benefactors restricted book choices librarians guarded the stacks, forbidding browsing and fees could be prohibitive


Mid 1800s Americans debated about tax-funded libraries

public libraries would be “people’s universities” where all could learn and immigrants could Americanize so they could find jobs (Jones, 1970). They would also provide socially acceptable pastimes

In opposition, a Minneapolis subscription librarian wrote: “I don’t see that there is any more reason for having free reading than free soup” (qtd. in Benidt, 1982).

New Hampshire settled the issue by legalizing tax-funded libraries in 1849. Within forty years, 29 states enacted similar laws

The library became the community’s center


1876 was a banner year for libraries in the United States: The American Library Association is founded.

Library Journal is founded

The first edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification is published

Cutter got creamed

The U.S. Bureau of Education publishes Public Libraries in the United States of America: Their History, Condition, and Management, widely referred to as the 1876 Report

Brief History of PLs in the US In 1903, Gratia Countryman became the first

woman to head a major American library: the Minneapolis Public Library. Even so, her salary was set at $2,000 — $1,000 less than her predecessor!

Women were not the weaker sex on the public library frontier — they were its strong backbone

They raised funds, lobbied for tax support, implemented outreach programs — even drove book trucks

Women tried to improve society through libraries, but the lack of voting rights hampered their efforts

Women had long been involved in education as teachers. Then, in 1875, women were permitted to vote for and serve as school board members



1890-1925 "the innocent years“ for the Bronx from a country-like landscape of small

villages into thriving a metropolis of over one million inhabitants

hope for the future and trust in progress

growth and optimism, free public library service was born

Bronx Traveling LibraryInterior of BookmobileBarbero & Gale Photography

New York Public Library Archives

Bronx Traveling Library 1928First Bronx BookmobileNew York Public Library Archives

Bronx Traveling Library, 1937. New York Public Library Archives

The establishment of free library service throughout the borough first depended on the generous bequests of wealthy, civic minded men like Samuel J. Tilden.

Bronx Traveling Library June 6, 1949Herald TribuneNew York Public Library Archives

Brief History of PLs in the US People like Andrew

Carnegie, renowned library philanthropist, and a self-made millionaire, built a private-public partnership. He gave funds for library buildings if local governments filled the buildings with staff and books. In the end, he donated some $56 million for the construction of more than 2500 library buildings. Andrew Carnegie,Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie (1920),46-7 cited in Id. At 8-9.

Andrew Carnegie Portrait in the Andrew Carnegie Free Library


Building façade and the clock-tower of the first tax-supported Carnegie Library in the Americas [second in the world--first in the world was Victoria Library in Grangemouth, Scotland], dedicated by U.S. President Benjamin Harrison on February 20, 1890


Jesse Shera (1903-1982), Foundations of the Public LibraryIdentified four factors linking the movement for universal

schooling and the movement for tax-supported public libraries:

a) A growing awareness of the ordinary man and his importance to the group

b) The conviction that universal literacy is essential to an enlightened people

c) A belief in the practical value of technical studies

d) An enthusiasm for education for its own sake


Recovery and understanding (1946-1959)

Ditzion, Sidney Herbert wrote Arsenals of a democratic culture, a social history of the American public library movement in New England and the Middle States from 1850 to 1900 in 1947

Histories by Shera and Ditzion coincided with initiatives of the American Library Association to identify the future of the public library in a time of great change: The National Plan for Public Library Service (1948) established two main objectives for public libraries:

to promote enlightened citizenship to enrich personal life


The Public Library and Federal Policy (1974)

The Library Services Act passed in 1956

In 1968 the American Library Association Council voted to establish a Coordinating Committee on Service to the Disadvantaged which became the Office for Library Service to the Disadvantaged in 1970

Ideals of the library as an agent for change Over this same period (1950-1975) the American

Library Association issued two standards documents (1956 and 1966)

The complex process of the Public Library Association moving from the 1966 standards to a planning process in the seventies is viewed by Verna L.Pungitore as a major innovation

Brief History of PLs in the US The 1980 manual, Planning Process for Public

Libraries, and the 1982 Output Measures for Public Libraries provided the tools for planning and measurement

The Public Library Mission Statement and Its Imperatives for Service (1979), a product of the PLA Goals, Guidelines, and Standards Committee intended as a bridge between standards and the planning process

The Public Library: Democracy’s Resource, A Statement of Purpose put together by the Public Library Principles Task Force in 1982

In 1994 the Public Library Association Committee on Planning and Evaluation commissioned a public libraries entered the 21st century.


The tendency of PLs to be “a multipurpose agency striving to be all things to all people and views” spreads “our mission across many areas rather than sharply concentrate it”: this tends to limit the effectiveness of PLs?

Do you agree with this statement? Give examples to support your point of view.


“… the driving force for the development of public libraries comes directly from the local community, rather than from dictated national plans or requirements” (Martin, 1998).

Discuss the benefits and challenges of this in relation to PL management and provision of services ?

Future of PLs in the US

Martin recommends that the PL shift focus to the role of being a source of knowledge for the interpretation of information and a source of recreation. Do you agree?

Documents

IS554: Public Library Management & Services Spring 2006 Bharat Mehra School of Information Sciences New Year Greetings and Welcome!