Creative Management of Small Public Libraries in the 21st Century

Citation

Anne Goulding (2016), "Creative Management of Small Public Libraries in the 21st Century", The Electronic Library, Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 353-354. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-08-2015-0157

The Foreword of this edited volume written by Sari Feldman, President of ALA, emphasises that all public libraries must build community connections to ensure that the services they provide are meaningful to individuals and groups within their neighbourhoods. This is perhaps even more important as far as small public libraries are concerned. Often under threat of closure as funders look to consolidate or rationalise service points to make efficiency gains, smaller libraries probably need to demonstrate the value they add to their communities more effectively than most. However, proving impact is often easier for libraries serving small populations because, as Feldman suggests, staff have a unique opportunity to establish deep relationships within their community and thus formulate appropriate strategies and services to meet their aspirations and needs. When this is achieved successfully, local people will invariably fight tooth and nail to preserve and retain their library services.

This volume gives an overview of approaches and methods that managers and staff of small public libraries can use to ensure the resources at their disposal are planned, distributed and organised appropriately to achieve their goals. The 32 chapters of this edited volume are organised into seven sections covering: staff, programming, management, technology, networking, fundraising and user services. Each chapter is relatively brief and contributions generally take a practical approach, the authors drawing on their own experiences of managing public libraries to highlight important aspects relating to their topics. The experiential tone is further developed through examples from the authors’ careers and the lists of “Best Practices” which conclude many (but not all) chapters. The theme of co-creation of public library services is one which runs strongly through many of the contributions to this volume, particularly through those in the section on programming where, for example, Walsh and Lyttle explore the concept and practicalities of “patron facilitated programming”. Similarly, in the technology section, Neblett and Roopnarine’s account of Orange County Library System’s initiative to preserve community memories digitally with the participation of local people is a clear overview of the processes involved and outcomes achieved from this type of community engagement.

Those looking for a theoretical perspective on public library management will not find it in this volume, but that is not the aim. Rather, its purpose is to present a range of advice to those managing and working in small library, illustrated by practical examples of strategies and approaches that have worked elsewhere. It should be noted that all the contributors are from North America (predominantly the USA) and, of course, processes and controls may be very different in other contexts. Having said that, aside from some of the specific fundraising opportunities, most of the approaches and initiatives would probably be translatable to a range of circumstances.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this book is that it celebrates the diversity of public library services across communities. At a time when there are pressures for standardisation and uniformity, the contributions in this volume show that it is possible to avoid the cookie-cutter approach and thrive. Despite the challenges faced, this book demonstrates that small public libraries continue to develop to serve the unique needs of their communities and play a vital role in reaching out to people in all types of communities.