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The purpose of the paper is to explore changes in Danish public library managers’ perception of the environment, their own knowledge about management methodologies and tools and their perceived need for further education.

The exploration of the changing attitudes and perceptions is based on two comprehensive and comparable surveys conducted in 2001 and 2004. The frame of reference is the very distinctive changes in the public library system due to a very innovative employment of the technology and the turbulent political and economic environment resulting from plans of merging the municipalities and counties into fewer units. Another important element in the context is the comprehensive effort to develop leadership capabilities in the library sector.

The paper finds some very distinctive changes in managers’ outlook and attitudes. The most important is probably the discovery of a more conscious and professional position in relation to the leadership role. The turbulent environment with the coming merging of municipalities creates some job insecurity but it does not tend to decrease the job satisfaction. The managers have undergone a process of professionalisation in relation to their job. A higher degree of professionalisation correlates with mental attitudes to the job, self‐esteem in relation to managerial tools and approaches and confidence in relation to the stakeholders. This process of professionalisation is tied to the comprehensive educational programmes run for managers in the library sector.

Of use to public library managers everywhere who have an interest in management methodologies and tools.

Libraries need library leaders who are able to follow the changes and developments and keep pace with them, manage and shape the changes, bring theories and practices together, be solution-oriented, people-oriented, environment-oriented, well-appointed, successful, and creative, because of the rapid developments and continuous changes. In this context, it has become more important for library managers to improve their leadership skills. In the scope of this study, a questionnaire study has been conducted with staff working in 168 different university central libraries. Information form, consisting of 16 questions about librarians’ demographic characteristics and manager satisfaction and Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire is used for data accumulation. The purpose of this paper is to determine library managers’ leadership approaches in private and public university libraries of Turkey and to survey library staff's satisfaction with their managers.

This research is a methodological and descriptive research. Original sample of this research consists of 168 university central library in total (103 public-65 private) and approximately 500 library employee 183 library employees from 20 public university central libraries (108 employees) and 13 private university central libraries responded. Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, so sample of this research consists of 33 libraries and 183 questionnaire answers. 20.62 percent of the library employees of the target group had responded the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire.

In total, 183 employees (108 public and 75 private university central libraries) from 33 university central libraries are responded to Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Multiple responses were gained from 183 library employees of whom 57.4 percent (105) were female and 42.6 percent (78) were male. When the age distribution is concerned it has determined that 25.1 percent (46) of the participants were centered on 26-34 age group. Other age distributions are defined as in the following: ages 20-25, 19.7 percent (36); ages 31-35, 18.6 percent (34); ages 36-40, 13.7 percent (25); ages 41-45, 15.8 percent (29); and age 46 and over, 7.1 percent.

As with all organizations, library managers with leadership qualities are needed in the field of library science. Organizational structures of libraries are constantly changing. Libraries need library leaders who are able to follow the changes and developments and keep pace with them, manage and shape the changes, bring theories and practices together, be solution-oriented, people-oriented, environment-oriented, well-appointed, successful, and creative, because of the rapid developments and continuous changes.

The purpose of this article attempts to portray the unique and complex role of library middle managers. This important and influential position can be a proving ground for new and old managers as libraries continue to evolve, adjust policies, introduce new services and meet the needs of their users. Circulation managers as influential middle managers are realistically depicted as busy, overwhelmed and isolated, but welcome the opportunity to provide leadership and enhance their professional development.

This viewpoint is solely based on the author's varied experiences and personal reflections as a circulation department head providing leadership alongside colleagues in a busy academic library.

Department heads as managers of circulation departments are pivotal positions in every library. Circulation heads performing as middle managers are responsible for a full range of administrative, managerial and organizational services. Circulation heads are well positioned as change agents simultaneously directing frontline staff members, policies and services while providing valuable insight to library administration. Yet, circulation managers experiencing constantly evolving responsibilities, are too often found to be caught in the middle negotiating inconsistencies. Successful circulation managers require an eclectic mix of essential skills initiating and deploying change, defining success, dealing with people, actively participating in professional development and providing leadership.

The study and research of library middle managers in public and academic libraries is practically nonexistent. As libraries increasingly create, adjust and reinvent library services, spaces and visions due to increasing digitization, in response to emerging online environments and new service models – middle managers and circulation librarians are excellent and proven pivots to negotiate and successfully implement this change.

As a crafted article written by a former head of a circulation department every staff member, student and librarian serving in access/borrowing/circulation departments should consult this article as required reading.

The voices of library middle managers are too often muted, not valued and rarely celebrated. This viewpoint article written in a conversational voice depicts circulation librarians as middle managers that bring value to all libraries and should be heard.

This paper depicts the opportunities and challenges faced by, as well as the skills and competencies required by librarians serving as circulation departments heads.

Leadership development is a significant issue in public libraries and library administrators debate, among other topics, how to achieve it for the middle-level manager. At the present time, library organizations use leadership and management workshops, seminars, and institutes to assist with managers’ organizational learning processes. Current literature indicates that additional strategies such as career planning, mentoring, networking, acquiring adequate qualifications and experience, professional involvement, and continuing education are used not only to facilitate middle-level managers’ career development, but also to help organizations fill the leadership gaps within their ranks.

The first part of the chapter discusses the premise that “wearing many hats” impedes a professional’s ability to get successful project results in a library setting. Offering their own experience as an example, the authors explore the issues that led to the implementation of project manager as a full-time position at Hesburgh Libraries. Part two of the chapter offers practical suggestions for incorporating a project management office (PMO) into a library setting. It includes the definition of the virtual PMO model, how this model fits into the organizational structure, and why this model might be preferred in a library environment. It includes descriptions of basic project management tools, techniques, and methods as well as graphic representation of division and overlap of responsibilities.

The methodology of this chapter is based on a review of the literature as well as a description of the authors’ experience with implementing project management at their institution.

Project management is a profession that requires dedicated personnel and resources. Actively involved project sponsors and dedicated project managers play a critical role in assuring project success. Basic project management tools, techniques, and approaches can be successfully implemented in libraries.

Full-time project management in libraries is still a novel concept. Readers will benefit from Hesburgh Libraries’ implementation of new methodology and learn about tools and approaches to introduce project management in their organizations.

This paper aims to focus on academic library managers’ learning practices in the context of cooperative work supported by computational artefacts. Academic library managers’ everyday work is mainly cooperative. Their cooperation is supported predominantly by computational artefacts. Learning how to use the computational artefacts efficiently and effectively involves understanding the changes in everyday work that affect managers and, therefore, it requires deep understanding of their cooperative work practices.

Focused ethnography was conducted through participant observations, interviews and document analysis. Ten managers from a university library in Sweden participated in the research. A thematic method was used to analyse the empirical material. Computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) and work-integrated learning was used as the conceptual lens.

Five learning practices were identified: collaboration, communication, coordination, decision-making processes and computational artefacts’ use. The findings show that learning is embedded in managers’ cooperative work practices, which do not necessarily include sufficient training time. Furthermore, learning was intertwined with cooperating and was situational. Managers learned by reflecting together on their own experiences and through joint cooperation and information sharing while using the computational artefacts.

The main contribution lies in providing insights into how academic library managers learn and cooperate in their everyday work, emphasizing the role of computational artefacts, the importance of the work context and the collective nature of learning. It also highlights the need for continual workplace learning in contemporary knowledge work environments. Thus, the research generates contributions to the informatics field by extending the understanding of managers’ work-integrated learning in their everyday cooperative work practices supported by computational artefacts’ use. It also contributes to the intersection of CSCW and work-integrated learning.

This paper contains an analysis of the international orientation among Danish librarians and directors. The empirical base for the paper is two comprehensive surveys of librarians and directors. Through cluster analysis, in total, four groups of librarians and directors are formed with a distinctly different international or non‐international orientation and the differences between the groups are characterised. The discussion of the results takes place in relation to Hofstede’s theory of cultural differences. Parts of his theory can be confirmed through the analysis, and it is evident that a specific Scandinavian leadership style exists, with which library managers conform. It is demonstrated that internationally‐oriented librarians differ from non‐internationally‐ or nationally‐oriented librarians in some of their attitudes towards unions and the role of the library in society.

This paper aims to examine and then discuss the positive and negative influences of library manager styles on the engagement of Vietnamese university library staff in continuing education (CE) activities to improve their work performance.

Based on the relevant literature, a preliminary contextual model of factors affecting CE for university library practitioners in Vietnam was developed. Using the model as a framework to guide the data gathering, 17 focus group interviews were held with operational staff and ten individual semi‐structured interviews were conducted with library managers at ten public university libraries across Vietnam.

Three main managerial styles were identified, i.e. directive, decisive and formalistic styles, each of which affected academic library staff CE in different ways. These styles were reflected in the ways the managers operated their libraries and assessed their staff, as well as in the ways they dealt with and coordinated CE activities.

This research focused only on public university library staff and managers in Vietnam.

The paper demonstrates that different managerial styles influence the engagement of Vietnamese university library staff in CE activities in different ways, and recommendations are provided to help academic library managers, regardless of their location, establish strategies to support the development of their staff through participation in CE activities.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the attitude of the managers of libraries located at Iran, Tehran and Shahid Beheshti Medical Sciences Universities' training hospitals, on the status of information technology (IT) in the mentioned libraries.

This study employed a researcher‐made questionnaire. The managers of 40 hospital libraries of Iran, Tehran and Shahid Beheshti Universities formed the population of the research. To analyze the collected data, the statistical software SPSS (version 17) was used.

Results showed that 12.5 per cent of Tehran, 15.6 per cent of Iran and 25 per cent of Shahid Beheshti Universities library managers agreed, to a very large extent, on the application and development of IT and its tools and 93.7 per cent of the managers from all three hospital libraries deemed the application of IT most necessary. The managers believed that the greatest advantage of IT is concerned with the reduction of human efforts (59.4 per cent), and 100 per cent of the managers acknowledged the need for further promotion of their skills in a wide variety of IT issues. In total, 16.1 per cent at Tehran, 12.9 per cent at Iran and 29 per cent at Shahid Beheshti University considerably approved of formal education for the promotion of their librarians' skills.

This study is a step towards acknowledging the contribution, status, and value of hospital libraries to the health sector by the library managers in theory and practice, in the shadow of considering their librarians as network experts, information media and system designers, and technology experts.

Performance discrepancy (PD) is capable of adversely affecting the goals of a library organization. Discusses managerial implications and effects of PD. Library managers are in business to solve human non‐performance problems. They need accurate decisions to taper performance towards organizational objectives. This task requires the implementation of management principles and practices. Discusses causes of managerial PD and the thesis that performance by objective (PBO) is more crucial than management by objective (MBO). Gives examples of managerial PD in a university library in Africa. Contends that corruptly‐employed library managers are liable to be deficient, resulting in PD. Laments recruitment of incompetent and unqualified library managers to the University Library position, and cites this as the major cause of PD. Concludes that PD has serious managerial implications in a library organization. Proves the thesis that PBO is more crucial than MBO. Advances suggestions to avert PD.