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Reports on management issues arising when authorities decide to close public library service points. The data come from two British Library funded projects. The first used a questionnaire survey of all local authorities in England and Wales to reveal the extent of reductions in access, followed by “before and after” studies of users affected. The second study investigated what authorities had learned from their experience of closing libraries. Twenty authorities that had closed libraries for financial reasons were surveyed and senior managers interviewed in ten of these. The study concludes that there are no criteria which can justify closure to library users. Consultation is often minimal due primarily to the short budget timescales. The process of closing libraries can be traumatic, the public backlash often deterring local politicians from agreeing to further cuts. A key issue in preventing the closure of libraries is the way authorities conventionally measure their success. Authorities need to recognise that the local library has a wide‐ranging social value, besides being a source of reading material. That value is identified by the research.

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/01435120010309399. When citing the article, please cite: Bob Usherwood, Richard Proctor, Gordon Bower, Tony Stevens, Carol Coe, (2000), “Recruitment and retention in the public library – a baseline study”, Library Management, Vol. 21 Iss: 2, pp. 62 - 8.

This paper discusses statistical analyses of the effect of reductions in opening hours on book issues of public library authorities (PLAs). Monthly issue statistics over a three‐ to four‐year period for twenty‐six libraries in four PLAs (Sheffield, Ealing, Hereford and Worcester, and Lancashire) were analysed using graphic analysis and time series modelling. The results, with one or two exceptions, showed little, if any, significant relationship between reductions in hours and book issues. There were indications that other variables such as seasonality, patterns of opening hours and the accessibility of other libraries might be masking any impact. Annual issue and book fund statistics over a twenty‐three year period for libraries in Sheffield PLA were also analysed. This latter investigation suggests that reductions in the level of issues, related to both opening hours and materials expenditure, are discernible after a period of about two years. One model showed that the impact of opening hours cuts may be discernible within a year, materials fund cuts after a lag of one to two years. The study demonstrates clearly the difficulties involved in using statistical data to make accurate predictions of the impact of individual reductionsin opening hours on book issues. It identifies a number of variables which may affect the impact of reductions.

Reports on a British Library‐funded investigation of the impact of an eight‐week library closure on the behaviour and attitudes of public library users in Sheffield. Surveys of users, bookshops and other libraries provided evidence about the importance of individual services to users, the possible replacement of services from other sources, and the effect of the closure on the local infrastructure. An assessment was made of the robustness of the library habit and its vulnerability to competition. This was accomplished by investigating the take‐up of alternative leisure pursuits, users’ future intentions, and by comparing forecast with actual book issues for the six months following the end of the strike. The data suggest that for the vast majority of library users the public library is a service of great value, enhancing quality of life, and fulfilling an essential need that no other pursuit or activity satisfies.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

Reports the first stage of an investigation into the public library workforce in the UK. The investigation consisted of a postal survey of all UK public library authorities and had an 80 per cent response rate. Information and data were collected concerning recruitment and retention. The results indicate a high level of variation in attitudes and practices. There is evidence that some authorities that have career development initiatives are twice as likely to be actively recruiting candidates, and a statistically significant relationship between the length of stay of new professionals and ongoing career development. There is evidence of a new trend in recruitment which emphasises specific qualities, skills and abilities which candidates offer, rather than possession of a single qualification. It was found that there is staff retention by default.

I approach this work in the knowledge that the recruitment and selection of staff is one of the most neglected areas of library management. I have been unable to trace any monograph devoted to the subject published during the past 10 years and few general books on library management spare more than a cursory glance in its direction.