Clearinghouse of Professional Information

Library Administration Resources

français

This section includes links to a number of topics related to public library administration.

SOLS also provides tools in this area such as Library Development Guides, Small Library Kits,  Sourcebooks for Small Public Libraries, Trustee Tips. SOLS also offers various training opportunities such as Clinics and Workshops and EXCEL: A Certificate Programme in Managing Small Public Libraries.

OLS - North provides access to various publications including Sourcebooks for Small Public Libraries and Trustee Tips. OLS-North also provides training opportunities through annual conferences and area workshops.

Topics include:

General Resources | Budgeting and Finance  | Business Plans  | Conservation | Disaster Planning  | Fees | Issues | Joint Use Issues | Joint Use Facilities | Municipal Reporting | Professional Journals | RFP's | Safety in the Library | Statistics | Symbols

	indicates an item written by SOLS staff		indicates an item written by OLS-North staff
Clicking on certain topics will open a new window, if the link is to a topic included in an other Clearinghouse page

General Resources

• ALA Professional Tips wiki For over 80 years, staff members of the American Library Association (ALA) Library have provided reference service not only to their ALA Headquarters colleagues but also to hundreds of librarians across the country and around the world.
• CIO.com: the leading resource for information executives.
• EDUCAUSE Information Resources Library: an international repository for information about managing information resources in higher education, includes assessments, studies, reports, manuals, guides, strategic plans, policies, RFP's, surveys., etc.
• The Five Minute Flow Chart
• For Libraries (Library and Archives Canada)  This page provides links to services and tools for the library community
• Free Management Library Complete, highly integrated library of resources for non-profit AND for-profit businesses. Developed by Carter McNamara.
• A Guide to Service Delivery For Municipal Managers (2004) (.pdf) (Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing) and the shorter companion guide Making Choices: A Guide to Service Delivery Review for Municipal Councillors and Senior Staff (.pdf) provides a “high-level” overview of the process, focusing on outcomes and helping council think about the strategic choices for how services are delivered.
• Internet Public Library: Subject collections: resources about library and information science or relevant to library professionals
• LISWiki Library and Information Science Wiki, a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit
• Librarian's Resource Center  (SLA Toronto Chapter Toolbox)
• The Librarian's Toolkit. (State of Ohio)
• The Libraries FAQ Homepage The Libraries FAQ is a collection of basic information regarding libraries and librarianship, and an introductory guide to library resources on the Internet.
• Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki "This wiki was created to be a one-stop-shop for great ideas and information for all types of librarians. All over the world, librarians are developing successful programs and doing innovative things with technology that no one outside of their library knows about. There are lots of great blogs out there sharing information about the profession, but there is no one place where all of this information is collected and organized. "
• OWLSweb Links for Libraries (Wisconsin) These links provide information on a variety of topics of concern to library personnel and trustees
• PSAB/Asset Management (Municipal Finance Officers' Association (MFOA) and the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO))  Beginning with fiscal year 2009, municipalities must report on their tangible capital assets and move from modified to full accrual accounting.
•  Public Administrators in the Public Arena by June Garcia and Sue Sutherland, Bertelsmann Foundation Publishers, 1999.This study attempts to identify the skills, perceptions, understandings and behaviours necessary to operate effectively in the local, state, political environment. The authors have developed a list of different dimensions of library administration that cover most situations in the political arena in which administrators find themselves.
• Resource Directory for Municipal Managers was compiled to respond to the needs identified in the Municipal Management Needs Assessment Report (MMNA).  Municipalities, professional associations, academic institutions and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing are providing a range of services individually and/or in concert with one another to help ensure that many of the needs identified in the MMNA report are met.

Budgeting and Finance

• Coping with Cutback: The Nonprofit Guide to Success When Times Are Tight. Strategies checklist. (Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, a nonprofit health and human services organization)
• Funding Development Resources

Business Plans

• Business Plan Template (.doc) (Tale’awtxw Aboriginal Capital Corporation). TACC is an Aboriginal Financial Institution providing aboriginal entrepreneurs with the tools and resources that are necessary in starting their own business. also Canadian
• Interactive Business Planner (Canada Business Service Centres)
• The Tactics of Creating a Business Plan (.pdf) (Columbus Enterprise Development Corporation)

Disaster Planning and Conservation 

• American Red Cross. Business and Industry Guide. Preparing Your Business for the Unthinkable
• Bibliography of Standards and Selected References Related to Preservation in Libraries. Compiled by Suzanne Dodson and Johanna Wellheiser, National Library of Canada February 1996, revised April 1996. Excellent place to start.
• Disaster Planning for Libraries and Archives: Understanding the Essential Issues.  Paper which concentrates on the basic management aspects of disaster planning. 
• Disaster Planning Process (Solinet)
• Disaster Preparedness and Response (Conservation online)
• Emergency Preparedness in Canada
• Field Guide to Emergency Response (ALA) This handbook explains initial steps to take, essential response to functions, and conditions you are likely to encounter. The instructional DVD illustrates typical problems after a disaster and demonstrates basic salvage technique.
• Guidelines for Preservation, Conservation and Restoration of Local History and Local Genealogical Materials. ALA, 1992

Fees

• Non-Resident Fee Calculation (Illinois State Library)
• When It's Not Free Anymore: Promoting the Unpopular: How Duke University Medical Library changed from free to fee for computer printing. Anyone who is switching from free printing to charging for printing should check this out.

Issues

• Banned Books On-Line
• Blue Ribbon Online Free Speech Campaign
• Children's Services Resources - Issues Links to sites selected by OLS on this topic
• CLA Position Statement on Intellectual Freedom
• Public Internet Access - Issues Links to sites selected by OLS on this topic

Joint use issues  

• Combined School and Public Libraries: Guidelines for Decision Making. Second Edition .Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, May 1998.
• Establishing Joint-use Libraries Report of the Standing Committee on Joint Use Libraries, College Center for Library Automation, Florida 1996. Reissued in 2001. Has a good section on advantages and disadvantages
• Guidelines for Joint-Use Libraries (State Library of New South Wales) Includes Management responsibilities, Staffing, User Services
• Internet Access Policies: School Libraries.  This page consists of a selection of School Internet Access Policies, also known as "Acceptable Use Policies" (AUPs). Sites are organized provincially with a link to each policy. Of special interest - policies for school boards in Ontario.
• Joint-Use Libraries: the ultimate form of cooperation Dr Alan Bundy. Chapter contributed to "Planning the modern public library building" edited by Gerard McCabe and James Kennedy and published by Libraries Unlimited, Westport Connecticut, USA, 2003. - Most useful sections are: Key planning success factors; The importance of the agreement; a planning checklist
• Practicing Anti-Censorship: An Ethical Problem for School and Public Librarians By Dr. Ann Curry, UBC, 1999
• Thinking about a joint-use library?: A Memorandum of Agreement and timetable can ensure success. (Association of College and Research Libraries) C&RL News, June 2000, Vol. 61 No. 6 by Kathleen Schwanz

Municipal Reporting   

• MPMP Summary of 2005 Results. Municipal Performance Measurement Programme (MPMP) efficiency measures are based on operating costs for broad service areas. Effectiveness measures provide balance by measuring service delivery quality.
• Municipal Performance Measurement Programme (MPMP). (Ontario Ministry of Culture) Library services were introduced in the 2004 MPMP.  Library uses are part of the calculation of MPMP efficiency and effectiveness measures in their municipalities.  Libraries should download the Forms for Libraries workbook
  • COLLECTION VALUATION (Summary from SIGNAL September 2007 issue)
  • Library Service Center  reports periodically on Analyzing Canadian Library Purchasing Power for Books and Materials before discount (2007) and Book prices in Canada (2007) Use this to report for the PSAB\Asset Management
• PSAB/Asset Management (Municipal Finance Officers' Association (MFOA) and the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO))  Beginning with fiscal year 2009, municipalities must report on their tangible capital assets and move from modified to full accrual accounting. Libraries are being asked to provide figures relating to the library's assets.
  • Getting Ready for January 2009: Calvin Hawke Presentation at Ontario Good Roads Association, Asset Valuation Workshop, November 2007. This summarizes the process the municipalities have to follow.

Professional Journals

• American Libraries Online: online version of the American Library Association's journal has News of the Week (archived), full text of Internet Librarian columns, the Datebook list of upcoming events, job ads and resources, and the annual indexes for the print publication.
• Argus - La revue des bibliothécaires professionnels Corporation des bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec
• Ariadne (UK) Web magazine for information professionals in archives, libraries and museums in all sectors
• AskERIC Virtual Library
• Bibliographic and Full text Databases (EBSCO) Indexing and abstracts from over 30 of the most popular library trade journals.
• Booklist Home Page
• CM: a reviewing journal of Canadian materials for young people.  (Manitoba Library Association).  Reviews Canadiana of interest to children and young adults, including publications produced in Canada, or published elsewhere but of special interest or significance to Canada, such as those having a Canadian writer, illustrator or subject. Reviewsbooks, video and audio recordings and CD-ROMs.
• Canadian Children’s Book News.   (Canadian Children's Book Centre). Subscriptions to: Canadian Children’s Book Centre, 40 Orchard View Blvd., Suite 101, Toronto, ON M4R 1B9
• Computers in Libraries: monthly journal covering news and issues in library technology. Abstracts of many of the articles and a few full-text. Archived for a year.
• Current Cites (DL SunSITE)
• D-Lib Magazine (US) A scholarly journal, it is a solely electronic publication with a primary focus on digital library research and development, including but not limited to new technologies, applications, and contextual social and economic issues. The full contents of the magazine, including all back issues, are available free of charge
• Documentation et bibliothèques (ASTED)
• The Educator's Reference Desk - Access to the ERIC Database
• First Monday  Peer reviewed journal on the Internet
• Ingenta The most comprehensive collection of academic and professional publications available for online, fax and Ariel delivery.
• Le journal du Net (France)
• Library Journal
• Library-oriented Lists and Electronic Serials (Washington Research Library Consortium)
• Library Reference Centre (EBSCO) Free indexing and abstracts from over 30 of the most popular library trade journals.
• LISTA  EBSCO Publishing recently announced increased availability of LISTA (Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts). The comprehensive library science database is available to any library, college, university, K-12 school, hospital, corporation or other interested party at no cost.
• Publisher's Weekly Online
• Quill & Quire Subscriptions to P.O. Box 706, Markham, ON L6B 1A7.
• RéseauBiblio Mensuel  (BN)
• School Library Journal Online: the Web companion to the top print resource for librarians who work with children and young adults!
• U*n*a*b*a*s*h*e*d Librarian ^tm The "How I run my library good" letter (sic)
• VOYA:Voice of Youth Advocates. The library magazine serving those who serve young adults. (Subscriptions to: Scarecrow Press, 4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706 USA)

RFP's

Sample RFP (TechSoup)

Safety in the Library

• Crime Prevention and Personal Safety for Your Library and Community(OLS-N) (.pdf) | Prévention de la criminalité et sécurité personnele pour votre bibliothèque et votre communauté (SBON) (.pdf)
• Emergency Preparedness. Factsheets for Municipalities (Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing)
• Health and Safety Guide for Libraries (CCOHS) Designed and written as a practical workplace training and reference tool. This 141-page pocket guide is filled with clear-language text including safety tips, charts, diagrams, checklists and illustrations. Sections VI: Emergency Preparedness and Sections VII: Safe Work Practices

• Library Security Guidelines. Library Administration and Management (LAMA) (ALA)

• Workplace Violence Prevention Program (Education Safety Association of Ontario. Includes sample policy and report form templates

Statistics

• Ontario Public Library Statistics (Ministry of Culture. Libraries Branch) 
• Canadian Statistics: GDSourcing: a reference point for FREE Canadian statistics available on-line, designed specifically for new entrepreneurs and small business owners who are searching the Internet for relevant market and industry data.
• Definition and Uses of Library Statistics (Library Research Service)
• HyperStat Online  is an introductory-level hypertext statistics book.
• Library Use Value Calculator (Main State Library) The calculator worksheet has been adapted from the downloadable spreadsheet, originally provided by the Massachusetts Library Association and then adapted for the web by Chelmsford Public Library. Maine State library added extra accessibility coding and reformatting for ease of reading online. This spreadsheet requires either Microsoft Excel or the Excel Viewer.
• Statistics Canada. Census 2001 data.    New releases. Statistics Canada: Population, Statistics and Demographics 
• Statistical Abstract of the United States
• Statistical Profile of Canadian Communities 2001   / Profil statistique des communautés canadiennes 2001  (Statistiques Canada)

  Symbols

• National Library Symbol/Library Symbol Highway Sign. ALA Library Fact Sheet Number 30. The international library symbol is a free symbol for everyone to use. The ALA does not hold a copyright on the logo. The library symbol is similar to the wheelchair/accessibility symbol in that anyone can use it, and it is encouraged to be used freely. The pantone color for the blue background is PMS 285.