Library Branch Management

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  • Are you new to management and suddenly in charge of a branch library?
  • Do you want to move into supervision, but are not sure what skills you need?
  • Are you a current branch library manager in a sticky situation?

From plugged toilets and graffiti to collection development and design of new services, this workshop covers the facilities, collections, services, and supervision issues facing the manager of a public library branch. If you are new to management, or wish to promote, managing a library branch is a common starting place and this workshop will get you started with hands-on exercises and real scenarios facing library branches today.

Workshop Description: This all-day workshop will provide planning and scenario building experience based on real-life scenarios from public library branches. Through group exercises, discussion, and role playing, participants will experience some of the dilemmas facing branch library managers today. The instructor will provide worksheets, phone lists, and other templates that can be filled in for individual libraries and used immediately for situations facing managers.

Preliminary Course Outline

  • Managing Library Collections and Facilities
    • The role of a branch library in a larger system
    • Facility management basics
    • Organizing and weeding a small collection
  • Services and Programs in Your Branch
    • Assessing your neighborhood
    • Developing policy, procedure, and practice
    • Finding the money
  • The Essential Asset – Your Staff
    • Hiring, job descriptions, union and civil service rules
    • Leadership and motivation
    • Developing your work unit
  • Incidents and Emergencies
    • Facility issues
    • Working with a behavior policy
    • Leadership in a crisis

Who Should Attend: This workshop is for anyone from the California library community with an interest in developing or improving management skills, applied specifically to public library branches, and may be of interest to support staff frequently left as "person in charge" of a library branch.

Prerequisites: To be successful in this course, it is recommended that participants be familiar with the basic functions of a public library.

Check-in: 8:30 to 9:00 AM Instruction: 9:00 AM to 4:40 PM

Available for contracting: 
No