bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
NREN'S FUTURE: A ROLE FOR LIBRARIES?
Authors: TUROCK BETTY
Published: January 2008

In 1990, when the bill was introduced in Congress to create the National Research and Education Network (NREN), a proposed high‐capacity electronic highway of interconnected networks, linkages for all kinds of libraries were missing. This was hard to understand, since the library community has been assisted and encouraged in its networking efforts by the federal government since 1960.
ELECTRONIC DATA FROM GPO
Authors: Schaubman Debbi
Published: January 2008

The Depository Library Program was established to provide government information to the general public. The libraries that are appointed to this program assume complete fiscal responsibility for providing this service. Recent policy decisions within the federal government evidence a trend toward a continuing decline in the availability of nonelectric government information. Depository libraries need to increase their budgets to maintain bibliographic, physical, and intellectual access to this information as costs rise.
FRINGE BENEFITS: OBVIOUS AND HIDDEN
Authors: HAYES SHERMAN , GASKELL SUSAN P.
Published: January 2008

Fringe benefits may add 15 to 30 percent to the real cost of labor in your institution! If you are responsible for the budget, they could have both a professional and personal effect on you. Library literature contains few studies that compare or even document the costs of fringe benefits by kind or geographic location of the library. Almost every survey comparing salaries and the number of workers in the field excludes fringe benefit costs.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION FOR LIBRARY SERVICES: FEASIBLE OR MYTHICAL?
Authors: Eisner Joseph
Published: January 2008

As time goes by, procedures change, needs vary, equipment wears out or becomes obsolete, and materials are offered in new formats. Thus, the library administrator overseeing the budgetary process is continually confronted with the prospect of evaluating procedures and making changes to meet new requirements, replace or repair equipment, and to purchase new material or replace existing material in new formats.
WHCLIS FOCUS: POLITICS AND PRODUCTIVITY
Authors: TUROCK BETTY J.
Published: January 2008

From July 9–13 in the oppressive heat and humidity of a Washington summer, more than 700 delegates and close to 300 alternates from all over the United States met in Washington for the Second White House Conference on Library and Information Services. They filled the quotas set by law—25 percent from the profession, 25 percent from the general public, 25 percent from government, and 25 percent from library supporters. Delegates at‐large offset any imbalance in representation. Occasionally, honorary delegates—like Members of Congress with an interest in libraries—were also seen in the corridors where a good deal of the negotiations were conducted.
AUTOMATION OF A SUBURBAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
Authors: Haym Ilene
Published: January 2008

In investigating how to automate a suburban public library, it is found that an integrated, multifunction system will serve best. The system will be based on a single master file to provide the bibliographic data required for a number of different subsystems. The file itself will be based on full MARC records to allow for topical, keyword, or Boolean searching. The desired system will provide a patron access catalog, as well as acquisitions, cataloging, serials control, and journal citation subsystems. Proposed hardware and software requirements and their costs are discussed.
Zero‐Base Budgeting:
Authors: Hodlofski Carol
Published: January 2008

There are advantages and disadvantages to using zero‐base budgeting (ZBB) in a library. ZBB provides an operating, planning, and budgeting process for managers. Although ZBB is a time‐consuming process, it has advantages even when its success is questionable. A review of the strengths and weaknesses of this process is presented. Readers can then decide whether to try ZBB in their own libraries.
PHOTOCOPY SERVICES IN LIBRARIES
Authors: Pedersen Wayne A.
Published: January 2008

Self‐service photocopying is a subject largely neglected by the library community despite its importance to library operations and library users. The extant literature is small and scattered. A comprehensive overview is presented in order to bring together disparate sources of information and to introduce the reader to the managerial complexities of self‐directed photocopy services. It includes a discussion of organizational approaches, financial considerations, statistical reporting, equipment, access modalities, user surveys, and copyright.
TURNING FINANCIAL FEARS INTO FUNDRAISING FANTASIES
Authors: Taylor Kimberly
Published: January 2008

The phone rang. I answered it. The woman on the other end was a librarian who heard my presentation on how to earn money at the Colorado Educational Media Association Conference a couple of weeks ago. She cheerfully said, “I enjoyed your presentation very much and now I need the names of people to call and ask for money?” Calmly and quietly I asked, “Do you have a project in mind?” Only slightly haltingly she said, “We just have so many kids here and I need to have money to pay for another librarian.”
SPREADSHEET MANIPULATION
Authors: Clark Philip M.
Published: January 2008

Joe Eisner's Bottom Line column in the Winter 1990 (Volume 4, number 4) issue focused on the calculation of true hourly costs of labor. This topic is also discussed in Philip Rosenberg's Cost Finding for Public Libraries (ALA 1985), as well as Dougherty and Heinritz's Systems Analysis of Library Operations 2nd edition (Scarecrow Press).
COST CONTAINMENT IN LIBRARIES
Authors: Dunn Jack , Martin Murray S.
Published: January 2008

In May and June, 1991, the College and University Library Association (CULA) conducted a quick mail survey on library cost containment and downsizing, focusing on changes between 1989–90 and 1990–91. Although the survey would not meet the rigorous demands of statistical accuracy, the responses should be of interest to most mid‐sized libraries. CULA members are academic libraries from comprehensive institutions with graduate programs. The fourteen resondents included public and private universities and technical institutes, from 11 states and two commonwealths.
ADVICE YOU CAN BANK ON:
Authors: Hetzer Richard M.
Published: January 2008

Most prudent public sector money managers look to a variety of financial services and investment instruments to improve their funds management. In the process, they realize that money management systems can also be profitable if chosen and used properly. These cash management services may be just what you need to help accomplish the goals you and your board have set for your library.
PUTTING YOUR LIBRARY ON THE MAP
Authors: Clark Philip M.
Published: January 2008

I'm a fairly visual person in that I can grasp the meaning of something faster when I see it than when I hear it. Since pictures stay with me longer than does print, I am intrigued by the new GUI software (meaning Graphical User Interface and pronounced “gooey”), such as Windows, and its applications. GUI software for such non‐Windows applications as Lotus 1–2–3, Releases 2.3 and 3.1, and Quattro Pro Version 3 tout their WYS‐IWYG (What You See Is What You Get and pronounced “wizzy‐wig”) graphical environment. Of course, all Macintosh fans will cry “copycat” because they've been dealing with GUI for years.
MARGIN OF EXCELLENCE:The Development Office at the New York Public Library
Authors: Goldberg Susan
Published: January 2008

People are talking about fundraising for libraries with much greater frequency and regularity than ever before, and the New York Public Library (NYPL) has become the institution they point to when the topic is discussed. In a recent interview, Jennifer Herring, Vice President for Development at NYPL, talked about the broad scope of the library's development effort and its mission to create “the margin of excellence” for NYPL.
LIBRARY RESPONSES TO BUDGET CUTS
Authors: MARTIN MURRAY S.
Published: January 2008

The last Fiscal Currents examined the challenges represented by budget cuts. This column will look at some of the ways that libraries have responded and suggest further action if libraries are to emerge from the present fiscal crisis in shape to continue their role as information providers to society.
GETTING TO YES: A FUNDRAISING ATTITUDE THAT WORKS
Authors: Taylor Kimberly
Published: January 2008

Success in fundraising requires chutzpah. You have to be willing to take risks. You have to know how to handle success and how to take defeats. Before you begin, you have to believe you can succeed.
IN THE NEWS
Authors: MARTIN MURRAY S.
Published: January 2008

The administration's fiscal year 1993 budget proposes a 76 percent cut in Department of Education library programs. The only program remaining is $35 million for the Library Services and Construction Act Title I, adult literacy activities. The same approach has been taken to the Higher Education Act, where all library programs receive zero funding, and the library fellowship program has been consolidated with other graduate fellowship programs. This follows last year's proposals, and Congress may act to restore funds.
CONSULTANTS: AN ESSENTIAL TOOL OR A LUXURY?
Authors: Berger Carol A.
Published: January 2008

This article challenges the notion that using a consultant is a luxury inappropriate in the library community. A consultant can offer access to hard‐to‐find information, an impartial viewpoint, flexible arrangements, and timely completion of a project. Using a consultant can therefore mean sounder decisions, cost savings, and enhanced effectiveness for the library. The author discusses specialized consulting services available to libraries, as well as how to select a consultant and build a successful client/consultant relationship.
PUBLIC LIBRARY WORK BENEFITS SURVEY
Authors: Waters Richard , Martin Murray S.
Published: January 2008

Beginning in 1985, HBW Associates Inc., Library Planners and Consultants, have conducted a biennial survey of public library work benefits. The survey covers salaries, hours of work, and benefits. The last category includes leave policies, pension plans, savings plans, insurance, and other miscellaneous benefits. The latest report, of the 1991 survey, includes comparative data from the previous three surveys. Quite apart from the value of the current information to library administrators, the changes shown in the 1985–1991 comparisons reveal important trends. Along with the derived general data, the report includes basic information (total budget, salary expenditures, percentages spent on salaries, and percentages for benefits) arranged by region, population served, and total budget. These appendices allow libraries that did not participate in the survey to find peer institutions.
INVESTING IN R&D AND THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES
Authors: Dow Ronald F.
Published: January 2008

It is hard to recall a recent library conference or an issue of library literature that hasn't in one fashion or another alluded to changes in publishing technologies, innovations in research tools for business and scholarships, the evolution of scholarly communications, or the ongoing introduction of computer‐based technologies to the library. For those of us in the academic environment, these changes and innovations are manifested in the growing use of personal computers on campus, the expanding number of Internet linkages, the developing design of scholar workstations, the increasing presence of online bibliographic resources and library catalogs, and the small but expanding number of electronic journals. All of these technological innovations are influencing the ways scholars and students work and exchange information. Accordingly, these developments are challenging the ways librarians think about and provide services and information/knowledge resources to meet the needs of their user populations. In response to these challenges, libraries are investing a disproportionately small part of their budgets for research focusing on the future, and a disproportionately small amount of time to the development of strategies for innovation. Efforts to position libraries in a leadership role in this rapidly changing environment require a stronger investment in such research and development.
DESIGNING FORMS
Authors: Clark Philip M.
Published: January 2008

One of the things all managers do is deal with forms. Not only do they have to fill them out, but they also design quite a few themselves. The forms can be linked to data‐crunching software such as a spreadsheet or database manager, or they can stand alone to be filed in a drawer. Whatever the reason, the design of the form is important. It must be clear as to what is to be recorded and where. The form's appearance says something about the style the organization wishes to project.
EQUITY
Authors: Getz Malcolm
Published: January 2008

Equity is a common principle raised when the allocation of funds to libraries is at issue. This essay attempts to give definition to ideas often associated with equity.
MAKING THE MOST OF A LIMITED BUDGET
Authors: MARTIN MURRAY S.
Published: January 2008

This year Gaye Rizzo, the librarian of the Wilson Branch of the Windsor (Conn.) Public Library, received the Special Achievement Award from the Connecticut Library Association. The award recognized her devotion to service. The Wilson Public Library is a small branch library in a multicultural part of the town. The library has maintained its role in the neighborhood as a meeting place, even while that role has been diminishing elsewhere in the face of demands for cost‐effectiveness and efficiency. Rizzo's library is a perfect example of a small library making the most of a limited budget.
THE POLITICS OF BUDGETING
Authors: Stoffle Carla J.
Published: January 2008

Political concerns are an integral part of any library's budgeting process. This article identifies the various constituencies who must be won over during budget development, allocation, and management, specifically in university libraries. The author outlines ways to ensure the support of major figures, suggests useful strategies, and presents examples from her experience. She also stresses the importance of keeping in mind the larger institutional goals and using these as a way to rally support around the library budget.
HUMAN RESOURCES AND THE BOTTOM LINE: MISTAKES ARE COSTLY!
Authors: Hayes Sherman
Published: January 2008

At first glance, the typical human resource management activities of hiring and firing do not appear to be directly related to finance, accounting, and the bottom line. Each of these are distinct functions within the larger arena of library management. And in most large library organizations, financial management and human resource management are separate activities, managed by people with different educational backgrounds and specialties. The intent of this article is to show that the two functions are in fact interdependent. Mistakes in the management of human resources can have a dire impact on the bottom line if the wrong person is hired and litigation results.
CARGILL CARES: A Library/Corporate Partnership Program
Authors: Goldberg Susan
Published: January 2008

In early 1992, the American Library Association announced a new partnership with Cargill, a worldwide company based in Minneapolis that is a major merchandiser, processor, and transporter of agricultural and other commodities with 800 locations in 55 countries. The Cargill/ALA program was created to develop and implement family literacy projects around the world and is Cargill's third “Cargill Cares” international community service program. The focus of this project is on meeting the needs of educationally disadvantaged families and the development of community partnerships among the hundreds of Cargill locations, public libraries, literacy providers, and other community‐based agencies.
REFLECTIONS FROM CHARLESTON
Authors: Martin Murray S.
Published: January 2008

Your correspondent returned from the November Charleston Acquisitions Conference in a sober mood. The conference dealt with issues in acquisitions and this year's subtitle (from Marshall McLuhan) “The Medium is the Massage” suggested that all librarians will be affected greatly by the rapidly increasing influence of the new, electronic media.
STATE LIBRARIES:TEN ACTIONS TO PROMOTE BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Authors: McGinn Howard F.
Published: January 2008

The American library community is discovering small businesses and economic development. Individual librarians and libraries, of course, have provided effective information services to the business community for many years. Library service to businesses influenced John Cotton Dana to found the Special Libraries Association. Large urban library systems established “mercantile” libraries during the early years of their development. Within the past decade, however, the library community's service to the business and economic development sector has increased significantly. The reasons for this surge in service are simple. Service has been increased because of accountability, competition, opportunity, and evolution. It will be helpful to discuss each of these areas before presenting ten steps state library agencies can take to foster small business development and economic development because factors in each area need to be considered in order to establish a conceptual background for the recommendations.
TEN “QUICK AND DIRTY” COST‐CUTTING STRATEGIES FOR YOUR LIBRARY
Authors: Nielsen Steven
Published: January 2008

In today's high tech environment, it is far too easy to sit back and complain about all the money that it takes to run a library and far more difficult to do anything about it. Gone are the days of the library whose costs consisted mainly of books, librarians, and buildings. Few people today, even fewer librarians, really understand the complexity of this small “city” of workers and the related costs required to run today's library. Computer systems, CD‐ROM towers, bar‐code readers, video tapes, these are the materials of today's library.
DIVERSITY: TEN ISSUES TO CONSIDER
Authors: de la Peña McCook Kathleen , Gonsalves Tosca O.
Published: January 2008

If ethical or legal mandates have failed to compel organizations to manage diversity in meaningful ways, competition has emerged as the new impetus to do so. A recent cover story in Nation's Business by Sharon Nelton, “Winning with Diversity,” outlines successful business experiences with a diverse workforce that responds more effectively to developments in the marketplace. Nelton reports that a 1992 survey of 578 companies indicated that over one‐third of the organizations polled felt that employees with multicultural communication skills were necessary for doing business in other nations and communicating with a diverse workforce.
MARKETING IN THE FUTURE: A REPORT FROM THE FRONT LINES
Authors: Walters Suzanne
Published: January 2008

The world in which libraries are and will be operating for the next ten years seems much like the former Soviet Union. Constituencies multiply and subdivide; players enter and exit with astonishing speed; rival factions strive for ascendancy; stability and predictability seem distant memories. Change, that familiar nemesis, is at work here, but with a speed, intensity, and on a scale that are literally stunning. How does this battleground look from a marketing perspective?
SCHOOL LIBRARIES ARE EVERYONE'S BUSINESS
Authors: Mathews Virginia H.
Published: January 2008

The Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Act (ESSLMA) was introduced on October 2, 1992, by Paul Sarbanes (D‐MD) and Paul Simon (D‐IL) in the Senate as S‐03307, and on October 5th in the House as HR 6173 by Jack Reid (D‐RI). A number of other House members have indicated intent to sign on to the bill when it is reintroduced in the 103rd Congress.
TEN TRENDS IN PHILANTHROPY
Authors: Goldberg Susan
Published: January 2008

Just like skirt lengths, hair styles and new automobile models, philanthropy — the charitable donations of time, money, and goods — has its trends as well. Several recent books track those trends and provide valuable insight to librarians seeking assistance in raising funds for their institutions. While many of us are despairing of the recession and current economic conditions which are causing funding problems for libraries, we ought to be encouraged by the news from these studies of philanthropic activities in the past several years. Reading about philanthropy can stimulate ideas to pursue and leads to follow in finding private support for library projects. Additional information about the trends that I list below can be found in the following books. I have coded the books so that it will be easy to find the original sources of the trends cited below.
The High Cost of Poor Communication
Authors: Bryant Bradburn Frances
Published: January 2008

Communication potential abounds: e‐mail zips from office to office; electronic calendars search a building of people, coming up with a common date, and scheduling it for the masses; acquaintances from across the state or nation no longer play telephone tag—they “talk” at their convenience via the Internet. But are we really communicating? Are we breaking down barriers or constructing more substantial ones—ones that are being made impenetrable because we no longer are able subconsciously to analyze body language or casually change the subject when tensions mount?
Economic Barriers to Information Access
Authors: Martin Murray S.
Published: January 2008

In these days when there is growing pressure to be accountable for an increasingly strained budget, it is easy to think in terms of charging for services, whether to charge back added costs or simply to levy fees for specific services. This move is not always accompanied by a clear understanding of what is involved. Nor is it always appreciated that added costs imposed on users can create a barrier between users and needed information. Moreover, even though governments and agencies are actively cutting library funds, a recent Gallup Poll (see In the News) makes it clear that most Americans support increased funding for libraries. In this context librarians must try to determine the meaning of ‘free’ access to information.
IN THE NEWS
Authors: Martin Murray S.
Published: January 2008

A new Gallup poll finds that Americans believe that financial support for public libraries should be double the current level. This belief was shared by all four groups polled: Caucasians, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and Community Leaders.
Pay Equity in Libraries
Authors: Pastine Maureen , McLean Shirley
Published: January 2008

Adapted from a 1992 ALA Pay Equity Committee's program on “Are You Underpaid? The Pay Equity Struggle in Libraries,” this article demonstrates that an employee turnover study can be effective in addressing problems of understaffing and salary deficiencies in a large academic library. Inadequate salaries makes retention of quality employees difficult and replacement costly, in addition to having detrimental impacts on services and morale. Administrators should use every opportunity to obtain pay equity funds to resolve these problems.
When Your Parent Dictates Your Accounting Life
Authors: Christianson Ellory
Published: January 2008

The way in which libraries perform their accounting functions is dependent on the parent institution's policy and procedures as well as their fiscal operating system. Many times, the financial transaction processing is neither efficient nor cost effective. Libraries should not only express their concern, but also play a lead role in helping to achieve efficiencies.
Ensuring that Training Pays Off:
Authors: Burgin Robert , Smith Duncan
Published: January 2008

Libraries devote considerable money to providing continuing education and staff development, but initial research suggests that there is little “pay off” to continuing education efforts, that less than half of all training transfers to the work place. While a wide range of activities may be used to promote the transfer of training to the job, evidence shows that librarians do not often engage in such activities. Ways of strengthening support for transfer of training in libraries — and thereby enhancing the performance of the library's personnel — are suggested.
A Viable MIS: DeKalb County Public Library
Authors: Clark Philip M.
Published: January 2008

I've finally seen a demonstration of a Management Information System for a library that works. I've been searching for a working example of an integrated system that includes data from a circulation/OPAC system, an external accounting package, an external human resources file, branch statistics, and community demographic files. And, by integrated, I mean accessible from a single workstation via a single program.
Auditing Staff Development:
Authors: Hayes Sherman , Levy Elliott
Published: January 2008

We all spend time and money on staff development. It is the “new frontier” of the 1990s. William Edwards Deming of Total Quality Management fame speaks constantly to the need to have a highly motivated and trained work force. Library literature is replete with articles on training, improving staff morale, and becoming more professional.
Fund Raising, Friend Raising: The San Antonio Public Library Foundation
Authors: Goldberg Susan
Published: January 2008

More and more libraries are creating foundations to help them raise money and visibility within their communities. The San Antonio Public Library in Texas has taken fund raising one step further. They are using the San Antonio Public Library Foundation not only to raise funds for the San Antonio Public Library but, perhaps more importantly, to raise friends. The San Antonio Public Library Foundation was created in 1983 to enable the Library to attract donations from corporations, foundations, and individuals that would enhance the library's resources. Governed by a Board of Directors comprised of eighty‐five community leaders, the San Antonio Library Foundation currently is conducting an Enrichment Campaign to raise money for the new Central Library which is under construction. San Antonio's Library Director June Garcia is working with the Foundation Board and staff on the fundraising efforts.
Needed: An Environmental Protection Plan
Authors: Bryant Bradburn Frances
Published: January 2008

When I assumed the editorship of The Bottom Line last year, I never dreamed it would be only for three issues. Frankly, three issues is simply a very brief introduction to the editing of a journal. But, of course, I never expected to be changing jobs either! Yet both things have happened. On January 3, 1994, I will become Chief Consultant for School Media Programs for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, a job that will have me traveling the entire state—one that will make it impossible for me to continue to direct the necessary time and energy into editing a quality publication.
Library Cooperatives: The Future for Libraries?
Authors: Martin Murray S.
Published: January 2008

Connecticut libraries are grouped into six Cooperating Library Service Units that include public, academic, special, and public and private school libraries. These non‐profit organizations each are run by a board of trustees elected by the membership. Their creation was authorized by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1975, and membership was mandated in 1981. They also provide a vehicle for communication with the State Library.
Special Library Tax?
Authors: Young Sally , Sowell Geni
Published: January 2008

Amidst budget crises of epidemic proportion, Pasadena citizens recently chose to save the Pasadena Public Library by overwhelmingly voting for a special library tax. The process of achieving this remarkable victory for libraries was twofold — a volunteer task force study with recommendation of alternatives and a grass roots campaign to pass the proposed referendum. Elements of that campaign consisted of fundraising, volunteers, community support, absentee ballots, telephone surveys, publicity, and library staff participation.
Accrual Accounting and Library Materials Acquisitions
Authors: Stanley Nancy M.
Published: January 2008

The purpose of this report is to provide information about the accrual method of Financial accounting for non‐profit organizations, to explain who uses the accrual method and why, and to determine if it poses a problem in managing the business of library acquisitions. This report is in response to concerns raised by acquisitions librarians regarding the uses and interpretations of accrual accounting methods at some institutions. In addition, it includes discussions of the possible ramifications accrual accounting methods can have on the process of acquiring selected library materials, such as serials and standing orders.
Spreadsheets:
Authors: Clark Philip M.
Published: January 2008

For many years, I have been recommending Reflex (published by Borland International) as a tool for analyzing financial and statistical data. My primary reason for this recommendation has been that Reflex allowed me to cross‐tabulate data. If you want to look at the year's financial data broken down, for example, by month‐by cost center‐by line item, you are essentially dictating that you want to do a crosstab. Reflex has a built‐in “view” that allows you to construct a two dimensional table that, with data limiting capabilities, yields a surprisingly diverse and multidimensional look at your data. In fact, I installed a financial reporting system in a library back in 1987 that was based on Reflex. In 1993 the library finally changed over to a commercial reporting system (costing thousands of dollars) that replaced Reflex. Yet, the old system provided a fairly flexible reporting and analysis system.
At the Point of Reckoning
Authors: Mathews Virginia H.
Published: January 2008

The point of reckoning is at the bottom line. In the accounting that deals with figures, the income and the outgo are stated in dollars; at the bottom line we see the result, the sum total of what we have done — for better or for worse, profit, or loss.
Children and Youth Services: Old Challenges Revisited
Authors: Gray Adamovich Shirley
Published: January 2008

Adamovich, a former state librarian and Director of Cultural Affairs in New Hampshire and now a U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Commissioner, gives her widely experienced view of youth services and the bottom line.
No Bucks, No Books
Authors: Bagan Beverly J.
Published: January 2008

Bagan, a former school librarian, compares the high‐tech dreams of access to information technology for children with the all‐too‐shabby reality that now exists. Bagan hammers home the point that without funding increases, libraries have no hope of keeping up with the rising cost of material in today's market.
A Winning Combination: Successful Resource Sharing Benefits All Library Users
Authors: Beard Charles
Published: January 2008

Beard, Academic Librarian extraordinaire, explains how West Georgia College affects not only his community with its services to all comers — including youth — but how the bottom line for libraries is impacted throughout the state. Beard's message centers on the key role cooperative collection management can play in combatting the high cost of providing adequate services to today's youth.
The Political Viability of Youth Services: A Bit of Legislative History
Authors: Cooke Eileen
Published: January 2008

Cooke, for several decades one of the Capitol's most influential lobbyists on behalf of ALA and library services, tells about the political appeal of libraries at the national level. Cooke runs down the history of library‐related legislation, covering a span from the late '50s up until the present day. Following this historical rundown, Cooke puts into perspective the current Goals for American Education, how they relate to history, and how they will affect the future.
The Bottom Line: Saving Youth Means Saving Our Future
Authors: Salazar Ramiro
Published: January 2008

With multicultural issues becoming such a front‐running issue in many libraries around the country, Ramiro Salazar writes about the children of a large urban population and especially the importance of reaching out with library service to Latino children for whom English is often a second language. His personal case examples provide clear, concise examples of how multicultural service can benefit both library users and librarians, themselves.
A Community Is Known by the School It Keeps
Authors: Stepanian Ellen M.
Published: January 2008

Stepanian tells how the excellence of school libraries in her suburban Ohio district infects the student body, and therefore the community, as success breeds success and generous support from prooud parents and other taxpayers. The Shaker Height library system serves as the model for this example of a succesful marriage between community, school, and library.
Libraries and Kids: Telling the Story
Authors: Wallace Linda
Published: January 2008

Wallace, ALA's own director of the Public Relations Office, cites some of the thousands of testimonials ALA has received about the fact that libraries — especially services to children and youth — change lives and often impact the nation's bottom line. Quotable celebrities, politicos, and common people add their voices to this piece on the benefits of children's library services.
Children and Youth and the Bottom Line
Authors: Young Virginia G.
Published: January 2008

Young, educator and political leader in the nation and her own state of Missouri for many years, cites evidence of youth services' impact on the bottom line. Young points to the future benefits of children's and youth services as the real bottom line dividend libraryies need.
IN THE NEWS
Authors: Martin Murray S.
Published: January 2008

The World Moves On! Changes in the agencies and firms that service library needs continue to accumulate in a manner that suggests the new world will be very different from the old.
Choosing an Internet Service Provider
Authors: King Frederick D.
Published: January 2008

Libraries are increasingly active on the Internet. Internet access allows libraries to retrieve and disseminate information electronically (often at no cost), communicate with other libraries and librarians through discussion groups, access images of unique materials, as well as offer Internet access to their communities. This article briefly describes some of these services, offers specific guidelines for choosing an Internet service provider, summarizes services provided by several firms, and recommends sources for further information.
Three Business Trends that Strengthen Library Operations
Authors: Turock Betty
Published: January 2008

Though libraries and businesses may differ in their ultimate objectives, libraries can benefit from adapting some business practices to suit their environments. This article describes library values which bring uniqueness to the library as an institution, and details ways in which libraries can adopt and benefit from three current business trends: creating organizations in which innovation can flourish, creating organizations that prepare and live by strategic plans, and creating organizations that participate in the national political arena.
“Quick and Clean”: A Fast Path to Library Spreadsheet Systems
Authors: Barnes Marilyn E.
Published: January 2008

Libraries need to develop information processing systems for evaluation, budgeting, planning, and operations. Electronic spreadsheets lend themselves to a variety of applications, but are time‐consuming to create. A model template and macros that can be used in many different types of library data analysis have been developed here. The procedures demonstrated here can build an essential set of tools for meeting fundamental goals of administrative efficiency, effective use of library resources, staff motivation, and rational policy making.
Missing: Vital Statistics
Authors: Clark Philip M.
Published: January 2008

In July, I attended and spoke at a conference sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics called “Putting it All Together.” The conference was billed as being for education data users and pre‐parers. Nearly 700 people with interests in datasys‐tems such as IPEDS, CCD, SPEEDX, FSCS, and a lot of other acronymns attended. There were lots of interesting topics discussed and sessions dealing with financial issues were among the most well‐attended.
Managing equipment: a proposed model for replacement
Authors: Donham van Deusen Jean
Published: January 2008

Proposes a replacement model for all types of library equipment — both audiovisual and computer. The model enables managers to develop a consistent capital equipment replacement budget based on such factors as equipment longevity, level of use, and technological advances. Also discusses machine reassignment as an alternative to obsolescence.
Georgia's libraries and media centers win the lottery!
Authors: Joiner Lasa , Beard Charles
Published: January 2008

Formal, planned communication between all types of libraries and “telling the state's library story” resulted in the largest single appropriation of new money to libraries, from the state lottery, in Georgia history. This climax follows a string of funding accomplishments including a 20 percent increase in materials grants, maintenance, and operating funds over an eight‐year period. Describes the strategies so successfully used at the state level to communicate funding needs and increase library capital and operating funds.
Cutting a million dollars' worth of journals
Authors: Miller William , Pellen Rita
Published: January 2008

Describes methodologies used both to make decisions about and implement massive journal cuts. These methodologies encompassed both challenging basic assumptions about subscriptions and rethinking the relationship between input into and responsibility for campus decision making. Describes and evaluates use of commercial document delivery services, interlibrary loan, and formats other than paper. Also calls for a questioning of institutional mission and funding to support that mission and a transformational solution to spiralling journal costs.
Capital City Libraries: a model of community cooperation
Authors: Symons Ann K. , Crane Karen
Published: January 2008

Four entirely separate Juneau, Alaska, libraries, each with its own separate parent administrative structure, formed Capital City Libraries, a multitype cooperative. These libraries share resources, a Dynix automated system including an OPAC, serials and acquisitions modules, Magazine Index, a community resource module, and limited Internet access. Importantly, the system also shares one library card and all 29,000 members of the user community are encouraged to use all system resources. Describes both the enhanced services and cost‐savings which such a cooperative provided.
Business systems review: a methodology for the management of change
Authors: Tamaki Cyndie
Published: January 2008

Presents a methodology which library managers can use to make necessary changes to their departments. The business system review is a methodology to develop strategies to make the library's workflow more efficient to meet its goals. The steps outlined address two aspects of change: analysis of the library's processes; and helping the staff to become part of the change.
Contracting to provide library service for a distance graduate education program
Authors: Weaver Sherrill L. , Shaffer Harold A.
Published: January 2008

In these times of no‐growth budgets and escalating service demands, the formation of partnerships between all types of higher education institutions — both public and private — is now a recognized survival strategy. Details the budget development in a partnership created through an agreement between a private distance‐education institution, Walden University, and a public research institution library, Indiana University Libraries. For the distance‐education university, the agreement's main advantage is a uniform program of access and delivery of research resources to its students during summer sessions held on the Indiana University Bloomington campus. For the research university library, the agreement offers the opportunity to develop an in‐house pilot program, with external funding, for offering distance education library support to its own students. Based on their experience of mutual benefit over the past three years, Walden University and Indiana University Libraries' administrators have transformed the goal of their inter‐institutional agreement from protection to proaction.
Access to databases: consortial style
Authors: Bixler Linda S.
Published: January 2008

Cooperative library projects are a must in today's economic havoc. The strength of cooperative bargaining can impact what a consortium is able to accomplish for its membership, stretching member libraries' limited budgets, but the evaluative process is key in making satisfactory decisions. Careful evaluations and a clear perspective of what will satisfy the majority are key components to a successful process. This is one consortium's recent experience with the process and how they have currently solved a number of issues.
Responsibility center management and the university library
Authors: Neal James G. , Smith Lynn
Published: January 2008

Responsibility center management (RCM) is a new fiscal management system which has been introduced at several American universities. It seeks to link academic responsibility and budgetary authority and to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and cost containment. Describes the implementation of RCM at Indiana University with a focus on the impact on and role of academic support units such as the library.
WHEN ONLY the best IS GOOD ENOUGH
Authors: Loveday Marion
Published: January 2008

Why Dr Robert Camp, leading international benchmarking champion, believes that focusing on ‘best practice’ processes is the key to continued market success.
SATISFACTION is no guarantee of RETURN
Authors: Dresser Guy
Published: January 2008

Customer satisfaction programmes are an increasingly costly part of most business budgets, yet proof that they produce loyal customers is elusive. As a result, leading companies are turning to ‘relationship marketing’ to ensure that their clients steer clear of the competition.
OBJECTIVES first
Authors: Hillman Peter
Published: January 2008

The European business excellence model offers organizations an effective framework for gauging if and how well they are delivering customer satisfaction. But it helps to begin with the end result, says Peter Hillman.
Much more than THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Authors: Hampson Jon , Lamming Richard
Published: January 2008

Purchasing has enjoyed a change of image in recent times. Once regarded as a peripheral, cost‐obsessed activity, it is now widely recognized as a potentially vital strategic discipline. Yet the ways in which many efficiency and financially‐based measures are employed reflect the outdated idea that purchasing is an add‐on cost to a business. A new approach to measurement is required that supports and reflects purchasing's value‐adding contribution.
A DIAL FOR CUSTOMER VALUE
Authors: Humphris Jim
Published: January 2008

Symbia's Customer Barometer offers a supplier the means to gauge how it is performing against the real needs of its customers and to cement a long‐term relationship, says Jim Humphris.
A COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT OF value
Authors: Wright Philip D , Keegan Daniel P
Published: January 2008

Anticipating investor demand for a more rounded view of a company's ability to perform, Price Waterhouse is putting forward ‘value reporting’ as a new methodology for communicating the true worth of a company. A comprehensive set of tailored financial and non‐financial performance measurements and processes, it gives historical and predictive indicators of shareholder value creation.
THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE
Authors: Senge Peter M
Published: January 2008

Learning is now widely accepted as the currency of survival in an era of constant change. Many businesses, however, are struggling to learn how to learn. The cultural and structural issues they need to confront in order to acquire the flexibility and responsiveness to learn were articulated in 1990 in The Fifth Discipline by Peter M Senge of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Measuring Business Excellence revisits this now landmark work to review its continuing relevance to the aspirant learning organization.
ABOLISH the traditional budgeting process
Authors: Fanning John
Published: January 2008

Companies are failing to take advantage of the opportunities that an efficient and effective budgeting process can bring to an organization. While the budget is a necessary tool for business monitoring, it must also provide debate and action if it is to be a real benefit, argues John Fanning.
RAPID RESPONSE VEHICLE
Authors: Wakeling Bruce
Published: January 2008

Consumer pressure for fast and efficient delivery systems is driving retailers and distribution companies to develop a new generation of supply chain management tools. The efficient consumer response scorecard combines self‐assessment and benchmarking techniques to kickstart streamlining and improvement programmes.
HARNESSING MARKETING TO THE BOTTOM LINE
Authors: Chambers Angela , Parkinson Stephen
Published: January 2008

Many companies pigeon‐hole marketing as a non‐value adding activity. But an auditing framework developed with 600 managers is putting marketing measurement on the senior executive agenda. Users include First Direct, Sainsbury and SmithKline Beecham.
ONE FOR ALL OR ALL FOR ONE?
Authors: Bull Richard
Published: January 2008

Price Waterhouse partners put the case in a recent MEASURING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE for ‘shareholder value’ as “the overarching imperative for management to deliver”. It is a view seemingly at odds with the more ‘inclusive’ stakeholder approach endorsed by many of the UK's prominent business leaders. But the two sides of the ‘shareholder‐stakeholder’ debate can be reconciled.
Are there LIMITS to total quality management?
Authors: Schneiderman Arthur M
Published: January 2008

Many problems associated with quality programmes result from increased process complexity. Mapping the correlation between the complexity of a process and the organizational level at which it must be executed could point the way to the future direction of total quality management.
MEASURES OF BEST PRACTICES
Authors: Ashton Chris
Published: January 2008

As change compels businesses to reconsider corporate performance, whether in the strategic, process, people or systems dimensions of organizational outputs, measurement of the effectiveness of best practice initiatives becomes critical to competitiveness.
Aligning people with PROCESSES
Authors: Dale Barrie , Godfrey Graham , Wilkinson Adrian , Marchington Mick
Published: January 2008

For companies striving towards total quality management and continuous improvement it is important to be sure that employees are receiving the right messages. A new non‐scoring audit tool, developed in work with UK companies, assesses whether human resource policies are integrated with quality management processes.
DATA THE STAGE MANAGEMENT 0F DATA
Authors: Capper Richard
Published: January 2008

Modern project methodologies ensure an ever‐increasing supply of data is available to inform business strategy. However, too many companies negate the benefits through poor collection and use. In an extract from a new handbook, Richard Capper gives a stage‐by‐stage guide to the effective harvesting of data.
The IDEAL WAY TO PAY
Authors: Tatham Alex
Published: January 2008

After twice being voted distributor of the year in the UK computer industry, Ideal Hardware has raised its sights to establish itself as the global benchmark for distribution. Performance related pay is a central part of its strategy to align the whole company behind this mission.
PULLING in the same DIRECTION
Authors: Bowden Phil
Published: January 2008

Clear alignment between business and individual performance together with reinforcement of core values is the optimal route to operational effectiveness. Nortel's fixed wireless access division's system of aligning performance measures incorporates behaviour into the process.