RCLS Professional Collection: Services

Being a great teacher is part and parcel of being a great librarian. In this book, veteran instruction services librarian McAdoo lays out the fundamentals of the discipline in easily accessible language. Succinctly covering the topic from top to bottom, he offers an overview of the historical context of library instruction, drawing on recent research in learning theory to help the instructor choose the most effective strategies for any situation, shows readers how to assess the information needs of a given audience, how to develop a curriculum for teaching information literacy, and how to fit an appropriate amount of content into the allotted time, addresses the pros and cons of online versus face-to-face instruction, includes methods for publicizing the availability of the library s learning opportunities.

This text provides strategies and techniques for teaching college and university freshmen, community college students, students with disabilities, and those in distance learning programs. It contains approaches to teaching students in the popular programs of study.

This valuable resource gathers the principles and best practices of leadership, and points the way towards creating a service culture that makes every staff member a library leader.

In the years since John Huber's trailblazing Lean Library Management was published, budget pressures on libraries have only increased. Yet libraries who have adopted his strategies have turned conventional management thinking--that if budgets are reduced, customer service suffers--on its head. These libraries have proven that by streamlining and improving customer services, they can eliminate wasteful activities and bring down costs.

We live in uncertain times, and the ability to survive, adapt and thrive-- whether an individual or an organization-- is vital in our society. Aldrich re-centers the concept of resilience to show its alignment to the library profession's values, and its usefulness for guiding our future roles in communities.

Sustainability Coordinator, Mid-Hudson Library System, author Aldrich delivers an exciting, groundbreaking pitch for sustainable thinking in libraries. The author draws on principles of environmental sustainability (such as green building) not only to make libraries more ecofriendly but also to strengthen and preserve the buildings themselves. Featuring lively prose, splashy concepts, and writing exercises evocative of Seth Godin (Linchpin; All Marketers Are Liars), Aldrich's book is refreshing and required reading for library leaders and advocates.

Adults over the age of 55 constitute some of the most engaged and frequent users of public libraries. They may also be the most misunderstood. As Baby Boomers continue to swell their ranks, behavior and trends in older adults have changed dramaticaly in the last ten years--and most literature on this topic is hopelessly out of date. Containing the keys to reshaping library services for older adults, Schulls book needs to be in the collection of every public library.

Creative ideas for welcoming multicultural patrons into libraries and strategies for serving them more effectively. Librarians will find in these chapters tried and true tips and techniques for marketing and promotion, improving reference services for speakers of English as a second language, and enhancing programming that they can easily implement in their own libraries and communities. Librarians of all types will be pleased to discover easy-to-implement suggestions for collaborative efforts, many rich and diverse programming ideas, strategies for improving reference services and library instruction to speakers of English as a second language, marketing and promotional tips designed to welcome multicultural patrons into the library, and much more.

"If you believe that your organization has done everything it can to enhance its diversity, and if you are still frustrated at how little progress you have made, Moving Diversity Forward is for you. It is an instructive read for all of those who wish to live and work in a multi-cultural world where everyone has a fair chance to succeed and contribute."-- Frank P. Barron, Chief Legal Officer, Morgan Stanley

In this compelling new tip book you'll find innovative and surprising ways to keep your personal diversity journey moving and the diversity commitment of your organization. Written to make this information bite-size and accessible, you'll find quick answers to typical What should I do? questions, like: What if I say the wrong thing, what should I do? What if I am work and someone makes a sexist joke, what should I say? Make sure everyone knows the culturally effective way to approach diversity situations. With this book they can be prepared and practiced at moving diversity forward.