Finance, Budget, and Management for Reference Services

The library budget, a topic of primary importance to the reference librarian, is thoroughly examined in this relevant new book. Experts offer insightful suggestions for reference librarians to understand and take responsibility for budget issues, directly and indirectly. They address the ability to explain the budget--which actually entails explaining the collection, the services, and the process in place for managing the fiscal resources--a necessary skill for any reference librarian faced with looming budget cuts. Providing quality services on a limited budget is also explored. The contributors provide helpful essays on convincing the parent agency to provide adequate support, setting goals and priorities, generating revenue, and more.

Table of Contents:
Contents Now That We Are Talking About the Budget THE PROCESSES, PROCEDURES, AND CONUNDRUMS OF REFERENCE BUDGETS Reference Planning and Budgeting in the New Technological Era What Reference Librarians Should Know About Library Finances Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes: Reference/Information Services Management in a Time of Transition Budgeting at the Library Department Level: A Middle Manager's Perspective Budgeting for Reference Services in the Academic Library: A Tutorial Budgeting for Reference Services as Part of a Library's Financial Planning Statistical Data as a Management Tool for Reference Managers, or Roulette by the Numbers Budgeting and Financing Reference Services: Managing the Unexpected and Unpredictable SOME SPECIFIC SITUATIONS INCLUDING REVENUE GENERATION To Charge or Not to Charge: No Longer a Question? The Reference Department Budget in the High Tech Era: An Endangered Species? Integrating Electronic Information Systems Into the Reference Services Budget Budgeting for Reference Services in an On-Line Age Multiple File Computer Searching: Can Trends in Use Be Predicted? Financing and Managing Technology-Based Reference Services in the Undergraduate Library InfoTrac: Is It an Appropriate General Reference Tool? Fee-Based Business Research in an Academic Library High Priced or Over-Priced: They're Every Library's Problem MANAGING THE RESOURCES Managing Difficult People: Patrons (and Others) The Realities of College Reference Service: A Case Study in Personnel Utilization In Search of Insight: Library Administrators Work the Reference Desk Unobtrusive Evaluation: An Administrative Learning Experience Reference Service Versus Work Crews: Meeting the Needs of Both During a Collection Shift A Scenario of the Reference Librarian in a Small University Library Marketing the Library in a Time of Crisis: Rewriting Public Policy Statements