Streamlining Library Services: What We Do, How Much Time it Takes, What it Costs, and How We Can Do it Better

Despite technologies, many basic library activities still lend themselves to analysis and improvement. Author Richard Dougherty provides numerous examples and easy-to-apply tools and techniques that can be used to analyze what libraries are doing, how they are doing it, and how much time is required to do it. These tools include block diagrams, check sheets, flow process charts, work-flow diagrams, flow charts, through-put analysis, self-administered diary studies, and work sampling techniques. Specific examples from all areas of library operations are presented to illustrate how techniques can be applied to analyze what occurs at critical service areas. Streamlining Library Services provides detailed information on how to diagnose problem areas using such tools as Pareto and fishbone charts; use techniques such as brainstorming and focus groups; organize a work flow study; and build and present cost studies. Special emphasis is placed on activities that should occur after the analysis is concluded, including data analysis as well as reporting study results and making recommendations to management, and guidelines are provided for managers and staff as they strive to streamline activities. The final two chapters should be of special interest to managers. The first chapter is devoted to implementation issues and strategies that must be addressed as new workflows and services are introduced, and the latter chapter focuses on organizational change issues and strategies for building staff support toward change.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 List of Figures Part 2 Preamble Part 3 Preface Part 4 Acknowledgments Part 5 Section One: Looking Backward, Looking Forward Chapter 6 Chapter 1. The Roots of Scientific Management Chapter 7 Chapter 2. The Impact of Technology on Environments, Productivity and Staff Roles Part 8 Section Two: Diagnosing Problems; Preparing for a Study Chapter 9 Chapter 3. Identifying Targets of Opportunity Chapter 10 Chapter 4. Preparing for a Study Chapter 11 Chapter 5. Identifying the Problem: Diagnostic Tools Part 12 Section Three: What We Do: The Tools Chapter 13 Chapter 6. Block Diagram Chapter 14 Chapter 7. Tools for Process Analysis Chapter 15 Chapter 8. Tools for Special Situations Chapter 16 Chapter 9. Forms and Templates Part 17 Section Four: How Much Time it Takes Chapter 18 Chapter 10. Tracking Systems: Throughput/Delay Analysis Chapter 19 Chapter 11. Self-Administered Diary Studies Chapter 20 Chapter 12. Work Sampling Chapter 21 Chapter 13. Direct Time Study Part 22 Section Five: How Much it Costs Chapter 23 Chapter 14. Costs Part 24 Section Six: Post-Study Activities Chapter 25 Chapter 15. Assessing the Current Activities Chapter 26 Chapter 16. Designing Streamlined Activities Chapter 27 Chapter 17. Implementing New Activities Chapter 28 Chapter 18. Managing Organizational Change Part 29 Index

About the Author :
Richard M. Dougherty is the founding publisher and editor of the Journal of Academic Librarianship, was the Director of Libraries at the University of Michigan and the University of California at Berkeley, was on the faculty at Syracuse University and the University of Michigan, and served as President of ALA. He has served as a consultant to numerous libraries striving to introduce organizational change and conducted many workshops on change management.

Review :
For library management courses, this textbook offers a great deal. It delivers a large amount of valuable information and ideas in a very readable and useful format. Dougherty is to be commended for his writing. ...This book effortlessly blends theory and practice...and should do a fine job of making management theory have real application in the classroom. Dougherty offers tools and procedures for collecting data for workflow evaluations. The problem-solving techniques explained and the real-life examples cited in this practical book provide the necessary tools for any library interested in doing just that. Recommended for all library collections. Retitled for the 21st century, this new edition...presents a variety of approaches to engaging in rigorous inquiry into workplace activities, processes, and workflows.....The goal of the text is not simply to introduce the reader to these approaches for assessing the work environment, however, but to 'rescue' these tools of analysis from what the author perceives as a general sentiment that they are outdated....very effective introduction to scientific management tools. Dougherty...provides a well-organized and most useful analysis....A welcome addition to the collection of any library. This is a solid introduction to scientific management concepts, not often addressed in recent library management literature....Dougherty shows how to assess internal processes and make evidence-based decisions about them, ensuring that workflows and procedures are as efficient as possible, both improving service to users and freeing up resources. Recommended for professional collections. Most of the book is a catalog of well-established measurement techniques with roots in industrial engineering. Dougherty is doubtlessly correct that many library procedures could be improved with some thoughtful investigation.... His book is best consulted on an as-needed basis.... Dougherty excels at describing how to streamline current activities and manage the resultant organizational change. Academic, public and special libraries are always trying to improve services and reduce costs, and this book by Richard Dougherty gives librarians the practical tools to accomplish organisational change and to improve library services....Dougherty is an expert on organisational change and has many years' experience in senior roles in university libraries....This book is well laid-out, with attractive typesetting, and it includes a generous number of figures and charts to enhance the text. Overall this is a useful guide that delivers what it promises. Dougherty's expertise and experience shine bright....Streamlining Library Services is a powerful aid to successful change management and is required reading these days. All of the factors that might make it seem impossible to take the time to step back and analyze current practices for future improvements make it even more important to do so, and Dougherty has provided a well-organized and well-written guide to assist us in this work. Useful for any library wanting to streamline their services, or even just to self-analyze their own processes and tasks, this work is written for the novice. It has been greatly updated since its last edition. Streamlining Library Services is a useful and affordable answer for those librarians that cannot afford a consultant, as well as for libraries that have implemented recommendations by a consultant. All libraries will benefit from reading and making use of this book . . . Dougherty makes it clear in his writing that any activity may be the subject of analysis, and that makes this book even more valuable than an outside consultant service that only may focus primarily on traditional technical services activities. In an era when librarians are pressed to justify the cost and value of their services, this book is a precious gift to all of us. Dougherty provides both administrators and staff with the tools needed to examine, analyze, streamline, and ultimately improve library services. . . . In this well written book, Dougherty draws on his long and varied experience in the library field for examples throughout the text. . . . Dougherty has provided a well-organized and well-written guide This is an excellent primer on the methods that librarians can use to identify areas for improvement, analyze their processes, assess the results of their study, and make improvements….It would be a valuable addition to any library's professional collection. This book is crammed full of practical tools and techniques for improving the cost-efficiency of library services….It has a thorough index. This book is very good value for money and I recommend it to all librarians.