Project Management in the Library Workplace: (38 Advances in Library Administration and Organization)

An important component of library administration and organization in the modern age is managing projects. Once the realm of technology and business gurus, formal project management tools, techniques and schemas have become more commonplace in libraries. Using formal project management components can help libraries achieve their desired outcomes with less stress for employees. However, there can be an entry barrier to project management, since the concepts are still somewhat out of the range of the usual library administration experience. This volume of Advances in Library Administration and Organization attempts to put project management into the toolboxes of library administrators through overviews of concepts, analyses of experiences, and forecasts for the use of project management within the profession.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1. Using Pre-Project Planning to Manage Workload; Twila Camp, Barbara Laufersweiler, Sarah Robbins Chapter 2. Fostering a culture of project management practices – a maturity model for libraries; Erla P. Heyns and Sasja Huijts  Chapter 3. Common Roots, Different Systems: Project Management and Librarianship; Samantha Hines  Chapter 4. The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry: The Disadvantages of Project Management; Joy M. Perrin  Chapter 5. Sprinting towards Faculty Engagement: Adopting Project Management Approaches to Build Library-Faculty Relationships; Pamella R. Lach and Brian Rosenblum  Chapter 6. Shadow Project Management: Using the Project Management Body of Knowledge to Informally Manage Library Projects; Steven Ovadia  Chapter 7. Academic Library Implementation of Project Management Standards; Kirsten Clark and Kate McCready   Chapter 8. Integration of Project Management Techniques in Digital Projects; Kate Dohe and Robin Pike  Chapter 9. Combining Project Management and Change Management for Project Success in Libraries; Melissa Fraser-Arnott  Chapter 10. From Collection Silos to Digital Content Hubs: Digital Project Management in Special Collections and University Archives; Angela Fritz  Chapter 11. The Value of Full-Time Project Management Positions: PMO Nuts and Bolts at Hesburgh Libraries; Anastasia Guimaraes, Laurie McGowan, Miranda VanNevel, Zheng Wang  Chapter 12. Borrowed From Business: Using Corporate Strategies to Manage Library Projects; Sara Holder  Chapter 13. Using a ‘Project Management Mindset’ as an Administrative Approach to Creating Workplace Efficiencies & Building Employee Leadership Skills; Kris Johnson Chapter 14. Accidental Project Management in a New Library Storage Facility; Timothy Hackman, Margaret Loebe  Chapter 15. Effective Project Management Techniques to Prepare Information Professionals for the Future Workforce; Rajesh Singh and Lindsay Jankovitz  Chapter 16. Projects, Programmes, Strategy and Leadership in the Research Library; J. Stephen Town  Chapter 17. Increasing Effectiveness of Library Projects Through ScrumMaster Certification; Mike Waugh

About the Author :
Alice L. Daugherty is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Acquisitions and Electronic Resources, at The University of Alabama Libraries. She writes and presents widely on issues of library services and collections. She earned her MLIS from Wayne state University in 2003. Samantha Hines got her MS in library and information science from University of Illinois in 2003 and has worked in a variety of libraries. She's currently the Associate Dean of Instructional Resources at Peninsula College in Port Angeles WA, but previously worked in various roles at the University of Montana for 12 years. She is a prolific scholar and frequent conference presenter on issues of library services, copyright and publishing, and middle management.

Review :
Contributed by librarians from universities in North America, the 17 essays in this volume detail concepts, experiences, and forecasts for the use of project management in library administration. They describe various elements of project management, including pre-project planning, workplace culture, common roots between librarianship and project management, and the disadvantages of project management in a library setting; how project management principles can be used to build community engagement and relationships through the lens of faculty partnerships; how project management frameworks can be used by those without formal authority; the development of project management processes in a library; the use of project management techniques in digital projects; how project management tools can be combined with change management techniques; how product management techniques can change collection service models in university archives and special collections; the value of full-time project management positions; how protocols like Six Sigma, Lean, and Scrum have been applied in libraries; using a project management mindset as an administrative approach to creating workplace efficiencies and building employee leadership skills; project management in a new library storage facility; and what project management training can offer for library professionals, including how techniques can be implemented within a library and the benefits and limitations for training library professionals in the Scrum project management framework.