Coaching in the Library: A Management Strategy for Achieving Excellence (ALA Editions) - Softcover

American Library Association

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0838908098 ISBN 13: 9780838908099

Publisher: American Library Association, 2002

Synopsis

The first of its kind, this readable, hands-on book will help you to see your library and the staff that runs it in a new, more strategic way. Experienced librarian and coach Ruth Metz outlines a focused and results-oriented game plan for achieving performance excellence from all staff members, from top to bottom, through a coaching style of management. By viewing the people you work with as a team, you can transform the work environment and, ultimately, the services you are providing your customers. Through real world examples, coaching scenarios, and ""pathways to excellence"" that are specific to library work, you will learn how to: Be both a coach and a player - the terminology and techniques; Recognize and utilize the abilities and talents of staff at all levels; Guide individuals toward a unified goal; Encourage innovation, flexibility, and problem-solving; Spotlight the big-win opportunities; Complete with reader-friendly tables and annotated references, Coaching in the Library is for any library that wants to put the potential of all staff on the playing field in order to achieve peak performance.

About this title

Review

..".the first book on coaching for managers that is adapted to a library setting... This book argues persuasively that coaching library staff will result in better service and improved employee morale and it describes the theoretical framework of the coaching relationship. It will help library managers to approach problems in a positive fashion and encourage them to use coaching as one useful method to effect desired change."

"The intended audience includes supervisors, leaders, and managers, and the overarching reason for coaching--to make the library more effective in serving its community--rings clear throughout this important title... Highly recommended."

"Scenarios are realistic, and should provide librarians with ideas for resolving work and people related problems, whether coaching an assistant, a library clerk, or a volunteer. This book offers objective solutions and methods for resolving personnel issues."

About the Author

Ruth F. Metz is the principal consultant for Ruth Metz Associates, Portland, Oregon. Ruth s firm specializes in strategic planning, organizational development, and leadership development. The purpose of her work is to help community leaders as they plan, manage, and develop their libraries. This work includes coaching for boards, executives, and emergent leaders in libraries and the public sector. Ruth has held senior management positions over a 30 year career at Multnomah County Library in Portland, the Oakland (CA) Public Library, the Bay Area Library and Information System in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Colorado State Library, and St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron, Michigan. Metz earned her master's degree in library science from the University of Michigan.

Edition details

• Publisher: American Library Association
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0838908098
• ISBN 13: 9780838908099
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 277