Managing in the middle : the librarian's handbook

Fully a third of all library supervisors are "managing in the middle:" reporting to top-level managers while managing teams of peers or paraprofessional staff in some capacity. This practical handbook is here to assist middle managers navigate their way through the challenges of multitasking and continual gear-shifting. The broad range of contributors from academic and public libraries in this volume help librarians face personal and professional challenges by Linking theoretical ideas about mid-level management to real-world situations Presenting ways to sharpen crucial skills such as communication, productivity, delegation, and performance management Offering specific advice on everything from supervision to surviving layoffsBeing a middle manager can be a difficult job, but the range of perspectives in this book offer strategies and tips to make it easier.

It's a job, not a reward! / Gayle Hornaday -- Stepping right into the middle of-- / Anne C. Barnhart -- Testing the waters : creative role playing for management success ; Learning the ropes : LIS and professional training is not enough / Amanda Lea Folk -- Is an MBA a good choice for middle management librarians? / Elizabeth O'Brien -- Expertise, influence, and magical thinking : interviews with middle managers / Melissa Laning and Neal Nixon -- Business books for the library middle manager : an annotated bibliography / Joe C. Clark -- Rethinking interpersonal communication for managers / Marie L. Radford -- The middle in the middle : maintaining your sanity while mediating conflict / Amanda Lea Folk -- Horizontal communication : social networking in the middle / Nancy J. Kress -- Feeling good in the middle : emotional intelligence at work / Robert Farrell -- Top communication rules for effective library management / Louis Howley, Kathryn Bock Plunkett, and Nicole Sump-Crethar -- Formal and informal communication in meetings / Robin L. Ewing -- The power of un / Maureen Diana Sasso -- Checklist for productivity ; Procrastination and willpower / Samantha Schmehl Hines -- The critical path for middle managers : a project management technique for librarians / Dorothy A. Mays -- Supervision / Debbie Schachter -- Firm, but fair : dealing with problem employees / Cees-Jan de Jong -- Performance management : making difficult conversations easy and managing soft skills / Robert Barr -- Performance improvement : an overview for middle managers / Barbara Petersohn -- Consult me first : building consultative relationships between top-level and mid-level library managers / Jeffrey A. Franks -- Managing perceptions / Liza Weisbrod -- Surviving layoffs / Curt Friehs -- The poor administrator and you : survival tips for the mid-level manager / Jeffrey A. Franks -- Coping with reorganization : an Interview with Sally Decker Smith -- The self-determined middle manager / Kristine Condic -- Developing leaders / Debbie Schachter -- Being an entrepreneurial leader / Jennifer Rowley -- Managing change : a reading guide for today's middle manager / Keith Phelan Gorman and Joe M. Williams -- The need for middle managers : turning today's new librarians into tomorrow's leaders / Bernadine Goldman -- Building strong middle manager/paralibrarian relationships : middle managers as mentors / Allison Sloan -- Moving up the ranks and back again : lessons learned as an interim library director / Elisabeth Tappeiner -- Working with the plateaued employee / Janet Butler Munch -- Taking risks and letting go, creating and coaching teams : an interview with John Lubans.