Author: Steve O'Connor
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1780630468
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241
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Book Description
In this information age it is widely recognised that, in order to maintain relevance and to gain a competitive edge, libraries and other organisations in the business of information must continuously assess their roles, collections, services and perhaps most importantly, their business practices. Scenarios are a way of predicting and describing a future three to five years away while strongly engaging one's community in choosing the future which is preferable. The horizon in which assessments about future roles change is growing shorter and shorter. While it is almost clichéd to state that change is the only constant, differing scenarios of what libraries might be allow all of us to contemplate futures we might otherwise not allow. Drawing on extensive experience in libraries in different parts of the globe, the authors provide a rich analysis of planning, managing and implementing change in information organisations through scenario planning. Through extensive practical applications, both actual and theoretical, the authors provide a strong background understanding and direct the reader through a planning process that is both readily applicable and innovative for all information organisations, irrespective of their size or client base. - Extensive exploration of what it means to 'shape our futures' rather than having our future shaped for us - Valuable techniques for understanding futures and creating different scenarios - Practical applications are illustrated through examples and real life experience
Author: Rebekkah Smith Aldrich
Publisher: American Library Association
ISBN: 0838916953
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 166
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Book Description
This book will show you how to harness sustainable thinking to move forward with confidence into the unknown.
Author: Jens Beckert
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674545893
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384
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Book Description
In a capitalist system, consumers, investors, and corporations orient their activities toward a future that contains opportunities and risks. How actors assess uncertainty is a problem that economists have tried to solve through general equilibrium and rational expectations theory. Powerful as these analytical tools are, they underestimate the future’s unknowability by assuming that markets, in the aggregate, correctly forecast what is to come. Jens Beckert adds a new chapter to the theory of capitalism by demonstrating how fictional expectations drive modern economies—or throw them into crisis when the imagined futures fail to materialize. Collectively held images of how the future will unfold are critical because they free economic actors from paralyzing doubt, enabling them to commit resources and coordinate decisions even if those expectations prove inaccurate. Beckert distinguishes fictional expectations from performativity theory, which holds that predictions tend to become self-fulfilling prophecies. Economic forecasts are important not because they produce the futures they envision but because they create the expectations that generate economic activity in the first place. Actors pursue money, investments, innovations, and consumption only if they believe the objects obtained through market exchanges will retain value. We accept money because we believe in its future purchasing power. We accept the risk of capital investments and innovation because we expect profit. And we purchase consumer goods based on dreams of satisfaction. As Imagined Futures shows, those who ignore the role of real uncertainty and fictional expectations in market dynamics misunderstand the nature of capitalism.
Author: Kim Leeder
Publisher: American Library Association
ISBN: 0838996884
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 195
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Book Description
This thought-provoking collection will challenge librarians at every kind of institution to start planning today for the library of tomorrow.
Author: Peter Hernon
Publisher: American Library Association
ISBN: 0838911870
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 259
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Book Description
Academic and public libraries are much different today than they were even 15 years ago. With even bigger changes on the horizon, what lies in store? This volume offers ideas to academic and public librarians about the future of library services. Editors Hernon and Matthews invite a raft of contributors to step back and envision the type of future library that will generate excitement and enthusiasm among users and stakeholders. Anyone interested in the future of libraries, especially library managers, will be engaged and stimulated as the contributorsExamine the current state of the library, summarizing existing literature on the topic to sketch in historical backgroundProject into the future, using SWOT analysis, environmental scans, and other techniques to posit how library infrastructure (such as staff, collections, technology, and facilities) can adapt in the decades aheadConstruct potential scenarios that library leaders can use to forge paths for their own institutionsThe collection of knowledge and practical wisdom in this book will help academic and public libraries find ways to honor their missions while planning for the broader institutional changes already underway.
Author: Chirag Shah
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108472443
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 459
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Book Description
An introductory textbook offering a low barrier entry to data science; the hands-on approach will appeal to students from a range of disciplines.
Author: Patricia H. Fisher
Publisher: American Library Association
ISBN: 9780838909096
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 158
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Book Description
In these challenging times, libraries face fierce competition for customers and funding. Creating and implementing a marketing plan can help libraries make a compelling case and address both issues—attracting funding and customers by focusing on specific needs. But where and how do you start?
Author: Valerie J. Gross
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1598847716
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 188
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Book Description
This book describes a groundbreaking concept that enables public libraries—and librarians—to become indispensable by following a "Three Pillars" educational approach, and by replacing traditional terms with powerful, intuitive, value-enhanced terminology that everyone understands. While there is no question that what librarians and library professionals do is critically important, the ways in which these roles and responsibilities are described can mean the difference between being valued as essential to the community or considered optional. Something as simple as a choice of words can determine what is valued—and consequently what gets funded, and what gets canceled. Transforming Our Image, Building Our Brand: The Education Advantage examines how the "Three Pillars" approach harnesses the power of language to enhance respect, generate increased perceived value, and garner funding. The power stems from positioning all that library professionals do under three, easy-to-remember "pillars," and replacing typical library terms and phrases with bold, value-enhanced terminology that commands value—language that people outside of the field can immediately understand. This book is essential reading for public library staff members at all levels of the organization, especially those in leadership roles; and its root concepts are applicable for all other library types as well.
Author: Frances C. Wilkinson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1610698908
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 185
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Book Description
Looking for tips on how to work towards your overall vision while remaining productive on the frontlines? The book gives you fresh ideas for balancing your managerial duties with day-to-day responsibilities in the academic library. A compilation of ideas from noted leaders in academic librarianship, this book explores a wealth of topics, including budgeting, human resources, facilities, collections, and IT. There is also helpful advice that will help you navigate emerging areas of librarianship, such as blended librarianship, cross-institutional collaboration, and marketing the library. You will learn how to manage, lead, and address specific library areas—all at once. Practical Strategies for Academic Library Managers: Leading with Vision through All Levels is ideal for current professionals with an expanded scope of responsibilities and those who have had administrative duties for some time, but are looking for new techniques for being a better manager. The book includes an introduction written by the editors, who are both associate deans in university libraries. Each chapter is written by a different expert in the field, providing a rich array of approaches and perspectives.
Author: Marie R. Kennedy
Publisher: American Library Association
ISBN: 083891599X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 241
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Book Description
When front line librarians improve awareness of under-utilized resources, thereby increasing demand for more of the same, it can also encourage increased funding for the library. This book's flexible, step-by-step layout makes it an ideal resource for a wide range of learning styles, institutional environments, and levels of marketing experience.
