Most libraries in the US are small in size and rural in location. And, since most of them don’t require a degree to be hired as Library Director, many new hires step into the position with limited management or librarianship experience. This handbook will quickly get new directors up to speed on managing staff, drafting budgets, crafting policies, overseeing a building and its collections, and strengthening the library’s place in the community. The authors, with years of small library management experience between them, offer expert guidance on all those topics and many more besides. Small public library directors at all stages of their career, as well as their board members and library trustees, will benefit from this handbook’s up-to-date perspectives on what it takes to run your library in today’s post-pandemic, politically polarized, technologically advanced, socially isolated world; receive to-the-point advice on governance, strategic planning, human resources, policy development, facilities, services and programs, and other foundational tasks; become informed on how to safeguard intellectual freedom, handle challenges to materials and programming, and protect patron privacy; get pointers on broadening their personal network, understanding what outside resources are available, and spearheading effective advocacy and community engagement; learn from real-life “Success Stories” and “On the Job” words of wisdom sprinkled throughout the text; and find adaptable templates, self-enrichment activities, and other tools to facilitate ongoing professional development.
