Customer Reviews

Library and Information Center Management:

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I'm almost tempted to turn in my LIS professor to the Hague tribuinal for "Crimes against Humanity" for assigning us this textbook. This has got to be the most boring, pedandic,
jargon-ridden, vacuous text...page after page of blather with less true intellectual content than the average soundbite and conclusions so plain and commonsensical you wonder why you bothered reading most of these chapters at all. I'd pick Will Manley's amusing ramblings & observations any day over this

worthless tome. This textbook feels like it was designed for MBA students originally, then an editor threw in obligatory references to "library & information centers" and viola, instant "Library Science" textbook. Yet one more sign/symbol of librarianship fawing a bit to much on corporate models and methods instead of staying true to their own roots, unique missions and objectives as public service agencies. Read Michael Gorman's _Our Enduring Values: Librarianship in the 21st Century_ if you want a real orientation on what being a librarian (and thus a library director) are all about.
Heck, I bet most thoughtful LIS professors could put together
reading lists of enough LJ articles discussing "library & information center management" that would be far more rewarding and informative to new LIS students seeking their MLS than this textbook ever could hope to be. Avoid this book!

I could go on and on about what a useless snoozefest this book was, but another reader has already done a far better job. Please see the review entitled "Boring, pedandic...more useful for MBA than MLS"-- it hits the nail right on the head.

Dull reading is not helped by repetitive statements in this management textbook. Stueart and Moran add to textbooks' reputation for dullness and difficult reading. The authors give long definitions for terms that must already be understood by a large portion of the population, but use specialized terms long before an explanation is given in the text. One can only hope that there are better management textbooks and that most professors choose those.

Obviously we're all LIS students responding to this travesty of a "text" because no one in their right mind would sit down & read this thing unless it were required to do so. Shame on Stueart/Moran and the publisher Libraries Unlimited for producing this at the ridiculous price of $50. I plan to pass this book along to a LIS classmate free of charge next semester so he doesn't have to pay for it, and so that Stuart/Moran get no more royalties out of this joke of a book. I recommend everyone to do the same; yes, you've lost money, but if everyone refuses to buy it, perhaps Libraries Unlimited will get the message & drop it. I'd give it zero stars if Amazon would let me; one star is actually too much. Do yourself a favor and find other management texts that cover the same topics: I guarantee you'll get much more out of them than you will this "text".

Takes a long time to say nothing much...wish I had saved my money. I bought this because it was required for a class, but it's of very little real use for actually managing anything.

This book was required reading for the management class in my MLIS program. Wondering if amazon offered it for a better price than my school bookstore did, I came here... only to be very upset by the reviews! I dreaded reading this book. In the end, I didn't find the book to be anywhere near as bad as most reviewers suggest it is.

Yes, it feels like a textbook written for a traditional management class with words like "in a library and information center" thrown in at the end of sentences in an attempt to make the material seem relevant. Yes, the writing is not great - in many places, it is not concise and half a sentence could be removed while keeping its meaning intact. But, it's not a terrible book. My view of it may have to do with the fact that I have a social science background and am actually quite interested in management concepts, which, at base, have a lot to do with psychology. My view may also be colored by the fact that I have an excellent professor who makes the rather dull book come alive through interesting lectures and weekly group case discussions. I suspect that the views of many other reviewers are colored by the fact that they simply have no interest in the subject matter contained in this book. Around 95% of my management class is annoyed by the fact that they have to take a management class. No, it's not intellectual. But is library school? I have worked in the field for quite some time, and the fact of the matter is that most professional librarians will end up in some type of managerial role and/or be involved in designing and implementing projects. True, management skills will ultimately be learned on the job. But this book provides a helpful introduction to concepts. I find the information on motivating workers most interesting, but I find the information about project management most important. Management of people can't always be done "by the book." Planning and project management is also different in every situation, but I have no doubt that, as graduates of my program have done, I will end up referring to this book when I need to create a strategic plan or plan a project, etc..

Bottom line: If you were an English Lit. (or philosophy... etc.) major in college, like about 75% of my class, you will probably have no interest in management concepts, and even the best book will bore you. If you are open to the possibility of enjoying a management class, you'll find this book to be adequate if not wonderful.

After reading the other reviews of this book, my expectations were pretty low. I've been pleasantly surprised; it's actually a good management book. Granted, I may be biased since I have an MBA and teach business management courses. The book is very comprehensive and covers all the key management concepts. I thought the authors did a good and thorough job of presenting the material. I was able to glean new insights on a familiar subject. I purchased this book because it was required for my MLS course but I will definitely hold on to it.

my other management textbooks were able to cover nearly the same amount of information in 1/4 the space without being needlessly complex or as paralizingly boring. it would be an excellent cure for insomnia. professors PLEASE don't make anyone buy this thing.

Well, I had problems with both the content and the style of this book. The content is just, well, banal. So much of what is said seems trite. As for the style, I found it bland, arid, and jargony. There isn't a witty or well-crafted sentence in the book. Ideas are seldom stated plainly. Pleonasms abound. Take this sentence: "the more successful the performance in relation to the goals, the greater the degree of satisfaction experienced". The phrase "in relation to the goals" adds nothing. Nor do "degree" or "experienced". Why not just say, "the more successful the performance, the greater the satisfaction"? Perhaps that just doesn't sound clever enough.

Anyway, this book could have been written in half as many pages. Think of the waste of trees and ink, not to mention the time of the poor students who have to read it for class.

One out of five.