Week 02 - Strategic Management Issues

Week 2: Table of Contents

Topic/Focus: Strategic Management Issues

• Strategic management issues as it relates specifically to library technologies and project management
• Trends spotting: Shifting trend in libraries as it relates to technologies and tools
• Staffing: Core competencies, keeping staff motivated and engaged, growing outside their comfort zones
• Managing resources and budgets including consolidation and downsizing
• Funding, grants
• Selling ideas to management
• Organizational policies and politics

Speaker(s)

• Sam Clay, Director, Fairfax County Public Library, Fairfax, Virginia

Exercises and Assignments

Hands-on Training in Class

• We'll play around with Nitle's Marratech Web conferencing application and learn more about its features and functionality in preparation for Week 3's class. Please see our discussion forums area for basic requirements and tutorials. 
• *Remember to bring your headsets to this class as well as to all our additional classes.***

Independent Learning

Complete the following items before we meet for Week 2's class:

• Go through SLA's 23 Things RSS & Newsreaders module to learn more about RSS and readers.
• Start monitoring sites using Google reader (or an alternative reader like Bloglines).
  • Add the following RSS feeds to your feed reader: Current Cites, Forrester's blog for Information & Knowledge Management Professionals, Second Life Library Project, and Second Life Things To Do.
  • Select a minimum of five more sites that are RSS enabled that relate to information technologies and/or project management. Add selected sites to your Google reader.

Readings and Resources

Topic-focused

• de Stricker, Ulla (March 2008).  "When 'Trust Me, It's a Good Idea,' Won't Cut It," Searcher, 16(3), p. 30 (6).  Available on ProQuest.  Notes: Article offers a good structure for building a business case. (See restricted readings area.)
• OCLC's Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World. A 2007 report to OCLC membership. URL: http://www.oclc.org/reports/sharing/default.htm (accessed 1/1/2009). Please review the following sections (PDF): Introduction (and methodology) and U.S. Library Directors.
• Special Libraries Association's (SLA) Competencies for Information Professionals. URL: http://www.sla.org/content/learn/comp2003/index.cfm (accessed 6/29/2008).
• WebJunction's Sustaining Public Access Computing Programs: Technology and Management Competencies. URL: http://webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=15659 (accessed 1/1/2009). Please read the following two PDFs:
  • Public Access Computing Technology Competencies (PDF)
  • Sustaining Public Access Computing Programs (PDF)

Team Experience

• Jennings, Nancy, and Chris Collins (2007). "Virtual or Virtually U: Educational Institutions in Second Life," International Journal of Social Sciences, 2 (3), 180-187. URL: http://www.waset.org/ijss/v2/v2-3-28.pdf (accessed 1/4/2009).
• Professional associations:
  • ALA's wiki: Second Life. URL: http://wikis.ala.org/professionaltips/index.php/Second_Life (accessed 4/3/2008).
  • SLA's wiki: Second Life. URL: http://wiki.sla.org/display/SLASECONDLIFE/ (accessed 7/12/2008).