Books by Rachel Applegate

Library professionals-regardless of whether they operate in a school, public, or academic library setting-need to have effective evaluation skills in order to be accountable to stakeholders and to effect informed improvement. Practical Evaluation Techniques for Librarians provides information and guidance that is highly useful and accessible for all librarians looking to intelligently manage the strengths and weaknesses of their library as well as communicate its value to its stakeholders.Rather than focusing on data-gathering methods appropriate for researchers, the book concentrates on data collection at the local level that enables informed managerial decision-making. It describes and compares techniques that can be used with any level or type of resource-staffing, software, and expertise, for example-in any size library. Author Rachel Applegate makes it clear that accountability is everywhere and imperative, and any librarian can learn the simple techniques to benefit from evaluation.

The purpose of this book is to provide the director of a small college library-typically defined as a facility managed by one to seven librarians-with information on every important managerial function specific to their facilities. This content will be much more useful for these library specialists than that of management books covering generic library management or targeted towards large academic settings. Managing the Small College Library covers the key responsibilities of the small college library director: personnel, planning, budgeting, and serving key constituencies. The author draws upon her in-depth knowledge of bureaucratic, political, and human resources managerial theory to explain how librarians can advance the mission of their library. It also includes an in-depth discussion of tenure and academic status for librarians, and examines the effects of both public and religious affiliation.