Contemporary library managers face the need to make difficult choices regarding resource allocation in the modern business environment. How Libraries Make Tough Choices in Difficult Times is a practical guide for library managers, offering techniques to analyze existing and potential services, implement best practices for maximizing existing resources, and utilize pressing financial scenarios in order to justify making difficult reallocation decisions. The book begins by asking the fundamental questions of why, what, and how, moving on to look at how to manage expectations and report to both administration and faculty. The book then considers the four 'D's of Do, Delegate, Delay and Drop, before covering project management, and how to understand the mission and objectives of your organisation. The book then focuses on: service quality improvement analyses; identifying underlying issues; reviewing resources; identifying best practice; managing feedback and expectations; and looking at decision making skills and implications.

Author Biography

David Stern is the Associate Dean for Public Services at Milner Library, Illinois State University. David has degrees in Biological Sciences; History & Philosophy of Science; and Library Science, and was the founder and principal of Maximize Information. Previously Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources at Brown University, and Director of Science Libraries at Yale University, David taught library science graduate courses and serves as a consultant and advisor to a number of professional bodies. David served on the Board of Directors (2000-2003) and as the Chair of the Knowledge Management Division (2007-2008) of the Special Libraries Association (SLA), and as Editor of the journal Science and Technology Libraries from 2005-2007. His research interests include electronic retrieval and transmission of data and the development of end-user search systems for both local and remote hosts. He is currently working on the development of standards and cost models for federated full-text search and retrieval systems. David has many articles, several chapters, two edited special issues of Science and Technology Libraries, and a book, Guide to Information Sources in the Physical Sciences, to his credit. He is a regular speaker at conferences.