Small Public Library Management

Cindy Fesemyer is the principal of Fesemyer Consulting. Her areas of expertise include community engagement, staff and trustee training, strategic planning, and meeting facilitation. Cindy served for seven years as the director of the Columbus (WI) Public Library, which was a finalist for Library Journal’s 2017 Best Small Library in America award. Cindy served for eight years as a trustee for the Madison Public Library and has taught academic and continuing education courses at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s iSchool. She was also the community services consultant for the Wisconsin State Library, and she sat on the board of the Public Library Association. After many years of work in the library field, Cindy earned her MLIS degree in 2012 from UW-Madison.Christina Jones currently serves on the Monona (WI) Public Library’s board. She formerly worked as a community engagement librarian at the Madison Public Library and also served as director of the Altoona (WI) Public Library. She earned her MLIS degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012. Christina is particularly interested in collections, community engagement, and strategic planning, and how libraries can help facilitate connection and community cohesiveness.

• Acknowledgments Introduction: Small Library, Big Job Chapter 1: An Overview of Public Libraries Small Library Defined Public Library Structure in the United States Library Organizational Overview Chapter 2: Governance Overview Trustee Selection Trustee Responsibilities The Library Board–Library Director Relationship Library Board Bylaws Effective Board Meetings Hiring and Supervising of the Library Director Chapter 3: Finances and Budget Where Does the Money Come from? Preparing a Budget Budget Review Accountability Chapter 4: Intellectual Freedom Challenges to Materials and Programming Privacy Chapter 5: Human Resources: Hiring, Evaluating, Training, and Firing Personnel Management Personnel Policies Hiring Personnel Records Work Schedules Compensation Benefits Supervision Discipline and Grievances Professional Development Chapter 6: Policies The Library Board and Policy Development Essential Policies Chapter 7: Facilities Create an Approachable Space Safety and Maintenance Issues Renovation, Expansion, and New Construction Chapter 8: Broaden Your Network Advocacy Starts with Stellar Customer Service Community Engagement: Get to Know Local Officials Community Engagement: Get to Know the Community Political Advocacy Crafting the Message Who Should Advocate? Chapter 9: Strategic Planning Elements of the Strategic Plan Communication Data Collection Planning Process Chapter 10: Services and Programs Services Programs Promoting Services and Programs Chapter 11: Collections Selection Evaluation and Weeding Organization of Collections Conclusion: Parting Words Bibliography Index