Strategic Management for Today's Libraries

The author of this text outlines the different forces affecting libraries and explains how and why librarians must manage external changes just as they manage internal resources. Among the factors are: the political context; innovation; economic issues; the impact of technology; and intellectual freedom. She then explains how librarians can work proactively to turn external forces into positive outcomes for the library, their patrons, and themselves. She maintains that strategic management can spell the difference between a positive role for libraries in their communities and a library unable to keep up with the forces affecting it.