Project Management in Libraries: On Time, On Budget, On Target

Carly Wiggins Searcy

9780838917190

112 pages

6 x 9

A recent study showed that only 53 percent of projects come in on budget and only 49 percent on schedule. So what does it take to be an on-time finisher? Successful project management may seem like a quixotic pursuit, but it doesn’t have to be. Searcy, a certified Project Management Professional as well as a librarian, takes readers through mastering the key skills that will make it happen: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and closing. Applying project management principles in a library-project context, this book provides to-the-point guidance on

• running effective and productive meetings by using a checklist approach;
• treating people fairly while openly sharing information;
• ways to simplify workflows by choosing the most suitable software program;
• how to write a project charter;
• the agile concept of self-organizing teams;
• identifying risks and planning for the downside;
• managing scope creep by maintaining realistic expectations; and
• using a checklist to close projects so they stay closed.    

Library staff at all levels will be feel confident planning and executing projects with Searcy’s expert tutelage at hand.

rviewing methods. Booklist's praise of the previous edition holds true with this new edition: "The work is laudable for its practicality, clarity, cogency, and supportive data....In short, an essential read for all current and future reference librarians."