Beth Ashmore

A crucial book for the modern librarian.

It can sometimes be too much - the world of information science being rocked to the core by technology AND budgets being slashed to the bone due to this down economy. Today's librarian cannot be blamed for feeling ill equiped to deal with these game changing issues. Since they will not be going away, at least not anytime soon, it is up to the librarian to develop skills that allow her/him to navigate these treacherous waters. One necessary skill, it not the most important one, is the art of negotiation. At first glance this would seem to be more in the domain of business or law but now it is the skill that can make or break the librarian. The old players and methods are either gone or vastly changed and the librarian has the responsiblity for getting the best bargain with tight cash flow. Nothing less than the survival of the library is at stake on a skill that the librarian almost certainly didn't learn in her/his colllege training. Enter this book.

The authors of this book attempt to change the mind set of the librarian form "how can I help you" to one of formulating needs and optimal outcomes and learning communication skills that will bring those about. Beautifully honed in to the special needs of libriaries, this book goes over how to deal with vendors/publishers, consortia, funding sources and yes, even patrons. Included are discussions about e-resources and open source, areas that may be difficult for traditionally trained librarians to navigate. The book is heavily annotated and contains a bibliography and several appendiices for anyone wishing to research a topic further.

I found the book to be very useful in its information. It read much more like a textbook then your more typical negotiation how-to, which I found to be a slight negative. Two items really stood out for me in this book. First, was the extensive interviewing and citing of leaders in the world of libary science. This provided real world examples of successes and pitfalls in regards to negotiation. Second, I really enjoyed the chapter of negotiation hardball in which the authors discuss what to do when a negotiation becomes difficult. Using Musashi's _A Book of Five Rings_ (a martial arts guide), the skills are taught of how to hang tough in a negotiation fight. The juxapostion of library negotiation and combat was unexpected and masterful - great reading. This is definitely a book every librarian should read and refer to often. Very much recommended.… (mehr)

Ashmore, Grogg and Weddle offer an accessible, engaging, and easy to read guide to negotiation within the world of libraries. Whether you are a librarian responsible for working with vendors or simply want to learn how to better negotiate within your institution, this books provides useful strategies. The authors bring in a wealth of outside material from the business world, but present it in a language and context familiar to librarians. This work would be beneficial to librarians of any type: academic and public, especially.… (mehr)

One thing that is not taught in library school is how to negotiate. In fact, there are a lot of important business aspects of the profession that are glossed over, instead focusing on how to find information. These people will eventually end up running libraries, so it is important to be able to do these things. This book is an excellent primer on negotiating, focusing on the digital age. This is a new frontier for libraries, so it's important that we do it right in order to maximize our budgets.… (mehr)