Project Management in Libraries: On Time, On Budget, On Target (2018)

Project Management in Libraries: On Time, On Budget, On Target (2018)

Carly Wiggins Searcy

ALA Editions

978-0-8389-1719-0

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-budget, 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.