An Introduction to Library Management/ Ashis Biswas, S. Nausheen and Biplab Chakrabarti. – Kolkata: Progressive Publishers, 2011. – Rs. 350.

The present book “An Introduction to Library Management” is specially meant for the use of the LIS students but LIS professionals interested in the subject will also find the book much to their interest and use. It has tried to cover the whole field of library management as comprehensively as is possible within a single volume. The book is divided into fifteen chapters. The first chapter ‘Management Theory’ deals with management principles and their application to library management. Second chapter discusses the organisational and administrative aspects of library. A complete chapter is dedicated to system theory and its application to library and information system in chapter three. Planning process plays a pivotal role in management; hence a chapter on it has been included. New concepts in management like Management by Objectives (MBO), Management Information System (MIS), Operation Research (OR), Participative Management (PM) and Conflict Management are discussed in the next chapter. Collection development is one of the key functions of library.  For this, three separate chapters are given under the heading – ‘Collection Management’, ‘Technical Processing’ and ‘Collection Maintenance’. The next chapter deals with preservation, conservation and binding of library materials. In this age of information, LIS professional need to be trained properly to be multidimensional, hence a chapter on human Resource Management (HRM) encapsulating all the necessary aspects comes next. Chapter on financial management covers financial principles, sources of funds, financial estimation, budgets, accounting and audit.  Total Quality Management (TQM) and its application in library have been discussed in the next chapter. As the role of committee is very crucial in the management, there is one chapter on library committee and rules. Standards play a significant role in maintaining a uniformed pattern in every function. Keeping it in view, the final chapter has dealt with standards for libraries. A relative index has also been provided at the end for the easy search of various key concepts.

AUTHORS                                      

Ashis Biswas                                                                                                                              Librarian, Victoria Institution (College),

Kolkata – 700 009                                                                     

Email: biswas.ashis@yahoo.com

Biplab Chakrabarti                                                                                                                      Professor, Department of Library and Information Science,

University of Calcutta                                        

Email: bcliscu@gmail.com

PROGRESSIVE PUBLISHERS                                                                                                            37a, College Street, Kolkata 700 073                                                                                          Email: progressivepubl@yahoo.co.in                                                                                                          Ph No. 033 22196539;  Mob No. 8961203029