New from ALA

However much one learns while studying for that MSLS degree, some skills are learned on the job—perhaps with the help of a guide like Be a Great Boss: One Year to Success by Catherine Hakala-Ausperk. Part of the ALA Guides for the Busy Librarian series, the book provides a month-by-month program, starting with “Attitude” and ending with “Your Future.” In between are short chapters on hiring and firing, customer service, planning, budgeting, and other familiar management topics. Each chapter includes a worksheet. Though this won’t take the place of more in-depth guides, it offers a digestible approach to the basics.

Indexed. 252p. $50. 978-0-8389-1068-9

The practice of coaching in organizations has grown tremendously since the first edition of Ruth F. Metz’s Coaching in the Library: A Management Strategy for Achieving Excellence was published in 2001. The new edition has been updated with new forms. It also adds an annotated list of best resources, reflecting the proliferation of coaching resources over the past few years. Metz believes that coaching is about more than problem-solving, and her guide shows how it can be applied by libraries on a broader scale to improve organizational effectiveness.

Indexed. 112p. $50. 978-0-8389-1037-5