- Email: [email protected]
Total quality management in libraries: A sourcebook
a publisher, he understands the industry and the issues which need to be addressed. As a former teacher, he presents his material clearly and in a textbook format with chapter summaries and extensive notes. The first two chapters provide an excellent overview of the changing industry environment in which publishers operate. He cites the important studies which describe the information age and characterizes the way in which the business-driven information economy and the consumer-driven entertainment economy are converging to create a new paradigm within which new communications media are developing. He presents an environment in which the new media are taking their place alongside existing media without displacing the existing media. Print based books, magazines, and newspapers will continue to flourish as well new combinations and formats. The author then identifies seven interactive components which define the publisher’s decision mix. These elements are: Material: The information create that content; Mode: How content visual, and aural; Medium:
content and the processes which
is expressed,
for example,
textual,
How the material is stored and displayed;
Means: How the content is delivered; Market: Determination Management: ties; and
of audience;
The infrastructure
that supports these activi-
Money: Who pays for the enterprise
and in what way.
Focusing on content, and following the core concept of keeping content digital, the author explores each of these areas and identifies the new publishing opportunities. He discussed the benefits of publishing on demand in various formats and the potential markets opened by this strategy. The relative benefits of individual formats such as books and newspapers, online services, and videocassets are discussed in terms of how they fit into our information stream. The new publishing work is described as one in which formats interact and converge. The market and consumer demand, not technology, will set the limits. Traditional formats such as the book will not be displaced but will be complemented by the many new formats. The chapters focusing on management and money address the business issues of maximizing profit and staying ahead of the curve. Standard management information is provided within the context of publishing. Issues of concern to information professionals often take second place to the emphasis on the bottom line. For example, the management of intellectual property is discussed but not the issue of intellectual property rights. While the author’s intended audience is the publishing industry, much of the content deserves a wider readership. The author provides a good review and analysis of the challenges to traditional publishing and in doing so enlarges our understanding of the complexities of providing information content in a world of expanded formats and new audiences.-Ann E. Prentice, Dean, College of Library & Information Services, University of Maryland, 4105 Hornbake Bldg., College Park, MD 209742.
322
The Journal
of Academic
Librarianship
Total Quality Management in Libraries: A Sourcebook, edited by Rosanna M. O’Neill. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1994. xvi, 191~. $25.00 (paper). ISBN 1-56308247-0. If you are looking for a step-by-step how-to-do-it book on total quality management (TQM) look elsewhere. The author, who was the Chief of the Cataloging Department, Pennsylvania State University, at the time of publication, clearly states, in the introduction, that this book “is meant to be a reference work, as well as a source of information on total quality management for libraries. It is by no means a comprehensive tool for implementing TQM in your setting.” Starting with the premise that the reader may be only vaguely familiar with TQM principles and building on previous readings, the first 121 pages of this volume are a collection of 13 articles and reprints, each with its own bibliography. The readings are followed by a 28-page annotated bibliography; five appendices of additional information, including the Internet address for TQM Listservs; a 12-page glossary of TQM terms; and a five-page index. The readings focus on the work of W. Edward Deming and his 14 points: creative constancy of purpose; adopt the new philosophy; cease dependence on mass inspection; end the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag; improve constantly; institute training; adopt and institute leadership; drive out fear; break down barriers; eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets; eliminate numerical quotas and goals; remove barriers; encourage education and self-improvement; and take action to accomplish the transformation. Unlike management by objective, TQM is based on customer satisfaction versus objectives. Not everything is new in TQM. When reading about quality circles whose purpose is to make a recommendation to management to solve a specific problem, one sees how similar it is to a typical university ad-hoc committee that cuts across administrative structures. A key concept of TQM is that lack of achievement is most likely caused by system failure rather than by individual performance. Also, a unit of an organization may implement TQM without the entire organization implementing it. In addition to original material, the readings include reprints from Advances in Librarianship, ARL Current Issues, Aslib Proceedings, The Australian Library Journal, Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, College & Research Libraries, Library Journal, Library Management (Bradford, West Yorkshire), and Show Me Libraries. To supplement the work, O’Neill states, in her introduction, that she will be updating the bibliography via the Penn State University Library Gopher. As of January 1995, there are no postings, and a phone call to the library and a check of the Penn online phone directory indicate that she is no longer on the library staff. Her Internet mail was returned. Nonetheless, this work is recommended for library science collections and for libraries considering TQM and needing a source book.-Bernard H. Holicky, Director, The Library, Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, IN 46323-2590.
content and the processes which
is expressed,
for example,
textual,
How the material is stored and displayed;
Means: How the content is delivered; Market: Determination Management: ties; and
of audience;
The infrastructure
that supports these activi-
Money: Who pays for the enterprise
and in what way.
Focusing on content, and following the core concept of keeping content digital, the author explores each of these areas and identifies the new publishing opportunities. He discussed the benefits of publishing on demand in various formats and the potential markets opened by this strategy. The relative benefits of individual formats such as books and newspapers, online services, and videocassets are discussed in terms of how they fit into our information stream. The new publishing work is described as one in which formats interact and converge. The market and consumer demand, not technology, will set the limits. Traditional formats such as the book will not be displaced but will be complemented by the many new formats. The chapters focusing on management and money address the business issues of maximizing profit and staying ahead of the curve. Standard management information is provided within the context of publishing. Issues of concern to information professionals often take second place to the emphasis on the bottom line. For example, the management of intellectual property is discussed but not the issue of intellectual property rights. While the author’s intended audience is the publishing industry, much of the content deserves a wider readership. The author provides a good review and analysis of the challenges to traditional publishing and in doing so enlarges our understanding of the complexities of providing information content in a world of expanded formats and new audiences.-Ann E. Prentice, Dean, College of Library & Information Services, University of Maryland, 4105 Hornbake Bldg., College Park, MD 209742.
322
The Journal
of Academic
Librarianship
Total Quality Management in Libraries: A Sourcebook, edited by Rosanna M. O’Neill. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1994. xvi, 191~. $25.00 (paper). ISBN 1-56308247-0. If you are looking for a step-by-step how-to-do-it book on total quality management (TQM) look elsewhere. The author, who was the Chief of the Cataloging Department, Pennsylvania State University, at the time of publication, clearly states, in the introduction, that this book “is meant to be a reference work, as well as a source of information on total quality management for libraries. It is by no means a comprehensive tool for implementing TQM in your setting.” Starting with the premise that the reader may be only vaguely familiar with TQM principles and building on previous readings, the first 121 pages of this volume are a collection of 13 articles and reprints, each with its own bibliography. The readings are followed by a 28-page annotated bibliography; five appendices of additional information, including the Internet address for TQM Listservs; a 12-page glossary of TQM terms; and a five-page index. The readings focus on the work of W. Edward Deming and his 14 points: creative constancy of purpose; adopt the new philosophy; cease dependence on mass inspection; end the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag; improve constantly; institute training; adopt and institute leadership; drive out fear; break down barriers; eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets; eliminate numerical quotas and goals; remove barriers; encourage education and self-improvement; and take action to accomplish the transformation. Unlike management by objective, TQM is based on customer satisfaction versus objectives. Not everything is new in TQM. When reading about quality circles whose purpose is to make a recommendation to management to solve a specific problem, one sees how similar it is to a typical university ad-hoc committee that cuts across administrative structures. A key concept of TQM is that lack of achievement is most likely caused by system failure rather than by individual performance. Also, a unit of an organization may implement TQM without the entire organization implementing it. In addition to original material, the readings include reprints from Advances in Librarianship, ARL Current Issues, Aslib Proceedings, The Australian Library Journal, Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, College & Research Libraries, Library Journal, Library Management (Bradford, West Yorkshire), and Show Me Libraries. To supplement the work, O’Neill states, in her introduction, that she will be updating the bibliography via the Penn State University Library Gopher. As of January 1995, there are no postings, and a phone call to the library and a check of the Penn online phone directory indicate that she is no longer on the library staff. Her Internet mail was returned. Nonetheless, this work is recommended for library science collections and for libraries considering TQM and needing a source book.-Bernard H. Holicky, Director, The Library, Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, IN 46323-2590.