LIS 650-01 – Fall 2008
Library Administration and Management
Syllabus
(3 Credit Hours)
Thursdays - 5:30 to 8:20 p.m.
Television Campus Locations:
Main Campus - 186 Stone
Charlotte – 126 Fretwell
Course Web site: http://blackboard.uncg.edu
Instructor: Anthony Chow, Ph.D.
aschow@uncg.edu
Office: Curry 305A
Email:
Office Hours: T/R, 2:00-4:00
Introduction
I have many years of experience in management and leadership positions in a variety of
settings. During this time I have made a lot of mistakes as my leadership and
management style has evolved over the years and, through these mistakes, have first hand
experience and hard earned wisdom about what works and what does not. I also have had
the good fortune of learning under mentors and accessing quality literature that
collectively have helped guide and shape my current leadership and management style
and philosophies. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to guide you through your own
personal operational definition of leadership, management, and administration.
What I do not have, however, is first hand management experience in a library setting.
Fortunately, all is not lost as my teaching style and pedagogy is to serve as a facilitator, a
kind of information tour guide, towards the development of your own personal
operational definition and tangible skills in the areas of leadership, management, and
administration. I will supplement your readings, exercises, and general growth in this
area with my own extensive personal and professional experience as well as first-hand
accounts from current and former library administrators.
Your role as a student in this course is to build your own model of what you think is good
leadership, management, and administration theory and then practice and hone these
skills throughout the semester and beyond.
My goal is to help you through this process by guiding your path through exposing you to
a variety of material and then having you frequently apply them, making mistakes and
learning from them just as I and any other excellent managers or leaders have done
before you.
LIS 650 Syllabus
Fall 2008
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Purpose
This course bridges theory and practice. You will read, disseminate, and apply various
aspects of leadership and management each week in this course. At the end you will be
comfortable both leading and being a productive member of a team.
You will also be asked to both lead and follow as a team member throughout the
semester. Learning is a contact sport, hands-on activity.
Student Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, you will be able to:
1) Create raving fans out of internal and external customers.
2) Lead and manage teams effectively.
3) Serve as an effective team member and follower.
4) Resolve conflict effectively.
5) Apply the 12 secrets to world class management.
6) Lead and manage through peoples’ emotions.
7) Articulate your own personal leadership and management model and philosophies.
8) Identify leadership and administrative challenges facing local libraries.
9) Conduct a needs assessment that identifies current opportunities for improvement for
local libraries.
10) Demonstrate advanced communication and organizational management skills.
11) Demonstrate advanced writing and presentation skills.
Required Texts
1. Blanchard, K., Bowles, S. (1993). Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To
Customer Service. New York, NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc.
2. Buckingham, M., Coffman, C. (1999). First Break All the Rules. New York, NY:
Simon & Schuster.
3. Goleman, D. (2002). Primal Leadership: realizing the power of emotional
intelligence. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School.
4. Woodward, J. (2004). Creating the Customer-driven Library: Building on the
Bookstore Model. Chicago, IL: ALA.
Recommended Supplementary Text:
5. Lankford, M. (2006). Leadership and the School Librarian: Essays from Leaders
in the Field. Toronto, Canada: Linsworth.
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Course Policies
Weekly participation and attendance is required. Each student is responsible for signing
his/her initials on the attendance roster and will be allowed one unexcused absence
without penalty. Each additional unexcused absence, defined as an absence without prior
notice and supporting written documentation, will lead to a 2% or 2 point deduction
against the student’s final grade.
No late assignments will be accepted. Please submit all assignment electronically. Email
me directly with your assignment before the deadline if you are having trouble with
uploading or Blackboard in general. I will still ask you to submit through Blackboard
prior to grading.
Grading/Evaluation & Assignments
This course uses a 100 point total scale. Each point therefore is worth 1% of your final
grade that together represents a compilation of a semester’s worth of work as follows:
Assignment
Read & Reacts
Description
Short answer bi-weekly reactions to
readings via Blackboard. Submit
through Blackboard.
Grade
18 points total (3 total,
6 points each)
Weekly Discussion
Two weekly discussion postings - One
answer to discussion topic and one
response to a classmates' answer.
Discussion topics and responses will
be posted on Blackboard.
Conduct an individual or group
interview of a library administrator
regarding her/his major roles and
responsibilities. Individual 5 page
minimum paper, double spaced, 12
point font plus oral in-class
presentation using PowerPoint.
Follow outline provided and submit
through Blackboard. See exemplary
papers on Blackboard.
13 points total (13
discussions, .5 point
per post)
Assignment 1 – Library
Administrator Interview
and PowerPoint
Presentation (DUE
Sunday 10/5 by midnight)
LIS 650 Syllabus
Fall 2008
15 points (10 points for
paper + 5 points for
oral presentation)
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Assignment 2 – Library
Administrator and
Organizational Ideal
Vision (DUE Sunday 11/9
by midnight)
Individual paper on how you would
12 points
serve as a library administrator using
the principles espoused in the readings.
5 page minimum paper, double spaced,
12 point font. Follow outline provided
and submit through Blackboard. See
exemplary papers on Blackboard.
Assignment 3 – Library
Needs Assessment (DUE
Sunday 12/7 by midnight)
Group assignment and paper where
your team will conduct a needs
assessment of a library, present a
written report, and make a formal inclass team presentation. 10 page
minimum group paper, double spaced,
12 point font. Follow outline provided
and submit through Blackboard. See
exemplary papers on Blackboard.
Final Assignment –
This will be an opportunity for you to
Leadership and
reflect on the semester, the readings,
Management Treatise
and your overall experience and
(DUE Sunday 12/14 by
evolution as a leader and manager.
midnight)
Most importantly, you will be asked to
put forth your general leadership and
management model and values and
react to typical leadership/management
issues that will serve as a guide for you
in the future. 7 page minimum
individual paper, double spaced, 12
point font. Follow outline provided
and submit through Blackboard. See
exemplary papers on Blackboard.
Team Evaluations (DUE
Each team member will rate each other
Sunday 12/14 by midnight) on a scale from 1-10 (1=lowest,
10=highest) along with anonymous
comments. The average rating will be
used as the team member performance
grade. Evaluation sheet will be
provided.
TOTAL
22 points (17 points for
written report, 5 points
for oral team
presentation using
PowerPoint)
15 points
5 points
100 points
To assist in translating letter grades from points, the following pattern is used.
A
= 93% and above
C
= 69-72%
A-
= 89-92%
C-
= 65-68%
B+
= 85-88%
D+
= 61-64%
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B
= 81-84%
D
= 57-60%
B-
= 77-80%
D-
= 53-56%
C+
= 73-76%
F
= below 52%
Students will also be provided with two opportunities to evaluate the course, first with a
mid-semester anonymous online survey I use to gauge how the course is going, and
second through the university’s formal evaluation at the end of the semester.
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Evaluation Standards (Please read carefully.)
"A" work fulfills all assignment requirements with an outstandingly high degree of
quality. This work exceeds stated quality standards.
"B" work fulfills all assignment requirements with a good degree of quality. This work
reaches stated quality standards.
"C" work fulfills most assignment requirements with a fair degree of quality. This work
reaches some stated quality standards.
"D" work fulfills some assignment requirements to a mostly poor degree of quality. This
work reaches only a few stated quality standards.
ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS
Timeliness, effort, and the overall quality of the content of your submissions are the most
important criteria. Quality is defined as your ability to articulate your thoughts in an
intellectual, professional manner that reflects analytical thought, engagement with the
course concepts and material, and personal interpretation and opinion. As a result your
papers, presentations, and interactions with peers should reflect accurate or data
supported content, neatness, good formatting, appropriate use of grammar and
punctuation, accurate spelling, and readable print.
Please understand that your written, oral, and non-verbal communication professional
persona will collectively represent a major factor in your future career and individual
success.
Please contact the instructor immediately if you foresee a problem in meeting assignment
deadlines or if a serious problem arises during the semester.
ASSIGNMENTS/RESPONSIBILITIES:
Student participation
This course requires a regular degree of participation in small concentrated dosages. You
are to come to class, submit weekly read and reacts, and participate and engage actively
with the instructor and your fellow peers. My former students know my courses to be
“easy hard classes” where you will be asked to work really hard consistently throughout
the semester but not be overwhelmed in terms of complex, difficult exams or
assignments.
Assignment Descriptions
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Weekly Read & Reacts
In order to emphasize the main points of course readings or lectures you will be asked to
read and respond to a series of questions usually every three weeks. These are specifically
designed to assist you in processing what you have read in an active, engaging fashion.
For the most part, read and reacts will automatically be assigned full credit (4 points)
unless the work reflects an obvious lack of effort on your part (i.e. responses that are too
short or simply reflect the reading verbatim). Answer the questions through your own
words and understanding of what the concepts mean. Generally responses should be
around one or two paragraphs per question.
You will only have to respond to eight questions total. If you complete all questions you
will receive up to one point extra credit.
Assignment 1 – Library Administrator Interview and
PowerPoint Presentation
(DUE Sunday 10/5 by midnight; 15 points - 10 points for paper + 5 points for oral
presentation)
For this assignment, other than a library, you may also use as your organization a school
library media program or information organization. The best way to find out how to be an
excellent library administrator is to meet and talk with one. Either individually or as a
team you should interview a current library administrator and identify the organization
and how it is organized, what the administrator’s typical tasks are, the skills he/she thinks
are necessary to be an excellent administrator, and what the opportunities for
improvement are for his/her specific library or organization. You may want to inquire
about the possibility of conducting a need assessment at his/her organization for
Assignment 3 as well.
If your team should choose to conduct a group interview, each member of the team
should submit a paper regarding his/her interpretation of the interview and respective
findings.
Individual Paper - 5 page minimum, double spaced, 12 point font. An outline will
be provided for you to use.
Individual PowerPoint Presentation – Using PowerPoint (I want you to practice
using this as it is the software of choice for making professional presentations)
conduct a 5-10 minute in-class presentation on what you learned.
Assignment 2 – Library Administrator and Organizational
Ideal Vision (DUE Sunday 11/19 by midnight; 12 points)
Raving Fans outlines ways in which organizations can exceed the expectations of their
customers. First Break All the Rules introduces ground breaking research on what the
world’s best managers do. Primal Leadership covers how to lead through emotions both
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individually and throughout an organization. Creating the Customer-driven Library
discusses how for-profit bookstores have borrowed from and improved on many facets of
libraries. Furthermore, this will be an opportunity for you to articulate how you would
utilize strategic planning and budgeting to run an effective organization.
Assignment 2 presents you with an opportunity to outline an “ideal vision” for how you
would direct a library, school library media program, or information organization
utilizing concepts from all four books and course lectures. A detailed outline will be
provided for you so that you can cover each area in comprehensive detail.
This paper should serve as your blue print for how you might run your own library,
school library media program, or information organization some day in the future :o).
5-page minimum, double spaced, 12 point font. There is no maximum page limit as I
encourage in-depth thought and reactions to our assignments especially personal
reflection on how the readings and course concepts are meaningful to you and can be
applied.
Assignment 3 – Library Needs Assessment (DUE Sunday 12/7 by
midnight; 22 points total)
The ability to conduct a needs assessment is a critical skill for all leaders, managers, and
organizations. It is one thing to paint an ideal vision of what “should be” in terms of
overseeing a library; it is quite another matter, however, to actually determine what the
needs are of a library or organization’s internal (employees) and external (users)
customers.
In this assignment your team will learn how to conduct a formal needs assessment, the
difference between what is and what should be, and this assessment will help you
ascertain what the specific needs of both employees and customers are and, most
importantly, where gaps or opportunities for improvement exist.
This assignment will involve creating a series of interview and/or survey questions for
both library employees and general users. There is no minimum or maximum number of
users your group must have participate; however, please keep in mind overall validity and
power of your findings will be determined by the total number of participants you talk to.
Group Paper: 17 points = a written report needs to be turned in by one member of
your team via Blackboard. 10 page minimum, double spaced, 12 point font.
Prepare your paper as a report to be delivered to the library or organization in
which the needs assessment was conducted. This in fact should occur given the
agreement of all members of your team.
Group Presentation: 5 points = a professional 10-15 minute group presentation
regarding your findings. Prepare your group presentation in order to explain
your study and “convince us” of the significance of your findings and
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recommendations. Note: If you indeed feel your study is not valid feel free to
report this as well but still in a professional, compelling fashion. Business attire is
required.
Final Assignment – Leadership and Management Treatise (DUE
Sunday 12/14 by midnight; 15 points total)
In conjunction with the course objectives, you will be asked to cumulatively speak to
specific questions covered over the semester through our readings, lectures, and class and
team discussions. This will be an opportunity for you to reflect on the semester, the
readings, and your overall experience and evolution as a leader and manager. Most
importantly, you will be asked to put forth your general leadership and management
model and values and react to typical leadership/management issues that will serve as a
guide for you in the future. 7 page minimum individual paper, double spaced, 12 point
font. Follow outline provided and submit through Blackboard.
Team Evaluations (DUE Sunday 12/14 by midnight; 5 points)
Accountability to your teammates and working well with others is a critical component to
serving as both a leader and follower on a team. At the end of the semester you and each
member of your team will be able to rate one another on a scale of 1 to 10 (1=lowest,
10=highest) with the average rating serving as the final 10 points of your grade. An
evaluation form will be provided and your comments will be shared with each of your
respective teammates so be constructive and respectful in what you say about teammembers.
You will evaluate yourself and be evaluated by your teammates on five primary criteria:
1. Communication
2. Work Ethic
3. Reliability
4. Productivity
5. Team Work
COURSE CALENDAR
Week
1
Dates
R – 8/28
LIS 650 Syllabus
Topic
Course Introductions; Meet your teams; Leadership and Management
definitions.
Readings
 Raving Fans – pages 1 to 77
 First Break All the Rules – Chapter 1
Assignments Due
 Weekly Discussion 1 – Answer discussion topic and respond to a
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classmates’ response (DUE Sun. 8/31 by midnight; 1 point)
2
R - 9/4
World Class Management: The Three Secrets & 12 Questions
Readings
 Raving Fans – pages 78 to end
 First Break All the Rules – Chapters 2 & 3
Assignments Due
 Weekly Discussion 2 – Answer discussion topic and respond to a
classmates’ response (DUE Sun. 9/7 by midnight; 1 point)
3
R - 9/11
Leadership & Management: Desired ends define the means
Readings
 First Break All the Rules – Chapters 4 & 5
Assignments Due
 Weekly Discussion 3 – Answer discussion topic and respond to a
classmates’ response (DUE Sun. 9/14 by midnight; 1 point)
 Read & React 1 (DUE Sun. 9/14 by midnight; 6 points)
4
R – 9/18
The Four Master Keys of Great Managers; Bookstores vs. Libraries
Readings
 First Break All the Rules – Chapters 6 & 7
 Creating the Customer-driven Library – 1 & 2
Assignments Due
 Weekly Discussion 4 – Answer discussion topic and respond to a
classmates’ response (DUE Sun. 9/21 by midnight; 1 point)
5
6
7
R – 9/25
Emotional Intelligence & Customer Service
Readings
 Creating the Customer-driven Library – 3 & 4
 Primal Leadership – Chapters 1 & 2
R – 10/2
Assignments Due
 Weekly Discussion 5 – Answer discussion topic and respond to a
classmates’ response (DUE Sun. 9/28 by midnight; 1 point)
Leadership Styles and the Use of Technology
Readings
 Creating the Customer-driven Library – 5 & 6
 Primal Leadership – Chapters 3 & 4
R - 10/9
Assignments Due
 Assignment 1 – Library Administrator Interview and PowerPoint
Presentation; DUE Sunday 10/5 by midnight; Submit electronically
through course Web site. (15 points total: 10 for paper, 5 for presentation).
Becoming a Resonant Leader & Organizational Management; Student
Administrator Presentations
Readings
 Creating the Customer-driven Library – 7 & 8
 Primal Leadership – Chapters 5 & 6
Assignments Due
 Weekly Discussion 6 – Answer discussion topic and respond to a
classmates’ response (DUE Sun. 10/12 by midnight; 1 point)
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
8
R - 10/16
Read & React 2 (DUE Sun. 10/12 by midnight; 6 points)
FALL BREAK 10/17 to 10/22 - NO CLASS
Strategic Planning & Organizational Management; Communication Skills
Readings
 Creating the Customer-driven Library – 9 & 10
 Primal Leadership – Chapters 7 & 8
Assignments Due
9
R – 10/23
 None in recognition of Fall Break.
Budgeting & Marketing; Needs Assessment
Readings
 Creating the Customer-driven Library – 11 & 12
 Primal Leadership – Chapters 9 & 10
Assignments Due

10
R - 10/30
Weekly Discussion 7 – Answer discussion topic and respond to a
classmates’ response (DUE Sun. 10/26 by midnight; 1 point)
Technology, the Web, and Project Management
Readings
 Creating the Customer-driven Library – Chapters 13 & 14
 Primal Leadership – Chapters 11 & Appendix A
Assignments Due


11
R - 11/6
Weekly Discussion 8 – Answer discussion topic and respond to a
classmates’ response (DUE Sun. 11/2 by midnight; 1 point)
Read & React 3 (DUE Sun. 11/2 by midnight; 6 points)
Lateral Leadership & Systems Thinking
Readings
 Creating the Customer-driven Library – Chapters 15 & 16
 Other Readings as assigned (posted on Web site)
Assignments Due

12
R - 11/13
Weekly Discussion 9 – Answer discussion topic and respond to a
classmates’ response (DUE Sun. 11/9 by midnight; 1 point)
 Assignment 2 – Library Administrator and Organizational Ideal
Vision (DUE Sunday 11/9 by midnight; 12 points)
Leadership & Management Tools
Readings
 Other Readings as assigned (posted on Web site)
Assignments Due
 Weekly Discussion 10 – Answer discussion topic and respond to a
classmates’ response (DUE Sun. 11/16 by midnight; 1 point)
13
R - 11/20
LIS 650 Syllabus
Application: Hiring & Firing
Readings
 Other Readings as assigned (posted on Web site)
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14
R - 11/27
15
R - 12/4
16
R - 12/11
Assignments Due
 Weekly Discussion 11 – Answer discussion topic and respond to a
classmates’ response (DUE Sun. 11/23 by midnight; 1 point)
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS
NO CLASS
Application: Conflict Resolution
Readings
 Other Readings as assigned (posted on Web site)
Assignments Due
 Needs Assessment Presentations (Due in-class Thurs. 12/4; 10-15 minute
group presentation per team)
 Weekly Discussion 12 – Answer discussion topic and respond to a
classmates’ response (DUE Sun. 12/7 by midnight; 1 point)
 Assignment 4 – Needs Assessment; DUE Sunday 12/7 by midnight;
Submit electronically through course Web site. (20 points total: 17 points
for paper, 3 points for presentation)
LAST WEEK OF CLASSES
Final Class:
 Remaining Needs Assessment Presentations
 Final Thoughts
 Course Evaluations
 End-of-the-year party
Assignments Due
 Remaining Needs Assessment Presentations (Due in-class Thurs. 12/11;
10-15 minute group presentation per team)
 Final Assignment – Leadership and Management Treatise; DUE
Sunday 12/14 by midnight; Submit electronically through course Web site
(13 points).
 Self & Team Evaluations; DUE Sunday 12/14 by midnight; Submit
electronically through course Web site (5 points).
 FINAL Discussion – Answer discussion topic and respond to a classmates’
response (DUE Tues. 12/16 by midnight; 1 point)
ACADEMIC HONOR CODE:
Students are expected to uphold the Academic Honor Code published in
http://www.uncg.edu/saf/studiscp/Honor.html. Each student has the responsibility (1) to
uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student's own work, (2) to
refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the university community, and (3) to
foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the university
community.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT:
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should: (1) register with and
provide documentation to the Office of Disability Services; (2) bring a letter to the
instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type. This should be done
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during the first week of class.
For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact
the
Office of Disability Services
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Suite 208 EUC
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
VOICE 336.334.5440
FAX 336.334.4412
EMAIL ods@uncg.edu
http://ods.dept.uncg.edu/
(This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.)
SYLLABUS CHANGE POLICY: This
syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to
change with advanced notice.
TEAMS
These will be assigned on the first day of class.
Fall 2008 Academic Calendar
August 17–20, Sun.–Wed.
Orientation, Advising, Registration for all students
based on student population and classification
August 19, Tuesday
Fall semester opens
August 19, Tuesday
Orientation for new graduate students, 6:00 P.M.
August 20, Wednesday
State of the Campus Address and Faculty
Convocation
August 21, Thursday
Undergraduate academic suspension appeals
deadline, 5:00 P.M.
August 21, Thursday
Orientation for new graduate students, 9:00 A.M.
August 25, Monday
Classes begin, 8:00 A.M.
August 25–29, Mon.–Fri.
Late registration and schedule adjustment
August 29, Friday
Last day to change course or course section without
special permission
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Fall 2008
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August 29, Friday
Financial Aid satisfactory academic progress appeals
deadline.
Last day to drop course for it not to count in Financial
Aid satisfactory progress locked hours.
August 29, Friday
Last day to drop course for tuition and fees refund
September 1, Monday
Deadline for graduate students to apply to graduate in
December 2008
September 1, Monday
Labor Day holiday. Classes dismissed; offices closed.
September 1–30
Undergraduate students declare or change major in
September.
October 3, Friday
Six weeks progress reports due in University
Registrar’s Office
October 6, Monday
Founders Day
October 17, Friday
Instruction ends for Fall Break, 6:00 P.M.
October 17, Friday
Last day to drop course without academic penalty
October 22, Wednesday
Classes resume after Fall Break, 8:00 A.M.
October 24, Friday
Final deadline for undergraduates to apply to
graduate in December 2008
Oct. 22–Nov. 21, Wed.–Fri. Spring semester advising for continuing students, by
appointment
Nov. 3–23, Mon.–Sun.
Spring 2009 registration for continuing students
November 3, Monday
Final date for December doctoral candidates oral
examinations
November 17, Monday
Deadline for filing signed approval copy of
dissertation, The Graduate School
November 24, Monday
Deadline for filing approval copy of thesis, The
Graduate School
November 25, Tuesday
Instruction ends for Thanksgiving holiday, 10:00 P.M.
December 1, Monday
Classes resume, 8:00 A.M.
December 8, Monday
Last day of classes
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December 9, Tuesday
Final date for complete clearance of December
graduate degree candidates
Deadline for final submission of thesis or dissertation
to The Graduate School
December 9, Tuesday
Reading Day
December 10–12, 15–17,
Wed.–Fri., Mon.–Wed.
Final examinations
December 13, Saturday
Tentative official final exam makeup day
December 18, Thursday
December Commencement, Greensboro Coliseum
December 19, Friday
Tentative official final exam makeup day
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