| Today, library activities have permeated all aspects of our social life. The functional performance of libraries is essential in today’s Information Age. As one of the decisive factors for library development, library management should be attached great importance to give full play to the functions of libraries. Good library management can standardize, systemize and optimize the use of books and other resources in libraries; therefore, with all the resources run in order and with efficiency, we are able to realize resource sharing and the ultimate utilization and reasonable allocation of the resources. Good library management can also boost cultural communications and cooperation between different cultures, exerting profound influence upon cultural development. Australia, as one of the world’s most developed countries, has rich and advanced experience in library management. This dissertation attempts to shed light on the administrative mechanism of different types of Australian libraries with an emphasis on public libraries and university libraries for the reference of library management researchers.Chapter one introduces the nature, function and significance of libraries and different types of Australian libraries. There are shown to be four types of libraries in Australia:public libraries, academic libraries, school libraries and special libraries. Through this chapter, the reader gains an orientation of the Australian library landscape.Chapter two focuses on the administrative management of Australian libraries, and is divided into two parts:the management system and the administrative structures of the four types of libraries. A general knowledge of the inner structure and management mode of Australian libraries is presented.Chapter three elaborates on the personnel management of Australian libraries. Firstly the constitution of Australian library personnel is introduced-librarians, teacher librarians, library technicians and assistant librarians. Then the qualification certification of each kind of library personnel is explained in detail. The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) establishes eligibility rules for the identification of the library profession and all library and information science practitioners should obtain professional qualifications through formal curricula according to the eligibility rules.Chapter four looks into the business management of Australian libraries. In this chapter, business management is divided into two aspects:information resource management and reader services management. In the context of the Information Age, transformation of libraries and technologies is inevitable. Adjustment of technology structure, collection structure and technical equipment structure are the three major aspects in library transformation. The digital libraries are emerging worldwide in recent years. Australia has developed several digital projects to meet the technological need of the libraries and its people. The National Library of Australia is the leading institution in building digital libraries. Examples of its digital projects are provided in this document as well as projects from other organizations. The comprehensive and excellent reader services management of Australian libraries lies in many aspects:the reader-first service concept, resource sharing activities and projects, special services for the disabled users and multicultural activities.Chapter five addresses the crisis management of Australian libraries. Australia libraries have a series of effective measures against crises including the development of risk assessment guidelines for crisis management; preparing crisis plans for future reference; presupposing crisis situations with organizational response training for quick and effective response; the development of collections protection plans and providing collection recovery methods.Chapter six is the conclusion. It considers the findings of the dissertation and looks into the future of Australian libraries and library management. |
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