Due Sept. 3, 1996

Anticipated Length: approximately 2-3 typescript pages

Select a recent (i.e., published since 1990), medium-length (@150-200 pages) book on a management topic. It can be concerned with the role of the manager, (e.g., a supervisor, a library/information director, a small business owner, a department head) or with management in a particular setting (e.g., in a school or academic library, in a corporate setting, a public agency), or it can focus on a particular aspect of management, such as budgeting, working with difficult people, project management, public relations. Or it can concentrate on the organization structure – team-based organization, workin at remote sites, general organization design – or it can examine a current issue i management, such as customer service, flex time, cultural diversity in the workplace, managing internet or intranet information services, or the like.

Pick something that interests you. Note on the syllabus that you will have to write a research paper. It might be wise to choose a book that will give you some background on your research paper topic.

When you have chosen your book, subscribe to the listserv INLS131-1 listserv and send a message stating the author, title, publisher and date of the book you have chosen. As all the other subscribers will see your message, I am hopeful that it will encourage you all to read different books.

You may find it helpful to look for one or two book reviews to ascertain how the critics reacted to it, although for many titles, you may not find any reviews.

Write a brief synopsis of the book’s main points (@ 1 page), comment on how you think these points might apply (or not) in your anticipated future work environment, and identify one or two follow-up questions that occur to you after reading the book that might prove interesting to investigate (@1 page).

Provide full bibliographic citations to the book and to the review articles if you find any. Remember, the attractive appearance of your paper is important in management.

Email: Evelyn Daniel

Revised 8/2/96