PurposeModern IT‐based loans and delivery automation systems combined with video surveillance and monitoring cameras have enabled new service opportunities and models in public libraries. In Denmark, staffless public libraries have appeared recently in many local communities. This article aims to report on the Danish experiences with open libraries in terms of local community characteristics, their use – visits and loans, characteristics of the users in terms of sex and age and, finally, an analysis of critical success factors revealed in association with open libraries.Design/methodology/approachThe data upon which this article is based were collected during the autumn of 2011 by the Danish Center for Library and Media through an electronic questionnaire to all 97 of Denmark's municipalities.FindingsThe origins of the concept of open libraries were shaped by the opportunities made by a combination of the technological development of automated loans and delivery systems and electronic surveillance techniques. The open library concept has been described as a success in terms of growth rates of visits and increasing number of loans.Originality/valueThe article shows that the concept has been quite successful in terms of use and local support and that it has strengthened the position of the local public libraries in the local communities.
There are similarities between information management (IM) and knowledge management (KM), but the latter is wider in scope and includes (especially) aspects of process and learning which are not major concerns of information management as generally understood. This article presents theoretical considerations on both similarities and differences between IM and KM, and summarises the points made into a conceptual model of basic KM processes. It is emphasised that KM operates in a quite different way from IM and that management must see 'knowledge' in a much wider sense than that of document storage and retrieval per se. The point is made that a knowledge management perspective on business processes, training and achievement of business objectives is relevant in a different way from IM which has up till now been used in an information service way to refer to repository-based systems. This point is illustrated by using total quality management (TQM) as an example. The examination of TQM-based management tools reveals that the application of these tools is interesting from a KM point of view, having significant consequences especially in terms of knowledge creation, accumulation and sharing.Firms need to shift their attention from documents to discussions [1, p. 106].
Highlights the specific library management roles and responsibilities concerning ISO 9000 implementation. It is based on practical experiences from the 1993-1994 Nordic quality management project. Explains the purposes of quality management models and evaluates different quality management models. Identifies key management roles using Mintzberg's approach and presents an implementation model for an ISO 9000 project emphasizing the managerial functions and tasks.
Strategic management has been an important topic in library and information services (LIS) since the 1980s. In the 1990s, quality management has played a similar role. This paper examines the relationship between these two management concepts in a LIS sector setting. After the presentation of different conceptual frameworks, a new strategic quality management (SQM) framework -inspired by the Japanese hoshin kanri or policy deployment approach -is developed, emphasising that strategic management and total quality management (TQM) should be treated as one integrated management process. Then TQM-based and strategic management methodologies are compared in order to identify common traits and differences. Finally, it is discussed how the theoretical considerations made may influence the validity of practical managerial advice found in the library management literature.Based on the conceptual framework of this article, empirical data from the 1995 Nordic SQM survey of business information services (corporate information centres, special libraries and academic libraries) are presented in the next issue of the Journal of Information Science.
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