ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries December 1987 / 687 Selected references Childers, Bruce K ., “Introductory Law Courses in a College of Business: A Change of Em phasis,” American Business L aw Journal 15 (1977):82-87. Collins, John W ., “Law in a Business Curricu­ lu m ,” A m e r ic a n Business L a w J o u rn a l 15 (1977):46-52. Donnell, John D ., “Business Law Textbooks: A Retrospective E xploration,” A m erican Business L aw Journal 22 (1984): 265-82. Donohue, James L ., “The Case for Teaching Business L aw to U n d erg rad u ate Business S tu­ d e n t s ,” A m e r ic a n B usiness L a w J o u r n a l 4 (1966): 162-66. D unfee, Thomas, “The Business Law C urricu­ lum: Recent Changes and Current Status,” A m eri­ can Business L aw Journal 18 (1980):59-76. Elliott, William G ., “T he Need for Legal E du­ cation by Persons in Business,” American Business L aw Journal 19 (1981): 153-75. McGuire, Charles R., “Logic and the C urricu­ lum: A Proposed Conceptual Fram ew ork for the Legal Environm ent of Business,” Am erican Busi­ ness Law Journal 23 (1986):479-507. Moore, G ary, “M anagerial Competence in Law an d th e Business C u rric u lu m : T he C o rp o rate Counsel P erspective,” A m erican Business L a w Journal 23 (1985):351-89. Reitzel, David, “Direct Use of Legal Research in Business L aw In s tru c tio n ,” A m erican Business L aw Journal 15 (1977): 123-31. Schlesinger, Mark, “Does Legal Education For Managers Teach Them to Think?” American Busi­ ness Law Journal 20 (1982):409-19. ■ ■ INNOVATIONS Introducing junior staff to the administrative process By M argaret E. G allow ay Interim Director o f Libraries North Texas State University T h e A dm inistrative Council and staff of th e basis for such criticism. T he associate director suggested a project in w hich junior staff members, librarians and clerical staff, w ould participate in small study/task groups w hich w ould review and make recommendations about m atters and issues usually reviewed only at the Administrative Council level. The make-up of the group w ould vary depending upon the topic to be reviewed, and the associate director would serve as the chairperson for each group. The intent was to have one such group active for a period of time during each academic year. The group was to serve tw o purposes: to inform staff members about m at­ ters th a t w ere not p a rt of their regular job inform a­ tion, and to have the staff members make recom­ m e n d a tio n s w ith in th e co n te x t of th is new inform ation. Side benefits would be to help staff u n d e rs ta n d th e com plexity of a d m in is tra tiv e decision-making w hen confronted w ith many op­ N orth Texas S tate University Libraries p artici­ pated in tw o planning retreats in the early summer of 1983 and 1985. These retreats served to enhance the library’s com m itm ent to an intensive goal and objective planning program based on input from all levels of staff. A recurring finding from the two retreats indicated th a t junior staff members felt alienated from the decision-making process. Staff members new to the library and junior staff w ith­ out adm inistrative exposure felt th a t senior adm in­ istrative staff w ere privileged to more inside infor­ m ation, m ade decisions not based on staff input, tended to be reactive to problems instead of proac­ tive, and did not relay inform ation to fellow staff in an efficient m anner. W hile these tend to be fairly common com plaints to be directed tow ard m an­ agement, the library adm inistration decided to see if there might be some w ay to reduce or defuse the 688 / C&RL News tions and/or limitations, and to encourage staff members to broaden their personal career goals. The first group, a Budget Task Force which con­ sisted of three junior librarians, one clerical staff member, and the associate director, worked from October 1985 to March 1986. The group was pro­ vided w ith confidential and sensitive information regarding all aspects of the library budget includ­ ing salaries, materials budget, and general operat­ ing expenses. The main objective was to seek areas where cost savings could be made either currently or in the future. Each member was given a special assignment to gather data and present the findings to the group. The special assignments included the opportunity for savings by increasing use of work study students, centralized stack management su­ pervision for reshelving of materials in the general collection, and reducing number of service points or desks. On several occasions, two or more of task force members collaborated on a part of the proj­ ect. All ideas were considered and openly discussed within the group. The group suggested a final six­ teen recommendations as being those with the most potential for acceptance due to budget and person­ nel restraints within the next two years. The task force provided input into the final budget preparation, and observed the process of re­ finement to many of their recommendations as the recommendations were adapted to the final budget submission. This particular part of the experience brought with it some frustration when upper man­ agement made adjustments to recommendations which had been fully researched. However, the group had the opportunity to see how priorities, costs, and staffing configurations direct the under­ lying currents of decision-making. The members of the task force worked diligently to provide useful and creative suggestions. Each recommendation was succinctly stated w ith a list of advantages, disadvantages, and suggestions for further research, where applicable. Many of the suggestions were made from personal insight and work experience with a particular area. Particular personal expertise was demonstrated in such skills as computer applications, statistical analysis, and database searching which gave the task force mem­ bers new status in the eyes of their peers and noti­ fied the library adm inistration of untapped re­ sources. While it is significant that ten of the sixteen rec­ ommendations were adopted in some manner in the final budget, the library gained even more from the development opportunity offered to the partic­ ipating staff members. One of the librarians has since become a departm ent head within the library system, one received a promotion to another de­ partm ent within the library system which was a di­ rect result of the talents displayed during the proj­ ect, one has received an excellent position with a federal agency in W ashington, and the clerical staff member received an excellent position in an­ other area of the university. All of these individuals received their opportunities for advancem ent based upon recommendations from the associate director regarding their ability to work discreetly and competently under considerable pressure. The next task force in this ongoing program has just been organized to review the latest goals and objectives submitted by the library’s department heads and make recommendations regarding pri­ ority, library-wide goals, allocation of resources, compliance w ith the stated mission of the library, and university priority goals. This particular group is composed of four junior librarians and the associ­ ate director. The library’s Administrative Council entered into an agreement to perm it this series of training task forces with some trepidation. Many members were somewhat concerned about having confiden­ tial information placed in the hands of junior li­ brarians and clerical staff, while others felt that too much time would have to be devoted to developing a base of common knowledge upon which recom­ mendations could be made. However, in review of the Budget Task Force’s generally excellent results for both the library and the participating mem­ bers, a negative situation is being addressed with a creative, effective program incorporating the tal­ ents of a broader range of staff. A student assistant program for the Nineties By F. Jay Fuller Night Supervisor California State University, Chico Today’s academic libraries employ a great vari­ ety of people with different levels of education, ex­ pertise, and experience. Administrators, librari­ ans, clerical, and paraprofessional staff each play a vital role in maintaining the library as the aca­ demic center for information storage and retrieval. However, some core library functions such as cir­ culation, discharge, shelving, and even light bibli­