112 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND LIBRARIES | JUNE 2006 Book Review Debra Shapiro, Editor Strategic Planning and Management for Library Managers By Joseph R. Matthews. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2005. xiv, 150p. $40 (ISBN 1-59158-231-8). The reality for most librarians is that, sometime in their career, they will be involved in strategic manage- ment and planning. While library school courses occasionally deal with this topic, it is from a theoretical perspective only. Most librarians are promoted or coerced into leadership and management roles, often with little or no training or resources at their disposal to assist them with the transition or change of respon- sibilities. Strategic planning is one of those duties assigned to library managers and leaders that often get pushed to the lowest-priority list, mainly because there are few guide- lines and handbooks available in this area. Since the publication of Donald Riggs’s Strategic Planning for Library Managers (Oryx, 1984), little atten- tion has been given to this vital topic. Matthews’s book attempts to provide information on how to explore strat- egies; demystify false impressions about strategies; how strategies play a role in the planning and delivery of library services; broad categories of library strategies that can be used; and identification of new ways to communicate the impact of strategies to patrons. As the author states in the introduction, the focus of librar- ies has moved from collections to encompass the arena of change itself. Finding strategies to enable opera- tion in a fluid environment can mean the difference between relevance and irrelevance in today’s competitive information marketplace. The book is divided into three major sections: (1) what is a strategy, and the importance of having one; (2) the value of and options for strategic planning; and (3) the need to moni- tor and update strategies. The first four chapters make up the first sec- tion. Chapters 1 and 2 go through the semantics and the need for strategies, as well as the realities and limitations of strategies. Chapter 3 provides brief introductions to schools of strategic thought. These include the design school, the planning school, the posi- tioning school, the entrepreneurial school, the cognitive school, the learning school, the power school, the cultural school, the environmen- tal school, and the configuration school. Chapter 4 introduces types of strategies: operational excellence, innovative services, customer inti- macy, and the concept of strategic options. Section 2 consists of chapters 5 through 8 and provides information on what strategic planning is, what its value is, process options such as plan- ning alternatives and critical success factors, and implementation. Section 3, comprised of chapters 9 and 10, focuses on the culture of assessment; monitoring and updating strategies; and tools available for managing the library. Two appendixes are provided: one containing sample library strate- gic plans, and another with a critique of a library strategic plan. Overall, the book is very straight- forward and understandable, with numerous illustrations, process work- flows, and charts. I found the infor- mation very interesting and useful, and the final section on assessment and measurement of strategic plan- ning is essential for libraries to implement and monitor in today’s marketplace. The various explana- tions related to schools of strategic thought were especially helpful. This book should be read by every library manager and director involved in strategic planning and process.—Brad Eden, Associate University Librarian for Technical Services and Scholarly Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara EBSCO cover 3 LITA 107, 111, covers 2 and 4 Index to Advertisers