Learning Pathways for Librarians and Library Staff

Library Science Core Collection for NH Libraries

This collection of 20 titles was selected by the staff at the NH State Library to serve as a core professional development collection for librarians in our state. This set of books was distributed in Spring 2023 to 212 public libraries in NH. The libraries selected to receive these materials were those who completed the 2020 Public Library Survey by the deadline.

The "downloads" section of this guide includes a printable pdf version of this bibliography as well as the supplemental materials for the strategic planning book.

The purchase of these books for distribution to NH Public Libraries was made possible
by ARPA and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

5 Steps of Outcome-Based Planning & Evaluation for Youth Services by Melissa Gross et al (ALA editions, 2022) ISBN 9780838937327

This guide teaches youth services staff how to conduct solid community assessments and integrate outcome-based planning and evaluation into their work.

209 Big Programming Ideas for Small Budgets by Chelsea Price (ALA editions, 2021) ISBN 9780838948118

This book will help you plan programs on a small budget and will provide tips for smart fundraising and grant-seeking opportunities.

The Basic Law of Budgeting: A Guide for Towns, Village Districts and School Districts (NH Municipal Association, 2022) no ISBN

This handbook is intended for use in conjunction with the NH Local Government Center's annual Budget and Financial Workshop and as a reference throughout the year.

Cultivating Civility: Practical Ways to Improve a Dysfunctional Library by Jo Henry, Joe Eshleman, et al. (ALA editions, 2020) ISBN 9780838947166

Sharing valuable insights that will stimulate thought and discussion towards the goal of a healthier and more harmonious workplace, this book addresses the subject from four viewpoints--individual, team, leader, and organization--focusing on solutions and practical steps in each area; shows how self-reflection and self-awareness can be key starting points for exploring workplace issues; offers numerous suggestions for wellness and self-care; provides tips for improving interpersonal communication and conversations in ways that prevent silos and span boundaries; sheds light on forming and sustaining cohesive library teams, then provides solutions for misaligned teams and dissenters; discusses why effectively conveying vision, role modeling, and demonstrating empathy are all crucial behaviors of library leaders; shares actions library leaders can take to engage employees in the change process; examines how organizational structures can either detract or contribute to a library's success; and details types of training that can be utilized to minimize dysfunction, including training for bias, empathy, conflict management, and diversity.

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, second edition, by Douglas Stone (Penguin Books, 2010) ISBN 9780143118442

From the Harvard Negotiation Project, the organization that brought readers Getting to Yes, this book provides a step-by-step approach to having those tough conversations with less stress and more success. This 10^th anniversary edition includes a new chapter.

Fostering Wellness in the Workplace: A Handbook for Libraries by Bobbi L. Newman (ALA editions, 2022) ISBN 9780838937914

This book takes a holistic approach to examine how libraries can improve the health and wellness of employees.

Intellectual Freedom Manual, 10th edition, by Martin Garnar et al. (ALA editions, 2021) ISBN 9780838948187

This indispensable resource provides day-to-day guidance on maintaining free and equal access to information for all people.

Libraries and Sustainability: Programs and Practices for Community Impact by Rene Tanner et al. (ALA editions, 2022) ISBN 9780838937945

This book explores a sustainability lens through which operational and outreach decisions can be made, discusses why sustainability matters to libraries and their communities, shares real-life examples of sustainability programming, and provides recommendations from library workers who have been active in putting sustainability into practice.

Library Next: Seven Action Steps for Reinvention by Catherine Murray-Rust (ALA editions, 2021) ISBN 9780838948392

This book shares the story of one library's attempt to stand up for the core values that all libraries share while fundamentally changing the way it achieves those values. It offers encouragement and practical advice for libraries and librarians on how to strengthen their skills and make a positive impact on the communities they serve.

Library Signage & Wayfinding Design: Communicating Effectively with Your Users by Mark Aaron Polger (ALA editions, 2022) ISBN 9780838937853

This book provides tips and best practices for developing better library signage and provides guidance for creating a signage strategy.

Proving Your Library's Value: Persuasive, Organized and Memorable Messaging by United for Libraries (ALA/ Neal Schuman, 2020) ISBN 9780838947418

This planner discusses the customizable framework "The E's of Libraries" to give you the tools to prove your library's value to the community in a persuasive, organized, and memorable way.

Public Library Director's Toolkit by Kate Hall & Kathy Parker (ALA editions, 2019) ISBN 9780838918593

Starting a new library as director can be daunting-- and there are things you need to know that will make success easier to achieve. Hall and Parker have compiled a basic toolkit to being the director of a public library, no matter what size. They provide suggestions to help you build your own toolkit, and include sample documents and forms that you can use immediately

The Public Library Director's HR Toolkit by Kate Hall & Kathy Parker (ALA editions, 2022) ISBN 9780838938393

This book will take you through the life cycle of an employee, providing a framework to develop your HR skills.

The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction, Third Edition, by Neal Wyatt et al. (ALA editions, 2019) ISBN 9780838917817

Everyone's favorite guide to fiction that's thrilling, mysterious, suspenseful, thought-provoking, romantic, and just plain fun is back and better than ever in this completely revamped and revised edition. A must for every readers' advisory desk, this resource is also a useful tool for collection development librarians and students in LIS programs. Inside, RA experts Wyatt and Saricks. Both insightful and comprehensive, this matchless guidebook will help librarians become familiar with many different fiction genres, especially those they do not regularly read, and aid library staff in connecting readers to books they're sure to love.

Robert's Rules for Dummies, fourth edition, by C. Alan Jennings (John Wiley and Sons, 2022) ISBN 9781119824589

Trying to keep your in-person and virtual meetings on track and running smoothly? You need Robert's Rules of Order! These rules for conducting meetings have stood the test of time as the gold standard for practical and effective procedure in group settings like corporate and nonprofit boards, councils, and more. This handy guide demystifies the Rules and offers readers a practical roadmap to applying efficient procedures to everything from conducting online and in-person meetings to voting by email.

Strategic Planning for Public Libraries by Joy L. Fuller (Public Library Association, 2021) ISBN 9780838947753

Strategic Planning for Public Libraries is a complete planning toolkit. Each purchase comes with a downloadable supplemental folder full of reusable templates, worksheets, as well as real-life examples from other libraries to help guide the reader through the planning process. This book provides a framework that any library, whether it serves urban, suburban, or rural communities, can use as a basis for its strategic planning.
NOTE: NH libraries can download the supplemental folder of resources from the NHSL LibGuide for this project.

A Trauma-Informed Framework for Supporting Library Patrons: The PLA Workbook of Best Practices by Public Library Association Social Worker Task Force (ALA editions, 2022) ISBN 9780838949566

This workbook provides a framework for what it means to use a trauma-informed lens and how to use that lens in interactions with library patrons. It offers various scenarios that will provide you the opportunity to integrate what you've learned so you can implement the trauma-informed framework in your work and offers a series of exercises that focus on self-care and self-assessment.

The Ultimate Privacy Field Guide: A Workbook of Best Practices by Erin Berman et al. (ALA editions, 2023) ISBN 9780838937303

Designed for use in school, public, and academic settings of all shapes and sizes, this easy-to-use workbook is packed with practical, hands-on exercises to guide you towards creating a more privacy-focused library.

Unleashed: A Proven Way Communities Can Spread Change and Make Hope Real for All, first edition, by Richard Harwood (Kettering Foundation Press, 2021) ISBN 9781945577512

How can we unleash the innate potential of people, institutions and groups in communities to address our common challenges? And how can we do this by creating a civic culture in which people come together to shape their own lives and gain real hope?

The Weeding Handbook, second edition, by Rebecca Vnuk (ALA editions, 2022) ISBN 9780838937174

Filled with field-tested strategies and adaptable collection development policies, this updated handbook will enable libraries to bloom by maintaining a collection that users will actually use.