Project Management in Libraries ― On Time, on Budget, on Target

A recent study showed that only 53 percent of projects come in on budget and only 49 percent on schedule. So what does it take to be an on-time finisher? Successful project management may seem like a quixotic pursuit, but it doesn’t have to be. Searcy, a certified Project Management Professional as well as a librarian, takes readers through mastering the key skills that will make it happen: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and closing. Applying project management principles in a library-project context, this book provides to-the-point guidance on running effective and productive meetings by using a checklist approach; treating people fairly while openly sharing information; ways to simplify workflows by choosing the most suitable software program; how to write a project charter; the agile concept of self-organizing teams; identifying risks and planning for the downside; managing scope creep by maintaining realistic expectations; and using a checklist to close projects so they stay closed. Library staff at all levels will be feel confident planning and executing projects with Searcy’s expert tutelage at hand.

Carly Wiggins Searcy holds an MIS from the University of Michigan and has worked in public, special and academic libraries for 20 years. She is a certified Project Management Professional with experience that includes managing software development teams, implementing RFID systems, and surviving three library building projects. She currently lives in Louisiana, where she is the Government Information Librarian for McNeese State University.