Professional Development Books for Library Staff

Updated June 10, 2025
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
The 12 steps to a community-led library
Barbakoff, Audrey
Paper Book
Libraries want to be more responsive to their diverse communities. Yet many libraries lack the structures, cultures, and mindsets to sustain community-led methods. This book lays out an evidence-based, twelve-step process that will help you transform your library in ways that serve your unique...
The black belt librarian : real-world safety & security
Graham, Warren Davis.
Paper Book
Sharing expertise gleaned from more than two decades as a library security manager, Graham demonstrates that libraries can maintain their best traditions of openness and public access by creating an unobtrusive yet effective security plan. In straightforward language, the author ...
Collection management for youth : responding to the needs of learners
Hughes-Hassell, Sandra.
Paper Book
It's no longer about just about having the "best" collection. As education shifts to a learner-centered environment, collection development must address the dynamic interplay between all stakeholders in the wider school community. Based on the latest educational theory and research, Hughes...
The dysfunctional library : challenges and solutions to workplace relationships
Henry, Jo
Paper Book
By tackling the dysfunctional library head on, managers as well as library workers who find themselves in a toxic situation will be poised to better meet library goals and move the library forward.
Implementing for results : your strategic plan in action
Nelson, Sandra S.
Paper Book
For nearly two decades, the Public Library Association's Results Series has been the definitive resource for practical everyday management. This latest addition to the series offers: Tips to help determine which activities effectively support goals and objectives Fourteen...
Leading libraries : how to create a service culture
VanDuinkerken, Wyoma
Paper Book
This valuable resource gathers the principles and best practices of leadership, and points the way towards creating a service culture that makes every staff member a library leader.
Lean library management : eleven strategies for reducing costs and improving customer services
Huber, John J.
Paper Book
Libraries today face reduced budgets, increased customer expectations, and aggressive competition from web-based information sources. Management guru John Huber, a pioneer and leader in the Lean Manufacturing movement, has worked as a consultant with libraries across North America. Featured Review:...
The librarian's guide to homelessness : an empathy-driven approach to solving problems, preventing conflict, and serving everyone
Dowd, Ryan
Paper Book
Homelessness is a perennial topic of concern at libraries. In fact, staff at public libraries interact with almost as many homeless individuals as staff at shelters do. Empathy and understanding, along with specific actionable advice that's drawn from experience, makes all the difference in...
Libraries without borders : new directions in library history
Knowlton, Steven A.
Paper Book
What does it mean for a library to be without borders? This remarkable collection of essays, drawn from the Library History Seminar sponsored by the Library History Round Table (LHRT), explores the roles that libraries have played in the communities they serve, well beyond the stacks and circulation...
The library : a fragile history
Pettegree, Andrew
Paper Book
Perfect for book lovers, this is a fascinating exploration of the history of libraries and the people who built them, from the ancient world to the digital age.   Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over...
The library : an illustrated history
Murray, Stuart
Paper Book
Throughout the history of the world, libraries have been constructed, burned, discovered, raided, and cherished--and the treasures they've housed have evolved from early stone tablets to the mass-produced, bound paper books of our present day. The Library invites you to enter the...
Library patrons' privacy : questions and answers
Valenti, Sandra J.
Paper Book
A quick, easy-to-read synthesis of theory, guidelines, and evidence-based research, this book offers timely, practical guidance for library and information professionals who must navigate ethical crises in information privacy and stay on top of emerging privacy trends. ...
Making a collection count a holistic approach to library collection management
Hibner, Holly.
Paper Book
Making a Collection Count connects the various pieces of library collection management, such as selection, cataloguing, shelving, circulation and weeding, and teaches readers how to gather and analyze data from each point in a collection's life cycle. Relationships between collections and other...
Outreach services for teens : a starter guide
Snow, Jess
Paper Book
The clichéd and vague notions about outreach services for teens that so many librarians encounter in job descriptions and performance evaluations do not reflect the importance or day-to-day realities of this undertaking. In this primer for those new to the profession, Snow demonstrates how youth...
Prepared libraries, empowered teams : a workbook for navigating intellectual freedom challenges together
Calzada, Becky
Preliminary data for 2023 from ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) shows an all-time high number of book challenges, shattering the previous record set only the year before. Anticipating and preparing for challenges can only be done effectively when the library has a unified team. This...
Reference and information services : an introduction
Cassell, Kay Ann
Paper Book
From the ongoing flood of misinformation to the swift changes occasioned by the pandemic, a myriad of factors is spurring our profession to rethink reference services. Luckily, this classic text is back in a newly overhauled edition that thoughtfully addresses the evolving reference landscape....
Senior services today : a practical guide for librarians
Brooks, Ashley
Paper Book
Senior citizens (frequently referred to by the more inclusive term "older adults") are one of the largest and fastest growing demographics in the world. Public libraries have a duty to serve these individuals with the same level of care and opportunity for participation that is afforded to...
Serving patrons with disabilities : perspectives and insights from people with disabilities
Laskin, Kodi
Paper Book
Ensuring accessibility is more important than ever; however, answering questions of what needs to be done and why to make a library accessible can be an uncomfortable and daunting hurdle to true inclusion. This book is a safe, nonjudgmental tool for overcoming this awkwardness, offering readers...
Simple book repair techniques
Conn, Donia, 1968-
Paper Book
Many large or academic libraries have staff specifically trained to care for their collections, but public and other small libraries don't have that luxury. So how can the small library extend the usable life of its collection with little staff time or money? This book will walk library staff...
Strategic planning for results
Nelson, Sandra S.
Paper Book
The PLA Results Series has long served to help public librarians envision, evaluate, and respond to community needs with distinctive programs and services. Building from this proven model, Strategic Planning for Results is the fully revised version of Planning for Results, the...
A trauma-informed framework for supporting patrons : the PLA workbook of best practices
Paper Book
Whether it's navigating a crisis or witnessing a community member struggling with tough times, coming face to face with trauma and adversity can be uncomfortable. But in striving to learn more about challenging behaviors, and how we can better interact with library patrons and our coworkers, we can...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.