Guide #1. Setting Up a Library:
How to Begin or Begin Again
Ruth S. Smith. 2nd Rev. ed. 1994, 14 pages. $8.00, members $6.50
Whether you are just beginning a congregational library, or are “beginning again” with the start of each new year, CSLA Guide No. 1, Setting Up a Library, will tell you how to achieve the goal of establishing an effective library ministry.
Written by Ruth S. Smith, a long-time secular and church librarian, as well as the founder and first president of CSLA, Guide No. 1 takes you through 11 steps to setting up a library—from creating a statement of purpose to undergird the congregational library to stretching the library’s ministry with outreach beyond the congregation.
“When we first started our church library ... there were no guidelines or road signs to tell us just how to go about it,” Smith writes in the preface. “Although I was a professional librarian, the practical business of dealing with the people, obtaining funding, moving the collection from place to place, and developing a successful library for this congregation had to be learned on the job.” Smith shares some of the “rules of the game” that she learned the hard way, such as how to prepare yourself for the task ahead, how to obtain the necessary approvals, how to organize a library committee and staff the library, how to survey your assets and establish policies, and how to develop and carry out action plans to make sure you accomplish your goals.
Table of Contents
STEP 1: Begin with a Purpose
STEP 2: Be Prepared
STEP 3: Obtain Approval
STEP 4: Organize a Library Committee
STEP 5: Staff the Library
STEP 6: Survey Your Assets
STEP 7: Establish Basic Policies
STEP 8: Develop Action Plans
STEP 9: Carry Out the Plan
STEP 10: Provide for Continuity
STEP 11: Stretch Your Horizons
