Director
Personnel Management for Public Libraries
What You'll Learn
- How to write and evaluate job descriptions
- How to evaluate and develop a budget for staffing costs
- How to create and utilize performance evaluations
- How to identify needed policies that allow for a healthy and competitive hiring
5 Modules
15 Hours
3 hrs per module (approx.)
About Personnel Management for Public Libraries
This course, part of the Public Library Management Professional Certificate program, will explore skills needed for hiring and evaluating personnel to reflect your library's mission through an organizational culture that will thrive in your community.
Learners will understand the legal considerations when managing a diverse workforce.
Skills You'll Gain
- Human Resource Planning
- Human Resources Concepts
- Instructional Strategies
- Library Management
- Management
What You'll Earn
- Certificate of Completion:
- Certificates of completion acknowledge knowledge acquired upon completion of a non-credit course or program.
Welcome Message
Welcome to Personnel Management for Public Libraries, a course focused on effective hiring, evaluation, and retention practices. Learners examine organizational culture, job design, performance evaluation, and personnel decision-making in public library environments. The course is part of the Public Library Management series.
This abbreviated syllabus description was created with the help of AI tools and reviewed by staff. The full syllabus is available to those who enroll in the course.
Course Schedule
Module 1: Culture and Organizational Charts
- Introduction
- Organizational Charts Introduction
- Assessing Organizational Charts
- Discussion: Analyze the Three Organizational Charts (1 Question)
- Lesson 1 Quiz
Module 2: Budgets
- What Budgets Look Like (Organizational Chart Assumptions)
- Analysis of What You Need to Look at in a Budget
- Discussion: Compare the Budget to the Org Chart (1 Question)
- Conclusion
- Lesson 2 Quiz (4 Questions)
Module 3: Hiring and Evaluating
- Introduction to Hiring and Evaluating
- What is in a Job Description?
- Interview with James Greene, labor attorney, Dykema
- Reviewing Sample Job Descriptions
- Discussion: Evaluating a Sample Job Description (1 Question)
- Peer Assessment: Write a Job Description
- Discussion: Reflection and Open Questions on Job Descriptions (1 Question)
- Lesson 3 Quiz (5 Questions)
Module 4: Performance Evaluation
- Introduction to Performance and Evaluation
- The Evaluation Instrument
- Peer Assessment: Create an Evaluation Instrument For Your Job Description (1 Question)
- Discussion: Reflection and Open Questions on Evaluation Instruments (1 Question)
- Lesson 4 Quiz (5 Questions)
Module 5: Conclusion
- People are People (a.k.a. “Josie’s Wisdom”)
- Course Feedback
Grading Policy
Learners must earn an overall grade of 80% to pass. The course grade is based on quizzes (40%), Peer Review 1 (25%), Peer Review 2 (25%), and Discussion Questions (10%).
Course content developed by U-M faculty and managed by the university. Faculty titles and affiliations are updated periodically.
Beginner Level
Access to a public library community.
