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This module focuses on managing services in dynamic environments. In such environments, information is critical to maintaining organisational competiveness through satisfaying customer needs, retaining and expanding the customer base, increasing productivity, improving performance, and ensuring financial viability. Each teaching/learning session considers the topic in a manner which reflects modern management trends in dynamic and changing environments. Relevant examples in information services are then applied to the topic concerned. As services and service provision vary widely in both function and customer base, we use a generic approach.

The development of this subject during the latter 19th and early 20th century was limited by the view that the problems to be solved were substantially those of the physical arrangement of books on library shelves. A classification scheme could achieve this, while a catalogue permitted other approaches to the stock. These methods continue to be used, but are now seen to be only part of the methods needed to retrieve information quickly and efficiently from libraries, databases and individual documents. Your study of this subject will be taking into consideration three elements: * the body of traditional literature; * the vigorous development of information storage and retrieval since the 1950s, often with many competing theories and attitudes; and * the acknowledgement of the fact that the subject is not readily divisible into distinct topics; there is much inter-connection and overlap between the topics which this module presents to you in a week-by-week linear structure

The module is designed to take Master's students through the key elements of Information Service planning and provision, and to introduce to them the role of users, evaluation methods, key research themes relevant to contextualising information service use, the methods of analysing and evaluating sources and services, and key elements of strategic planning of services.

The Collection Management module adopts a broad definition of the subject field, so that, while devoting time to fundamental areas of collection development, and collection review and evaluation, it also covers topics such as the promotion of collection use, conservation and preservation, and collection issues related to particular formats. Its overriding concern is the management of a collection of library materials (whether in one or a number of formats), and organisation of access to virtual collection in an effective, efficient and economical way, in order to meet the needs of its user community. The module does not limit itself ot any particular type of library, although the emphasis is on academic and public libraries.