Team management and academic libraries: a case study at the University of Northumbria

Team management has been widely used in both the private sector and public libraries to combine organisational and individual needs, but is rare in academic libraries. The team system introduced at Northumbria attempts to improve services to users by delegating responsibility and involving all staff in decision-making. A research project to evaluate the team system is described in detail, showing strengths and weaknesses, and suggesting actions for improvement. Academic libraries could benefit from a team management approach, given essential favourable conditions