Library managers and management 2001: a new Danish survey

The library management literature is rich in normative considerations and statements. However, empirical studies documenting actual perceptions and attitudes held by library managers are rare. A questionnaire survey covering all Danish public and research library leaders were conducted in 2001. The response rate was 73%. The survey was designed to enable comparisons with findings from general Danish management surveys. The findings presented in this article represent the results of basic analysis of the data collected. The findings reveal that gender, size, management level and library types in various ways influence managers perceptions and opinions. Indeed, the survey seems to provide evidence to the notion of a particular female library management style. In general, library managers, compared to leaders from other public institutions and private companies, share a number of features. Compared, to other leaders, library managers seem to be more categorical in their insistence of soft management principles obviously revealing a slight disposition to egalitarian principles. Among the surprising findings is that it has now been documented that the widespread notion, suggested by many management authors and consultants, of hierarchies being flattened does not correspond to what is going in the real world neither in Danish libraries nor elsewhere in the Danish public or private sector.