Author Jason Martin won't tell you how to be a leader. Instead, he’ll give you a roadmap and the tools to find it out for yourself, guiding you to discover why you want to lead, how you can best lead, and what your own unique leadership practice looks like.
Are librarians and libraries relevant in the 21st century? This is a fundamental question and one that presents differing opinions across the many diverse information sectors. If there is a continuing need for libraries and for librarians, then how do library leaders obtain strategic support when there appears to be a lack of clarity or understanding about the very purpose of libraries at a time when economically, libraries are under pressure to develop new business models and be more commercially focussed? Bold Minds: Library leadership in a time of disruption brings together international leaders who frame many aspects of the current library provision and who carry responsibility for the library models of the future to consider how librarians and libraries can be a driving force in a time of disruptive economic, technological and cultural change. Each chapter critically presents a short leadership provocation regarding libraries and their purpose, encompassing impact, service delivery, collections, staff skills and professional training and assessing what it means for leaders, their sectors and organisations, and how they have developed their personal leadership signature. This book will be invaluable to library and information professionals in a range of public and private sector libraries as well as policy makers in services where libraries are a component. It will also be useful for students, educational establishments, and IT professionals with an information management element to their work.
In the face of rapid change and an ever-widening constellation of challenges, it’s crucial for library leaders to pull back to the question of “why?” Plotting a sustainable way forward depends upon recommitting ourselves to our underlying values, such as customer service and community-building, while fostering the improvements that change makes possible. With passion, patience, and fortitude, libraries can stride confidently into the future. In this book, noted speakers and consultants Bignoli and Stara speak directly to library directors, managers, administrators, and technology staff, offering concrete guidance on setting or resetting strategic priorities. Taking an interconnected and specific approach to planning for and strengthening the library environment as a whole, their book discusses why libraries should embrace change as a fundamental part of library life; explores how to harness rapid change to provide more responsive, user-centered library service; addresses the ways in which libraries straddle the physical and the digital, in areas such as service provision and collections, illuminating how they overlap and can be improved using similar philosophies; presents both a comprehensive overview of library technologies as well as related team and change management advice, all grounded in user experience principles; shows how the concepts of sustainability and flexibility apply to physical space planning and design, from furniture selection and arrangement to infrastructure; and provides sound guidance on project management, problem solving, preparing for future challenges, personal reflection and self-care, and other leadership topics.
Lessons in Library Leadership: A Primer for Library Managers and Unit Leaders takes on the topic of management positions within libraries and how many of them are filled by candidates with no formalized training. This lack of preparation often leads to added stress as they scramble to learn how to lead, to formulate departmental goals, to conduct effective assessment, to think and plan strategically, to counsel employees, and much more. This book will serve equally as a primer for librarians new to management and those needing a refresher in basic management concepts. Seasoned managers may also look to this guide as a quick reference resource covering multiple management subjects. The contents of the monograph include basic concepts, real word examples/case studies, and bibliographic information for further management skill development. - Ideal for both new and currently practicing library managers and leaders - Written from a librarian's point of view - Includes examples directly related to libraries - Combines theory and real-world examples in new and innovative ways
This book offers preservice and practicing school librarians, district-level library supervisors, school librarian educators, school principals and administrators, and other stakeholders strategies and tools for positioning school librarians as instructional leaders.
This compilation reveals how followers help an organization get better and how effective followers—leading from the middle—are essential to the best kind of leadership. In "Leading from the Middle," and Other Contrarian Essays on Library Leadership, John Lubans, Jr., argues for democratic library organizations with shared leadership and decision making by leaders and followers. His book distills 15 years worth of leadership essays to advance a theory of a collaborative and empowering leadership, touching on such subjects as teamwork, empowerment, "followership," challenges, values, coaching, self-management, collaboration, communication, and techniques and tools. Lubans's 36 essays draw new and insightful perspectives on leadership from disparate realms: travel, sports, music, retail businesses, and airlines. All of the essays have been edited and revised for this book and many have been extensively updated with new material and epilogues. The essays flow from the author's experience as a manager/leader, his teaching of the topic, and his research into and experimentation with organizational leadership. Insights and suggestions are tempered by a candid reflection on successes achieved and mistakes made.
Completely revised with even more contributions added by practicing school librarians, this book further examines the responsibility to lead in many areas and identifies the real-world, day-to-day application of established theory and best practices. In today's educational landscape, school librarians need to lead the way in many areas, including advocacy, literacy, technology, curriculum, vision, collaborative instruction, and intellectual freedom. All of these areas are vital to building and sustaining a school library program that enhances and encourages student achievement, as well as to providing enhanced services to students and faculty. This revised edition of The Many Faces of School Library Leadership offers invaluable insights from recognized leaders in the field of school librarianship that detail leadership roles embraced by accomplished practitioners and consider the research regarding best practices. An essential read for practicing school librarians as well as for pre-service school librarians, it offers today's school librarians actionable advice for strengthening their roles, underlining their value, and protecting their future—all while boosting student learning and achievement. The expert guidance and perspectives in this book will bolster those who are facing enormous challenges to meet them and allow school library staff to protect their jobs and to save school library programs from extinction.
Annotation Success stories and "Applications in Action" illustrate these leading edge principles: - Respond faster to customer needs - Maintain your focus on the most critical activities - Achieve results with new partnering possibilities and resource sharing - Generate excitement and inspire staff to accomplish their best work - Demonstrate measurable improvement in return on investment (ROI)
In Managing Health Sciences Libraries in a Time of Change, experienced leaders of the medical library community present insights into the current trends and issues faced by health sciences librarians and offer practical guidelines and management skills needed to create a culture of excellence. The Medical Library Association points out that “Management skills and a leader’s abilities affect the culture and performance of coworkers and the effectiveness of an institution.” The last decades have resulted in a sea change for health sciences library leadership and management. In a short period of time, medical libraries have transformed from collections of print books and journals to databases of digital resources accessible from any desktop. Library services no longer must be provided face to face, but the need for virtual library services has grown in complexity and now demands a greater knowledge of technology and informatics. Reference service, instruction, cataloging, and collection development all remain as key library tasks, but they have been transformed in this digital environment. This book explores what it means to be a manager of health sciences libraries today. Chapters focus on current trends in health science library leadership; managing change; staffing issues; managing for diversity, equity, and inclusion; mentoring; accreditation and evaluation; leadership skills, and a discussion of the differences between the concepts of leadership and management.