Publisher: ALA Editions
Editor: Colleen S. Harris-Keith
A number of studies have highlighted that we know what the leadership skills and qualities are that make a good library director. However, there’s not much research that says where academic librarians in particular develop those skills along their career paths, giving the impression that all paths are considered equal. Recently collected data from mid-sized college and university library directors (a much larger leadership pool than just ARLs) reveals disturbing information: not only are not all career paths equal in terms of preparation in particular skills, most academic library directors don’t get to exercise those skills until they become directors (Harris-Keith, 2015). This implies that while academic library directors should be developing campus relationships and informing scholarly communities about important information issues, they are often distracted by the overwhelming work required to get up-to-speed on those necessary leadership skills.
After a thorough introduction addressing the literature and data related to this issue, this volume collects lessons related to very specific leadership skills from the experience of practicing academic library directors.
Proposals are requested for critical, reflective essays addressing the development of one of the skills in relation to a specific project or challenge as academic library director:
- Allocating Resources
- Budget Management
- Building Community Partnerships
- Building Teamwork
- Business Ethics
- Community Relations
- Communicating Expectations
- Compliance Issues
- Computer Technology
- Conflict Resolution
- Cultural Diversity
- Decision-making
- Enforcing Policies & Procedures
- Faculty & Staff Development
- Fundraising/Donor Relations
- Legal Issues
- Managing Change
- Problem Solving
- Program Evaluation
- School Safety Issues
- Strategic Planning
- Student-Focused Learning
- Vision Articulation
Please send titles and abstracts for a concise 2,500-3,000 word essay on leadership lessons as well as a 75-90 word author bio in the body of an email tocolleen.harris-keith@csuci.edu
- Proposal deadline: April 17, 2015
- Acceptance notifications: May 1, 2015
- First drafts due: November 30, 2015
- Final drafts due: March 31, 2016
Editor bio: Colleen S. Harris-Keith serves as Information Literacy Coordinator and Assistant Librarian at the Broome Library on the CSU Channel Islands faculty. Previously, she also served as Head of Access Services at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and as Assistant Head of Access & Delivery Services at North Carolina State University. Colleen received her MLS from the University of Kentucky, an MFA in Writing from Spalding University, and will graduate with her EdD in Learning & Leadership from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Her work has appeared as book chapters in Library Management Tips that Work (ALA Editions, 2011), The Frugal Librarian (ALA Editions, 2011), Writing and Publishing: The Librarian’s Handbook (ALA Editions, 2010), and Teaching Generation M: A Handbook for Librarians and Educators (Neal-Schuman, 2009), and as articles in Library Review, Journal of Access Services, The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances, and Library Journal.
[Cited study: Harris-Keith, C. S. (2015). An exploratory study of the relationship between academic library work experience and perceptions of leadership skill development relevant to the academic library directorship. (Dissertation), University of Tennessee Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN.]
Colleen S. Harris-Keith
Information Literacy Coordinator
John Spoor Broome Library
CSU Channel Islands
1 University Dr.
Camarillo, CA 93012
colleen.harris-keith@csuci.edu
805.437.3140
