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June
2005 Table of Contents
Frankly Speaking: A Note from the Editor  Asking the Right, But Hard Questions by Glen Holt The “Keynote” article of the premier issue of The Library Leadership Network Commons is “Asking the Right but Hard Questions,” by Glen Holt. Glen sets the tone for this and subsequent issues of The LLN Commons by posing critical questions which library professionals must address as they seek to differentiate their services and remain relevant in the years to come. Where mediocrity exists, it must be replaced by criticality. In order to accomplish this, we will need to focus not only on what we do, but the successful results that come from what we do. Glen Holt is the recently-retired Executive Director of the St. Louis Public Library and Editor of the Public Library Quarterly. He serves on the Library Leadership Network Advisory Board, and will be a regular contributor to The LLN Commons. Customer Service: It's Not Just for McDonald's AnyMore! by MaryWilkins Jordan One of the goals of The LLN Commons is to provide information and ideas that the library leader can put into practice. In “Customer Service: It’s Not Just for McDonald's Anymore,” Mary Wilkins Jordan does just that, suggesting a number of practical and easy-to-implement ways to improve customer service in libraries of all types and sizes. At the heart of her many suggestions is the need for all library staff to look at the library from the viewpoint of the customer. Mary, a member of The LLN Commons Editorial Board, is currently a doctoral student at UNC/Chapel Hill, studying library management and leadership. She left the legal profession to obtain her MLS and has been a library director and administrator. In her own words, Mary is “a passionate librarian who loves the field and cannot imagine any other career.” Libraries and Organization Development by Maureen Sullivan Regardless of the size and type of their libraries, today’s leaders understand the need for continual change to make their organizations more dynamic, flexible, relevant, and customer-focused. Such transformation typically requires significant changes in the structure, systems, culture and staff. The discipline of Organization Development can be very instrumental in bringing about these changes, whether applied through informal programs or as part of more formal strategic planning. In this first of a series, Maureen Sullivan introduces the concepts of Organization Development, laying the groundwork for subsequent articles dealing with specific OD applications in libraries. Maureen Sullivan is a well-known and respected consultant to academic and public libraries. |
