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LLN Leadership Articles
Leadership Development: A
Teachable Point of View
In
this concise article, Maureen Sullivan suggests a simple way to
organize your vision for your library and use the resulting “story” as
a framework for planning and activities.
September,
2007 LLN
Peer Panel
While recently blogging around, we came across an interesting recap of
an ALA/LITA session entitled “The Ultimate Debate: Do Libraries
Innovate?” This panel, moderated by Andrew Pace, featured Karen
Schneider (FSU), Stephen Abram (SirsiDynix), and our own Joe Janes
(UW). The blog was essentially a write-up of the discussion, and
well done (by Julie Bauder, a student in the MLIS program at Wayne
State). One paragraph in particular jumped out at us:
“Throughout the debate,
Karen and Stephen emphasized two overarching theories for why libraries
have trouble innovating. For Karen, the problem is that libraries
don’t have the resources to be able to support failure, and if
you can’t accept the possibility of failure you can’t
innovate: innovation is risky and uncertain. For Stephen, the
problem is within the culture of librarianship, which he says is a
culture of victimization. Libraries share disaster stories and
commiserate over low salaries and other challenges, and then they come
to believe that these disaster stories are the reality of all of
librarianship and don’t even try to change it.”
Thus, we asked the Peer Panel the following questions:
- Do you agree with either (or both) of these theories?
- If so, what can be done to foster much-needed innovation in libraries?
- If
not, what are some good examples of library innovation (yours or
somebody else’s) and what can librarians learn from it?
June,
2006 LLN
Peer Panel
Well, most of us are about to pack our bags and go spend a few days (or
longer) in a place that is hot and muggy. Which is to say that
it’s time for another ALA Annual Conference!
So this month we asked our panelists to explain what motivates them to attend ALA and other similar conferences:
• Why do you go/not go to ALA (PLA, ACRL and other similar large gatherings)?
• What do you see as the value of ALA (et.al.) to current and future library leaders?
• What conferences are of greatest value to you? Why?
• How would you like to see the ALA conference change?
• What other relevant comments would you care to make?
Holt Perspectives: Learning from Others
In this
"Perspectives" column, Glen Holt examines several topics that kept his interest during his brief vacation. (May 8, 2007)
We
begin the New Year with a discussion of a provocative Op-Ed that
appeared recently in The Wall Street Journal. In it, the
author, John J. Miller challenges the existence and sustainability of
libraries, saying they serve only as “welfare programs for
the middle class.” The full piece, which we recommend you
read, can be found at the WSJ site: http://www.opinionjournal.com/forms/printThis.html?id=110009472
With
the article as backdrop, then, we asked our peerless panel to comment
on Mr. Miller’s essay, citing points of agreement and
disagreement. Per usual, we were not disappointed by the
panel’s response.
Holt's
Perspectives
February 16, 2007: Awake in Seattle: Observations of a Convention Goer
As he traipsed about Seattle and the ALA Midwinter conference,
Glen Holt saw a number of things—good and bad—that library leaders
can learn from. He shares his observations with you in this enjoyable
narrative.
January 15, 2007: Questions on my Mind for ALA Midwinter
The ALA does a wonderful job of telling us what to see and where to eat
while at the Midwinter conference in Seattle. Glen Holt goes a step or two further by suggesting what you
might want to be thinking about before, during, and after the conference.
November, 2006 LLN
Peer Panel
Over
the course of the last many months, and most recently in last week’s
“screed” from George Needham, we have heard mention of Mentoring.
So this month, I asked the Peer Panel for their views on this topic,
with special attention to the following questions:
- What
mentoring experiences have been valuable to you, either as a mentor or
mentee? In discussing these experiences, please highlight why they
were of value and what made them work.
- Have your
mentoring experiences always involved people within the library world?
Or have you observed (or been a part of) programs or instances where
the mentor and mentee worked in different fields?
- Do you
feel that mentoring programs work, or is it best to let mentor/mentee
relationships form naturally and evolve without the aid of a formal
framework? Why?
Forget the Opac, Why Does Library Management Suck?
George Needham has been a keen observer of
libraries and their management for years. In this measured--but very
direct—essay (a “screed,” according to George), he discusses
the shortcomings of many managers and suggests the “hard questions”
we should be asking ourselves. Finally he makes a most compelling case
for mentoring as a key in encouraging and developing our future library
leaders. (November 1, 2006)
Summer, 2006 LLN
Peer Panel
The topic of discussion this month is Change Management.
Change is, of course, inevitable, and in recent years we have witnessed
a tremendous amount of environmental (especially technological) change
that has put pressure on “public” institutions like
libraries to either quickly adapt or become increasingly
marginalized. And as much as we would like it to be the case,
organizational change doesn’t automatically follow
environmental change. The result of this is that change
management has become a big
topic and has attracted a great deal of energy in the form of research,
new consultancies, and tons of literature (some of it helpful!).
We asked our panel to comment on change management, citing their
personal experiences and observations.
Holt Perspectives: Is DC Public Ready for Its Renaissance?
August 22, 2006: Part 4
Glen Holt concludes his series on the
District of Columbia Public Library by recounting recent dramatic
events and discussing the success factors and players involved in the
hoped-for renaissance.
August 8, 2006: Part 3
In Part 3 of his essay on the Washington, D.C. Public Library, Glen Holt discusses the Blueprint
authored by the mayor’s taskforce. The devil is in the
details, of course, and Glen is fast to point out the many challenges
new director Ginnie Cooper and her staff face as they make the
Blueprint into a living, breathing, and hopefully successful, library.
August 1, 2006: Part 2
We
continue with the saga of the Washington D.C. Public Library. In Part
2 (of 4), Glen Holt makes it clear that it takes a lot more than money
to create a great library system. The funds are flowing in our
nation’s capital, but many managerial challenges await new director
Ginnie Cooper.
June 10, 2006 :Part 1
The late banker Walter Wriston would often (off the record)
refer to Washington D.C. as
“Disney World North.” Indeed, everything that happens
“inside the beltway” is magnified beyond proportion--often
grotesquely--by a combination of politicians, power, money and a media on
steroids. And the effort to bring about a “renaissance” of
the D.C. Public Library System is not immune from this phenomenon. In
this first of a series, Glen Holt
explores
the background of this renaissance: the people and the politics
involved with
this most visible institution. Subsequent installments will deal
with the
varying views concerning the desired outcomes of this renaissance and
explore
the critical question: “Will the residents of DC get the great
library
system they need and deserve?" While Washington D.C. is certainly
a "special" environment, we think you will find a number of parallels
with the issues faced by all library leaders, regardless of library
type and size.
Frankly Speaking: Managing Number One 
Holt
Perspectives:
March
9, 2006: We're Number One! We're
Number
One! We're Number One!
In
this Perspective, Glen Holt takes some issue with the various rankings
that make waves in the library community. He thoroughly
dissects the methods behind them and reminds us of what truly matters
as we look at the role our libraries play--both now and in the future.
Frankly Speaking: Libraries in the Flat World
Closing the Deal
Our recent article
about Thomas Friedman's book, The World Is Flat,
received an immediate response from Jamie LaRue, a member of the LLN
Peer Panel. Jamie noted that not all of us are card-carrying
extroverts, and thus may be a bit reticent about the "sales"
responsibilities we have as part of our jobs. His article talks
about
his own experiences in a humorous and helpful way. (March 22, 2006)
Risk, Luck and Serendipity
Risk is a four letter word, but without
risk-taking there would be little
progress, only stagnation. With this in mind, Buff Hirko talks forcefully about the need for library
leaders to take risk in order to
create greater relevance and success. (April 18, 2006)
Leadership
The
concept of leadership
has long been the subject of many writings, speeches and
discussions. As it is the key word in our name, the Library
Leadership Network is pleased to present the insights of Nancy Bolt,
herself a proven leader in the library community. In
discussing
leadership, Nancy takes a fresh and informal approach, one that is
relevant to those who manage libraries. Topics such as
leadership
typically defy consensus, and we hope that our readers will share their
views on the topic as Nancy continues to address it in subsequent
articles. (November 17, 2005)
What Makes a Library Great?
In the
June Preview issue of The LLN Commons, Glen Holt got our attention with
“Asking the Right, But Hard Questions.”
In “What Makes a Library Great?” he responds to those
questions by outlining the criteria that define successful libraries
and the importance of measurement in objectively assessing their
“greatness.” In his introduction, Glen notes that:
“Our times call for great libraries,” ones that
“innovate in their use of new tools” and do not
“repeat ceaselessly our old ways of thinking and
doing.” Although written from the point of view of the
public library (Glen is the recently-retired Executive Director of the
one in St. Louis), Glen’s message applies to libraries of all
types and sizes. (Sepetmber 8, 2005)
Asking the Right, But
Hard
Questions
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.
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