Renate L. Chancellor, associate professor in the Department of Library and Information Science at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and author of E. J. Josey: Transformational Leader of the Modern Library Profession (Rowman and Littlefield, 2020), is a leading Josey scholar. American Libraries spoke with her about his life, activism, and impact on … Continue reading The Activist Life of E. J. Josey
I was reminded of the words of the late US Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” When I was eventually elected to the VLA vice presidency, I established the VLA Librarians of Color (LOC) Forum with that goal in mind—to provide more seats at … Continue reading More Seats at the Table
Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World By Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall Culture, goals, leadership, feedback: These ideas are ingrained in our work lives. They shape the organizations we work for and our experiences within them. But Buckingham and Goodall argue that they are, in fact, lies that distort … Continue reading Reenvisioning Work
A major issue with hiring for cultural fit is the potential to stifle diversity. We are all influenced by cognitive biases, the shortcuts our brains are programmed to take to help us make decisions. Those biases often lead us to value and want to be around people who are more like us. Whether that means … Continue reading Is “Fit” a Bad Fit?
Transforming Libraries: A Toolkit for Innovators, Makers, and Seekers, by Ron Starker, begins with the premise that libraries are at a tipping point in the evolutionary process, from being book warehouses to serving as centers for collaboration and learning. Starker analyzes issues that are changing libraries, including their historical context, the specific challenges each faces, … Continue reading Become Future Ready
Alcantara-Antoine—who at first didn’t pursue director-level leadership because she thought she was too shy and “didn’t see many directors who looked like [her]”—was one of four panelists sharing candid experiences and advice at the Public Library Association Conference’s “Wonderful World of Being a First-Time Director” session on March 22. Panelists included current first-time directors at … Continue reading New Library Leaders: Lessons Learned
The situation can be managed in a compassionate and direct manner to create an effective conversation and a working solution. To begin, we must define the difficult conversation. What is a difficult conversation? For a conflict-avoidant person, it is any conversation that produces anxiety, that worries you, or that you have put off, and in … Continue reading We’ve All Been There
Let me start then by expressing profound gratitude to the members of the search committee. I know several of them—fine, clearheaded, and experienced people all—and I also know they must have done yeoman’s work. These tasks are important, time-consuming, and often with little reward other than self-satisfaction because you can’t tell anybody what’s going on. … Continue reading Degree or Not Degree
We all know that the best libraries are the ones that have the strongest connections with their constituents and make all members of their community feel that they belong and are welcome and represented. It isn’t all sunshine and roses, however. It’s not unusual to be screamed at during a community meeting, or to be … Continue reading Leadership and Vision
With regard to leadership, people have passed down wisdom through storytelling for many generations. In Fables for Leaders, John Lubans brings together fables from several traditions with thoughtful commentary to help readers identify new ways to approach the modern workplace. Lubans mines the work of fabulists Abstemius, Aesop, La Fontaine, and Odo of Cheriton. Many … Continue reading How We Lead
PLA recognizes that a connected library field is a strong library field. By sharing effective practices and working together to address common issues, libraries can leverage their resources for exponential impact. PLA provides training for leaders to make these connections through the academy and other networking opportunities. All leadership activities are based on a leadership … Continue reading PLA in Africa
These questions have been on my mind since I attended Power Up: A Conference in Leadership for Youth Services Managers and Staff at the Information School of the University of Wisconsin–Madison in March. This amazing event had a dynamic array of presenters who talked about topics such as empowering teens to be leaders, finding your programming style, … Continue reading Leadership in Librarianship
