Assuming and then succeeding in a leadership role in an academic library, regardless of one’s formal position in the organizational structure, requires the right balance of two disparate types of skills. The first set consists of people (often called soft) skills to facilitate communication and effectively work with others. The second set consists of technical skills acquired through formal education complemented by practical experience and additional competencies learned on the job. In many academic libraries, the path from entering as a newly minted academic librarian, fresh from graduate school, to positions of more responsibility and authority is dependent on personal interests as well as having the requisite qualifications needed for the step up. Those consciously looking for advancement may also opt to take advantage of opportunities that arise due to internal changes within their own library or a new opportunity at a different institution.
The common thread that runs throughout career progression, however, is the... MORE

Transforming Our Libraries from Analog to Digital
>> A 2020 Vision

By 2020, we can build a collaborative digital library collection and circulation system in which thousands of libraries unlock their analog collections for a new generation of learners, enabling free, longterm, public access to knowledge.

Today, people get their information online — often filtered through for-profit platforms.
If a book isn’t online, it’s as if it doesn’t exist. Yet much of modern knowledge still exists
only on the printed page, stored in libraries. Libraries haven’t met this digital demand,
stymied by costs, e-book restrictions, policy risks, and missing infrastructure. We now
have the technology and legal frameworks to transform our library system by 2020... MORE

In recent years, considerable change has affected universities and their academic libraries, and this pace of change is likely to continue.

Partnerships are crucial for an academic library to successfully meet the needs of its clients and support the aims and objectives of its university. The library needs to work closely with client groups so that services are relevant, forge partnerships with other university professionals to provide seamless services, and develop innovative services with other local, regional or national organizations and universities to help deliver effective services and institutional efficiencies... MORE

Without Foundations, We Can’t Build
» Information Literacy and the Need for Strong School Library Programs

Where do students learn to be information literate? Ideally, students develop the foundations of information literacy during their formative years in school. While classroom teachers play a pivotal role in a child’s development, the librarian is the school’s only information literacy expert, and often the only staff member with the education, expertise, and time to ensure that students are receiving a thorough education in this area. The absence or poor utilization of a certified School Library Media Specialist (SLMS) has a deep, direct impact on K-12 students and those pursuing higher education: the problems and disadvantages... MORE