The Next Library Leadership: Attributes of Academic and Public Library Directors (review)

This resource contains a wealth of information on the declining number of individuals becoming librarians and the subsequent consequences for library director positions. The authors, Peter Hernon, professor at Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science; Ronald R. Powell, professor, Library and Information Science Program at Wayne State University; and Arthur P. Young, dean of University Libraries at Northern Illinois University, interviewed respected leaders in the field who shared their experiences and views on the topics of the shortage of librarians, qualities of an effective leader, traits needed by the next generation of academic and public library directors, and strategies that individuals can use to prepare themselves for leadership positions.

The methods of collecting data for the qualities important for library directors were content analysis, in-person and telephone interviewing of panels of experts to facilitate problem solving, planning, and decision-making. The leaders in the study included 13 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) directors selected by geographical representation, length of time spent as a director, and convenience for the investigator; Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) directors selected at random, taking into consideration that there was an appropriate mix of public and private institutions; 12 members of the Public Library Association (PLA) Small and Medium-Size Library Committee; and 13 members of its Metropolitan Libraries Committee selected and notified by e-mail to serve on the panel of experts for the public library. The results of the interviews are reported in two parts. Part One discusses the shortage of librarians and the qualities expected of library directors of ARL, ACRL, and PLA, devoting a chapter to each. Part Two addresses leadership assessment. This section includes methods of acquiring the qualities expected of library directors discussed in Part One.

In Part One, qualities considered important in the present and in the future were identified by one-fifth of the ARL directors and grouped into categories of managing, leading, planning, dealing with others, individual traits, and general areas of knowledge. Anonymous commentary by eight directors indicated that they considered the list very comprehensive. In addition, five seasoned and named library directors were interviewed. They emphasized the variation among qualities necessary to address the perceived issues most critical to the institution.

The ACRL directors were asked to respond to three successive rounds of e-mail to identify and refine a list of 54 unranked leadership attributes arranged under three major categories: managing attributes, personal attributes, and areas of knowledge. Six attributes were deleted and replaced with nine revisions of the corresponding attributes. For example, "planning, implementing, and assessing strategic goals" was revised to read "ability to plan, implement, and assess strategic goals." Four directors who did not participate in the initial ranking exercise commented that they found the list comprehensive. Several of the directors preferred a slightly revised array of attributes, however.

Public library directors were also e-mailed an unranked list of attributes organized in the previous mentioned categories and asked to add, edit, or move attributes to a more preferred heading. Eleven attributes were deleted and replaced with 17 revised attributes. For example, "an innovative leader" was revised to read "demonstrate innovative leadership." Six directors of large and medium-size public libraries were sent the final list of attributes ranked from most to least important within each category and asked to comment on attributes and related matters. Three of the respondents commented that they would add at least one additional attribute to the list. The authors then compared the resulting lists and established a list of common attributes such as effective communication, innovative leadership, strong interpersonal skills, and problem solving skills.

Part Two discusses the importance of leadership assessments as a necessary aid to personal development by determining an individual's strengths and developmental opportunities. Helpful information on leadership assessment can be found by searching the 17 URLs listed. There are, however, at least two...