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Lateral leaders influence, persuade, and elicit constructive contributions from others at all levels of an organization. In this article, the authors build off their 2021 Brick & Click Conference Proceedings article and weave in their own perspectives and experiences of lateral leadership in action through a discussion of (1) the importance and role of lateral leadership in today's organizations; (2) how using a strategic mindset can steer problem solving; (3) ways to identify, cultivate, and support lateral leaders; (4) strategies to build trust and empower others as a peer; and (5) techniques for working thoughtfully with teams as a lateral leader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing dynamics, uncertainties, and operating environments of many library services across the globe make it difficult for leadership teams to develop strategic plans. This article presents empirical findings on a scenario-planning project that sought to develop a mission, vision and strategy for the House of Commons Library Service in UK Parliament. Set in the context of a major £6bn Restoration and Renewal program, it demonstrates how Scenario Planning was used to manage significant levels of uncertainty and develop a long-term strategic direction that sought to deliver high-quality Library Services provision over the next 10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual paper introduces the joint San José State University, School of Information and Simmons University, School of Library and Information Science, IMLS grant planning project: iLead: Preparing Tomorrow’s Library Leaders. During 2023–24, the grant team project members are designing an asynchronous online program where library employees may earn micro-credentials. The online program focuses on developing leadership skills with an equity, diversity, and inclusion lens. Contributions from national, state, and local library partners during the development of this curriculum will assist in applying for a future IMLS implementation grant. For more information on iLead: https://www.ileadedi.org/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the column below, the author examines the neuroscience behind decision-making practices as they relate to library leadership. Through extended knowledge of cognitive function, especially pertaining to memory, library leaders can better equip themselves to make decisions grounded in values, ethics and guiding principles. These key traits are referred to as "North Star Values," and while always important in the decision-making process, have proven even more vital as libraries work to navigate the COVID-19 global pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic libraries are considered static organizations that are not eager to innovate because of the lack of innovative culture; however, the current study demonstrated that innovation in academic libraries is not as rare as expected. This study analyzed data from nine semi-structured interviews with European academic library directors. The study's goal is to map respondents' approach toward innovation: how innovation is seen and managed in libraries. The findings show that all study libraries are involved in innovative activities, and their leaders are encouraging innovation through empowering their staff. Library directors consider innovation as part of their library's strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the characteristics of open leadership to support academic library leaders in promoting open science. It also aims to identify the existing leadership practices related to the implementation of open science from the viewpoint of Malaysian academic library leaders. The research employs a quantitative approach, utilizing online surveys distributed among 50 leaders from Malaysian public and private academic libraries. The study is anchored in the Open Leadership Framework, encompassing three key practices: design (contextualization), build (structure and system creation), and empower (personal leadership skills). Open leadership, viewed as a response to technological advancements and the use of multimedia communication tools, is framed within the principles, practices, and skills that communities can leverage to achieve shared goals. The findings from the design principle indicate unanimous agreement among respondents on the importance of collaboration, both internally and externally, for the success of the open science agenda, aligning with the principles of community interactions. In the build principle, all respondents share the belief that libraries should implement training and competence development programs, aligning with mentoring principles. This adherence corresponds to the principles of commons-based production, emphasizing the encouragement of publication in open-access journals, and project management, highlighting the pivotal role of libraries in determining the university's open data repository. In the empowerment principle, a total response of 61.5 percent under the "makes connection" principle, emphasizes the need for collaboration between the library, the university's Information Technology Center, and the Research Management Center to provide researcher profiles. This study not only provides insights into the current landscape of open leadership practices among Malaysian academic library leaders but also offers valuable implications for fostering collaboration, training initiatives, and empowerment strategies in the realm of open science. By understanding and embracing these principles, academic institutions and libraries can navigate the evolving scholarly environment, effectively contributing to the advancement of open science practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to understand the experiences of library administrators who have led a major library renovation project. Most often this person is an Associate Dean working on the Dean's behalf. Six participants from large, public, research universities in the United States were interviewed for this study. The findings show that library administrators are largely unprepared to lead renovations in terms of formal education and training. Suggestions are offered to help library administrators become better prepared in areas related to renovations and provide implications in terms of funding, staffing practices, professional development, and organizational understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines career trajectories for participants in the Association of Research Libraries Leadership Fellows Program (ARLLFP). Data from the program's inception in 2004 through 2019 are examined to determine what path participants careers took during or after their experience in the ARLLFP. Data show that nearly two-thirds of the alumni of the program became library directors or were promoted to another job with additional responsibilities. Breakdowns by gender, geographic base, and length of time from program completion help illuminate nuances and areas of possible concern. While the high number of graduates progressing in their careers suggests success, a broader approach is required to assess fully the program's value and future. This article lays the foundation for further evaluative research on this and other such leadership development programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Libraries are workplaces just like any other organization. Librarians and library staff have varying levels of engagement with their work and satisfaction with their jobs. Both workplace engagement and job satisfaction are crucial to many aspects of organizational life, especially employee perception of the organization. Many factors affect engagement and satisfaction, but the two biggest are leadership and workplace culture and environment. Culture and leadership are both heavily influenced by each other. As library leaders, we need to create positive, healthy cultures, and environments in our library. This article discusses some of the ways, library leaders can have a beneficial impact on their library's culture, including emphasizing values, using emotional intelligence to build relationships and model good behavior, create a shared vision, and be a competent librarian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This bibliometric study investigates the publishing trends and patterns along with top authors, countries, organizations, nature of collaboration, and sub-areas of library leadership literature published from 1959 to 2022. The Scopus database was used for data extraction, and 500 relevant records were selected. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, VOSviewer, Biblioshiny, and CiteSpace software. The results highlighted that the United States of America was a global trendsetter in library leadership research, being the top contributing country (313, 62.6% publications). They also identified the top productive author (Martin, J.), top-cited author (Ole Pors, N), top organization (University of Punjab, Pakistan), most preferable sources (Journal of Library Administration) and top-cited article ("Supporting Digital Scholarship in Research Libraries: Scalability and Sustainability" by Vinopal J). The highest research productivity was recorded in 2019, with 42 publications (8.4%), followed by 37 (7.4%) publications in 2018 and 2021. Furthermore, 270 publications (54%) on library leadership were published during the last decade (2011–2020). This study informed that most of the published literature on library leadership was general, following a solo authorship trend (314), with less collaborative research (n = 186) and a significant number (n = 148) of non-cited documents. The critical areas of future research identified in this study, including transformational, ethical, participative, and humanistic leadership, need to be investigated. The study suggests that emerging digital and virtual leadership areas should also be examined along with the areas with limited literature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive bibliometric study to present a holistic picture of the library leadership literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed leadership (DL) is a less focused area in librarianship and further limited literature in the context of workplace creativity and job satisfaction. This study investigates the impact of DL dimensions (decision making, delegation of authority, and motivation) on workplace creativity and job satisfaction in the academic libraries of Pakistan. A quantitative research approach was used and data was collected through an adapted questionnaire. A purposive sampling method was used, and the data was collected from 241 library professionals. The findings revealed that library professionals favor the DL in libraries. The regression model revealed that two DL dimensions (decision making and motivation) have a significant positive impact on workplace creativity and job satisfaction, whereas the 'delegation of authority' did not impact workplace creativity. The library professionals considered 'creativity' as the core function of leadership. However, they offer suggestions and let the leadership decide to implement them. The library directors need to provide independence and authority to the middle-managers while delegating authority so that they make decisions, learn, and perform better when they ascend to leadership positions. Theoretical and practical implications were added with the context that DL provides an opportunity to utilize the potential of the team members to foster creativity and job satisfaction in the academic libraries. This study fills a gap in the research and looks at how DL affects creativity at work and job satisfaction in libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review of Holm, C., Guimaraes, A. & Marcano, N. (2022). Academic librarian burnout causes and responses. Association of College and Research Libraries.

The Library and Information Science (LIS) literature in the last few decades has made clear that academic libraries have experienced deep budget cuts, hiring freezes, and an aging workforce. In response to this situation, many libraries have reorganized and flattened the hierarchy in their organizational structures, leaving far fewer middle management positions. An unfortunate consequence of this situation is that, as Baby Boomer library administrators/deans retire, there are few qualified applicants to succeed them. Thus, many in the LIS field have called for better succession planning by current library deans, while others have pointed out the difficulty of succession planning in libraries with flat organizational structures. Few studies, however, have directly addressed this issue by examining deans' perceptions or behavior in regard to succession planning. This study attempts to begin filling this gap in the literature by conducting a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with library deans in academic libraries with flat organizational structures. Findings include an examination of the structure, culture, and agency of the individuals involved, which impact how and why the participant-deans engage or do not engage in succession planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing information landscape calls for a new leadership, new competences, and new approaches to library services. In today's information age, information literate citizens must be able to assess the reliability of information, making information literacy instruction an important task for libraries. In this paper, five researchers present data from interviews they carried out with library leaders from Germany, Romania, Finland, UK, and Norway. The experiences of the library leaders were different, reflecting varying levels of economic austerity, and how closely each country adheres to New Public Management (NPM)-theory and practice. However, they also show how NPM and reduced budgets can lead to a greater and better cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting a new job comes with its unique challenges. New librarians are expected to develop an understanding of their roles, often with no guidance. For assorted reasons, including staffing, time, and lack of planning, many libraries do not have an onboarding process. This article explores from a librarian’s perspective the key ingredients needed when starting a new job in this hybrid environment, with a focus on the importance of an onboarding process that prioritizes effective communication, documentation of institutional knowledge, and the long-term success of librarians. This article is a call for library leadership to do more to ensure librarians succeed in their roles. Library leadership for the purpose of this article extends to anyone in the library with a managerial role and the authority to effect change.

The study targets examining the exploration yield on the key terms of librarianship within 52 years (1970-2021). The investigation cover essentially the quantity of articles, language of articles, top research oriented organizations and countries, topmost publication source, highly productive authors, highly interested research area, commonly used keyword and so forth. A complete bibliometric study was directed utilizing the Science Citation Index data set, Web of Science (Core Collection). This research fills in as an asset for future research activities by revealing insight into librarianship. In particular, the outcomes uncover that the mostly chosen publication category is article and the research referred to articles are from United States and the top productive organization is also from USA. The preferred language is English for publications and the most favored research area is the “Information Science Library Science” during this time span. This bibliometric research is significant for all those researchers who relates to librarianship and who need to see the publication trends in this profession.

Given the continual rate of change in academic libraries, the increasing accountability in higher education and the call to contribute to learning outcomes, career success, and lifelong learning, leadership that is responsive to the service mission is critical to their success and evolution. However, as has been consistently stated in the literature, there is a leadership vacuum. The pursuit of leadership, as evidenced by job advertisements, is representative of this lack of attention to a service leadership ethic. This study examines library dean and director position descriptions and advertisements from 2011 to 2015 for elements of the service leadership model. Analysis indicates that most leadership posting for academic libraries attend to traditional library experience and management skills, rather than service leadership attributes. Examples of framing positions based on the service leadership model are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A survey of U.S. library managers explored the relationship between their social identities, experiences supervising others, support from others, and their overall satisfaction in their professional role. The literature provides evidence that demographic differences give rise to challenges in the workplace. Though no statistically significant differences were found between minority and nonminority managers related to supervisees' microaggressive behaviors, written commentary provided evidence of these and other supervision challenges. A regression analysis found that supervisees' behaviors, along with a manager's age, were significant predictors of their satisfaction as a supervisor. Recommendations for further research and implications for libraries emerge from these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal communication—communication among those working in the library—is vital to the engagement, success, and functioning of library employees and departments. However, it has received far less attention than external communication (e.g., promotional and outreach efforts to the academic community). This exploratory study surveyed academic libraries in the United States to determine common themes and potential ways to improve internal library communication. Recurring themes around challenges and effectiveness of internal communications remained consistent, regardless of library size or librarian role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the University of Wollongong (UOW) Library, we created a vision for digital transformation through the Future-Ready Library Strategy (University of Wollongong Library, 2018). This was a conscious commitment to becoming a 'digital-first' library and with a strategic and disruption-ready mindset already in place at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to apply and accelerate many of our planned initiatives. At the start of the crisis, the library leadership team adopted a business continuity approach to decision making, inclusive of representatives of critical service areas for regular and frequent discussion and action. This approach enabled the sustained delivery of core and critical resources and services while remaining aligned to the vision (University of Wollongong, n.d.). This case study examines the strategies and approaches taken at UOW Library over the past five years and outlines our successes and challenges through change leadership that we believe goes beyond change management and to the heart of our people centred approach to leading in the library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 crisis, leaders of academic libraries had to make various decisions to retain library relevance and maintain essential services. The COVID-19 crisis raised the question of libraries' value to their universities more than ever. Libraries were facing financial difficulties but also operational challenges due to the services built around physical libraries. This paper uses a mixed methods approach to investigate academic library leaders' decision-making during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis. It combines quantitative and qualitative data from previous studies with primary data collected by the author to determine what kind of decisions university library leaders faced during the crisis and why. These studies show that leaders were concerned about the following main challenges: lack of access to physical services and collections, the safety of staff and patrons, new ways of working, and the library's role during the crisis. The results show that library leaders made decisions in smaller groups or some cases, individually due to the lack of time or information. While there have been numerous studies on libraries' response to the COVID-19 crisis in the past three years, this paper focuses mainly on academic library leaders and their decision-making to solve the crisis for their libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Libraries as a dynamic environment have supported dynamic interactions in various aspects of life. These interactions occur in several frames such as culture, social, and ideology that pose power in library leadership at universities. Data Collection Method. In-depth interviews with nine informants, consisting of heads, librarians, and library staff in three libraries, conducted unstructurally between 2018 and 2020. Interview data was used as the main data collection technique, supported by observations and documentation. Data Analysis. Miles and Huberman's model with three stages, i.e. data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion or verification, was employed to interpret findings. Results and Discussion. The results showed five main issues, which are directly related to power representation in libraries. These issues include religious understanding, institutional vision, temporary power, seniority of library personnels, and the influence of the library collection development. Conclusion. The representation of power in library leadership practices has emerged in the frames of religiosity, organizational ideology, seniority, power, and impact of library collection. Therefore, this research contributes to library science theorists and practitioners concerning the awareness of the power representation issues.

Nearly 80% of American librarians are women. Similarly, the majority of American librarians are White; people of color - e.g., African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino Americans - represent a small percentage of the U.S. library workforce. Throughout history, library leadership positions, regardless of the type of library (e.g., academic, public, or special), have been held by White males. This library leadership landscape was significantly altered following the enactment of a number of progressive laws and affirmative action programs, starting with the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The problem, however, is that not every underrepresented group benefit from these laws and programs (hereafter policies). In fact, based on the present study, it appears that these policies have done little to help increase the number of people of color who are library directors in some of America's largest and most prestigious academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out to investigate the current and prospective challenges faced by academic libraries in Pakistan and to present possible solutions addressing these challenges. The research design was qualitative, adopting the phenomenology approach. In-depth interviews of 14 senior academic library leaders from public and private sector universities of Pakistan were conducted. Leadership crisis was identified as the top challenge followed by those related to changing user behavior, human resources, financial, technological issues, and changes in higher education. Prospective challenges encompassed issues related to technological modalities, human resources, research data management and library space. While the study participants indicated their readiness to cope with these challenges, they agreed that there was a need of collective effort for human capacity building, initiation of compatible smart services, effective policy making and creation of societal awareness. The support from key players such as the library professionals, library associations, top management, LIS schools, HEC and other funding agencies was deemed to be vital for this purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Middle managers in academic libraries are often the first point of contact for employees within their departments. Middle managers work as colleagues, advocates, and project managers. While the responsibilities may vary between institutions, it is essential that middle managers develop leadership skills to function effectively in their positions. In the era of COVID-19, middle managers must reconcile their own expectations of their role with the changing needs and responsibilities of those they manage. COVID-19 is a complex phenomenon that has brought many issues such as health and social inequity to the forefront. These issues should be considered in leadership techniques that are utilized by middle managers in academic libraries. When leading a department, the manager must consider the whole person. This column will discuss several leadership styles that consider the whole person and can be effective for academic library middle managers as they navigate the complexities of their positions in the COVID-19 Era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study describes and assesses services, staffing practices, and trends in academic health sciences libraries that serve accredited college of osteopathic medicine (COM) programs in the United States. Methods: The study was conducted in three phases. In phase one, the investigators collected data on library services and staffing through the publicly facing websites of the COM libraries. In phase two, thirty-five COM library directors were invited to complete a survey regarding their services, staffing, supported programs, and students served. In phase three, seven COM library directors participated in phone interviews regarding services that increased their visibility, their motivation to offer expanded services, adequacy of staffing, and competencies required for new librarian roles. The investigators incorporated the Medical Library Association (MLA) competencies as a framework to structure the results. Results: Phase one identified 35 COM libraries serving between 162 and 8,281 students. In phase two, 30 out of a possible 35 survey respondents indicated that the top services offered or considered by COM libraries were in the MLA competency areas of “Instruction & Instructional Design” and “Evidence-Based Practice & Research.” In addition, we discovered that COM libraries had a median of 10 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff per 1,000 students. Phase three data revealed that library directors attributed their libraries’ success to the skills and talents of their staff, the wide range of resources and services they offered, and the desirability of their physical spaces. Library directors identified skills in the same MLA competency areas as phase two, as well as in the MLA competency areas of “Information Management” and “Leadership & Management,” as being desirable for new staff. Conclusion: The study results provide information for medical school administrators and library directors to help identify trends across US osteopathic medical schools in order to justify the need for additional services and staffing. These results can assist medical and library leadership in COM schools in planning for their future academic health sciences libraries. Finally, the findings could assist programs in library and information sciences in redesigning their curriculums based on the MLA competencies for students who seek future careers in academic health sciences libraries.

Library Leadership Your Way was a preconference intended to be a practical guide for anyone interested in library leadership. The point was not to explain how to lead, but for attendees to discover why they want to lead, how they can best lead, and what their unique leadership practice looks like. Attendees were asked to think about what leadership means to them, learn overall principles of how to effectively lead themselves and others, be exposed to major leadership theories and philosophies, and finally to revisit their initial ideas about leadership. By the end, attendees had developed their own definition of and approach to leadership, understand the basics of major leadership theories and philosophies, and have a leadership practice and plan in place they can use in their everyday leadership lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viewing public libraries as Complex Adaptive Systems, the current study analyzed leadership within these systems in terms of complexity and innovation. This included a leader's capacity for ambiguity and emergence, features of leadership in different contexts, and perceptions of success and innovation. From a list of current public library directors and managers, 15 participants completed a 30-minute phone interview that followed a semi-structured guide. By analyzing the intersection of complexity of approach with complexity of context, eight leadership approaches were uncovered through coding. Results suggest that most participants engaged with most of the leadership approaches at some point. In addition, most of these approaches were seen as successful and innovative—though in different ways. Findings suggest that traditional hardline distinctions between leadership and management—or innovative and non-innovative—are no longer useful. This study is an important contribution to the study of public library leadership, as it applies theories of complexity to both approach and context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the managerial and leadership attributes of the 14 library directors of the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s universities prior to being appointed to their current positions. Special attention will be given to the managerial and leadership attributes that the decision-makers (e.g., university presidents, provosts, members of search committees, or members of the board of trustees) considered to be important. This study hopes to provide examples of leadership attributes that aspiring academic library leaders, especially those who desire to lead large academic and research libraries, may want to develop.

The aim of the study is to investigate the conceptions of academic library leaders' about library leadership, library management, the best attributes for academic library leaders and the ways to develop leadership skills. A qualitative approach was used and data were collected through in-depth interviews from 15 experienced academic library leaders in Pakistan. Phenomenology was used to explore the common conceptions of the participants about library leadership, library management, smart leaders' attributes and significant ways to develop leadership. Academic library leaders perceived that a library leader is all about being visionary and innovative, being bold, and being a knowledge worker. Majority of the participants differentiated between library leader and library manager however, others had similar conceptions about both roles. The best attributes of academic library leaders conceived by professionals are having a humanistic and charismatic personality, being a team leader, and having building relationship skills or social outreach. Humanist aspect of a leader prevails among participants' voices and this might be an addition to the existing literature. Continuous professional development, mentorship, and being in a competitive environment are the best ways for library leadership skills development. The study would be helpful for library leaders, university management, library associations and library schools in policy making and offering of professional training and education of library leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to systematically collect and analyze the literature on academic library leaders focusing on the challenges faced by them, the set of skills needed to overcome these challenges, and ways for them to develop these leadership skills. A systematic literature review was conducted of the relevant studies published in the first two decades of the 21st century by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Five major scholarly databases (Scopus, Web of Science, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA), Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA), and Google Scholar) were searched for the relevant literature. It was found that rapid change, primarily a consequence of rapid technological innovation, continued to present a fundamental challenge for the profession. It emerged that library leaders needed to be visionary and innovative with effective communication and social skills to encourage a collaborative and agile culture in academic institutions. It was also found that the development of library leadership skills has been a comparatively neglected area in the library profession especially for junior and mid-career library professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of academic library leaders of Pakistan about library leadership. Qualitative research design was used with phenomenology approach as the present study aims to investigate what library leaders commonly perceive to be challenges, fundamental difficulties and needed skills to be successful. Data were collected through in-depth interviews from 15 senior academic library leaders. Major challenges found were identity crises followed by communication issues, financial constraints, CPD and administrative issues. The most challenging aspects of being an academic library leader were identified as trying to create awareness, lack of self-development culture and technological issues. The required leadership skills were communication, vision, social interaction, team building, organisational understanding and knowledge sharing. The findings of the study are helpful for current, young and future chief librarians to understand the challenges they may face and to develop the leadership skills needed to cope with these challenges. The study will also be helpful to academic institutions during their recruitment processes; professional associations for training purposes; and library schools for arranging and offering leadership courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern academic libraries tend to provide services beyond traditional lending, reference, and enquiry services. Many are converged with other professional or student-focussed services such as IT, student services, academic support, or such learning resources as multimedia or print services – often co-located in space and management structure. At its optimum, this convergence can foster cross-institution working and enable Library services visibility in institution strategy alongside other business continuity services (e.g., student records, Finance, HR). Conversely, the structure could bury Library services, relegating them to the 'always there, not a problem' box. The visibility of Library services within the converged structure, of course, is dependent on whether the Library leader has influence at the executive table. Through the prism of the McKinsey 7S framework, this article reflects on the convergence of Library, IT, Multimedia Services including classroom management, and Print Services at SOAS University of London and examines the process of bringing together staff with varying professional identities and grades to work as a cohesive team delivering front-line, customer-focussed services. The article also reflects on how taking a multidisciplinary approach to providing institution support enabled the Customer Services and Operations (CSOps) team to influence institution strategy on space development for learning, teaching, and research support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper briefly examines three areas that individuals new to library leadership should focus on during their first year as a new library director: creating relationships, understanding financials, and identifying a leadership style. While this paper is written with the public library administrator in mind, the areas and ideas showcased are easily transferrable to academic, government, and special library administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What do you call a single unit that buys books, ensures electronic access, and shares resources among external libraries? Ch… ch… changed! Change is exactly what the Acquisitions & Continuing Resources Department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Libraries is experiencing. For a newly created team formed by the merger of Acquisitions, Serials & Electronic Resources, and Interlibrary Services, the changes have been challenging but the rewards have been great. This article discusses the key elements that sparked the change from traditional Technical Services and Interlibrary Services structures, as well as the challenges encountered and the choices made to overcome those challenges along the way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Libraries remain crucial for the preservation and dissemination of cultural products in the English-speaking Caribbean. Cultural products span the realm from traditional to contemporary artforms in diverse formats. Technology has facilitated the process allowing cultural intermediaries such as libraries, archives and museums to extend their reach and expand markets. Globalization has also impacted the process, weakening national boundaries to facilitate a polemically viewed transformation. The treatment of cultural products with libraries is an uncommon theme in the literature on Caribbean libraries. This article therefore explores the practices of the Caribbean library in the acquisition, preservation and promotion of the region’s cultural product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the constant, if not escalating, need for professional development within the library workforce, the discourse of professional development lacks critical and evidence-based considerations. This paper discusses major factors that complicate the notion of professional development including the commodification of education, the rise of contingent labour, and a heightened emphasis on individualism.These difficulties point to a desperate need for a broader discussion and research focus on professional development so that library workers and library leaders can make informed and strategic decisions about the skills and knowledge required for the 21st century. Malgré le besoin constant, et même croissant, de développement professionnel au sein du personnel de la bibliothèque, le discours portant sur le développement professionnel connait un manque de considérations critiques et fondées sur des preuves. Cet article traite des facteurs importants qui compliquent la notion de développement professionnel y compris la marchandisation de l’éducation, la montée du travail contingent et l’importance accrue accordée à l’individualisme. Ces difficultés indiquent l’existence d’un grand besoin pour des discussions et de la recherche ayant une plus grande portée sur le développement professionnel afin que les employés et les dirigeants des bibliothèques puissent prendre des décisions éclairées et stratégiques concernant les habiletés et les connaissances requises au 21e siècle.