ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries July/August 1989 / 573 D e v e l o p i n g c o l l e g e l i b r a r y l e a d e r s o f t o m o r r o w By M ignon Adam s Director o f Library Services Philadelphia College o f Pharmacy and Science With A nn e C onunerton (SUNY-Oswego) Larry H ardesty (Eckerd College) M ichael K ath m an (St. J oh n ’s University) Jacq u elyn Morris (O ccidental College) Recommendations made by a panel of college library directors at th e A C R L Cincinnati Conference. D e v e l o p i n g their leaders for the next century is a guidance; we should create a suitable environm ent for the development of leaders; and w e should en­ courage the Association of College and Research Libraries and th e College Libraries Section to pro­ vide leadership programs. Encouragement and guidance of individuals C om m ittee work. College directors can provide necessary and varied experience for librarians who show th e potential and m otivation for leadership. For example, com m ittee work can provide an ex­ cellent tra in in g -g ro u n d for th e kind of te a m ­ building, consensus-seeking and goal-setting an ef­ fective director m ust accomplish. W hile beginning librarians seldom have the chance to chair a com­ m ittee, volunteering as a m em ber (and hardw ork­ ing members are always welcome) provides both insight in w orking w ith o th ers a n d visibility. Search committees provide a particularly im por­ ta n t perspective on the hiring process. W ork on these committees often develops im portant inter- prim ary concern for college libraries. Despite their increasing complexity, these libraries have little in form al training to offer. In college libraries, there are fewer opportunities th an in larger research/ university libraries for librarians to develop the necessary skills for leadership positions. The assis­ ta n t director position, often a stepping stone to a di­ rectorship, is non-existent in most college libraries. Typically, funding organizations have overlooked director training needs of college libraries. For ex­ ample, the Council on Library Resources specifi­ cally created its internship program to groom only tom orrow ’s research/university library leaders. To address these concerns, a panel of college li­ brary directors m et and shared ideas through a pre­ sentation at the C incinnati ACRL Conference, as the 100th anniversary of the College Library Sec­ tion was celebrated. Through this collaboration, w e have produced a set of recom mendations in three areas. W e should help individual librarians, as potential leaders, through encouragem ent and 574 / C & RL News view and personnel evaluation skills. Even p a rtici­ pation in h irin g student w orkers can be valuable experience. Gaining a w id er view . College library directors m ust have an understanding of th e library’s role in th e college and of developm ents in higher educa­ tion. W e should encourage future directors to de­ velop an understanding of th e mission of th e col­ lege. W e need to sh are w ith th em inform ation abo u t th e role of th e library and th e budgetary p ro ­ cess. U nderstanding th e necessity and process for assigning resources am ong various cam pus constit­ uencies is im p o rtan t. Sometimes we can encourage th e form ation of a w ider view by simply routing th roughout th e library th e Chronicle o f Higher E d ­ ucation, read by virtually every academ ic adm inis­ tra to r. W e should encourage librarians to serve in com­ m unity leadership positions. W e can nom inate our librarians for cam pus-w ide com m ittees. They can even occasionally represent us on those comm ittees w e serve. Such opportunities provide good m an ­ agem ent skills w hile individuals give to th e aca­ dem ic com m unity. Creating an environment for growth D iversity a nd challenge. P otential leaders need diverse assignm ents. R o ta tin g jo b assignm ents am ong librarians gives them a view of the whole li­ brary. D irectors can also invite other librarians to accom pany them to m eetings or to co-author re­ ports and other contributions to th e literature. W e should support continuing education both inside a n d outside librarianship. L eave th em in charge. D irectors active outside their colleges either through leaves or professional organizations not only im prove themselves b u t also provide an o p portunity for others. W e can leave other librarians “in charge” w hile w e are gone. In addition to growing professionally, librarians also can discover if sitting in th e d irector’s place is a role they really w ant. Permissibility and im portance o f failure. As li­ b rary directors, w e need to create a n environm ent w here lib rarian s can take risks. W e give librarians th e auth o rity to take risks and to understand their responsibility for th e results. D irectors should p ro ­ vide th e guidance necessary to assure th a t mistakes m ade are not disastrous for th e individual or th e or­ g a n iz a tio n . M ost im p o r ta n t, lib ra ry d ire c to rs should not overreact to mistakes or insulate lib ra ri­ ans from risk-taking. Mistakes (and w e all have m ade our share) are an im p o rta n t ingredient of th e learning process. A significant p a rt of the initiation into th e college lib ra ry directorship is how to re ­ cover from our mistakes. The profession M any needed opportunities are outside th e scope of th e individual director or college to provide. O ur profession an d its various associations have a n obli­ gation to provide fu rth e r developm ent opportuni­ ties for potential college lib rary leaders. W e see a need for m ore internships, preconferences, and continuing education courses. Internships. In te rn sh ip o p p o rtu n itie s are n o t new in th e developm ent of academ ic adm inistra­ tors a n d university lib ra ry directors. Support for internships for college lib rary directors, how ever, is less a p p a re n t. Perhaps one reason for this is th a t an internship can place a considerable bu rd en on th e sm all staff of a college library. W e have several suggestions on ways to overcom e this problem . A lib ra rian could serve a n internship am ong sev­ eral colleges. W e are aw are of a t least one example, in n o rthern Illinois, w here this occurred. In order to gain a bro ad er understanding of th e n a tu re of th e institution, a lib ra ria n could serve an in tern ­ ship am ong several key adm inistrators w ithin a col­ lege, such as th e chief academ ic officer, and deans. T h e lib rary d irector reports to these individuals a n d shares w ith them responsibility for th e library budget. D eans a n d associate deans often share v ari­ ous constituencies w ith th e lib ra ry director, p a rtic ­ ularly th e faculty. Perhaps college consortia m ight b e receptive to sponsoring such a n internship since they also have a n interest in cultivating good li­ b rary directors. Program s f o r n e w directors. A C R L or sta te chapters should develop program s for new college lib ra ry directors. They could hold preconferences for new directors a t ALA or ACRL conferences. O rganizers m ight lim it th e program to those indi­ viduals w ho have been college lib ra ry directors for tw o years or less. Perhaps experienced library di­ rectors m ight recom m end or nom inate oth er indi­ viduals. T he program m ight follow an outline th a t divides it into four survival areas: 1) th e mission, 2) th e staff, 3) th e b u d g e t, and 4) th e boss. E ach ses­ sion could include a presentation follow ed by exer­ cises and discussions. Courses b e y o n d library school. M anagem ent courses in lib ra ry school m ay be excellent, b u t their tim ing is unsuitable. T he “teachable m om ent” for adm inistrators is w hen they need adm inistrative skills. M any of us are not n e a r library schools to tak e courses la te r in our careers. ACRL could con­ sider continuing education courses w ith a college focus, both nationally as w ell as locally. L ibrary professional associations should also consider alli­ ance w ith other organizations th a t m ay already be providing such courses. State organizations could also be of help. F or ex­ am ple, th e M ichigan L ib ra ry Association for sev­ eral years has sponsored a leadership academ y for librarians w ho are p o tential leaders. Conclusion W ith th eir increasing complexities, college li­ braries of th e fu tu re w ill req u ire highly tra in e d and effective leaders. W e share a concern about those librarians w ho w ill carry our w o rk into th e 21st century. ■ ■