Delving Into Leadership Development Programs; Library Journal, 9/30/15

Steven Bell, Library Journal; Delving Into Leadership Development Programs:

Like that of many academic library leaders, my career path has included stops at library leadership programs. There is no dearth of them; many are organized and managed by library associations. Academic institutions offer them as well, some in cooperation with associations, such as the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)’s Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians (LIAL). When I took a position as a college library director, one of my first development moves was to attend the ACRL College Libraries Section program for new college library directors, College Library Director’s Mentor Program (CLDMP). It gave many aspiring leaders one-on-one executive mentoring by matching them with a seasoned college library director. In addition to three days of training, it was an opportunity to bond with other new directors and join a network of more experienced ones. The program gave me more confidence in my leadership abilities and a support system to help me grow as a leader. Sometime around 2002 I also attended a Harvard program for academic administrators. I was the only librarian so it made for a rather different learning experience, but one that helped make me a better leader by exposing me to new ideas, practices, and colleagues.

One of the other newbie directors in my CLDMP cohort was Irene Herold. Through the years we have shared a number of leadership experiences, including stints with ACRL’s College Libraries Section and on the ACRL Executive Board. Herold took more than a passing interest in leadership. She went on to take positions of increasing leadership responsibility in academic libraries and is now the University Librarian at the University of Hawai′i at Mānoa. Along the way Herold earned a Ph.D. in Managerial Leadership in the Information Professions from Simmons College and made leadership development the focus of her doctoral research. Herold did a deep dive into library leadership programs. That research has led to the publication of a new book, Creating Leaders: An Examination of Academic and Research Library Leadership Institutes, which includes a review of 18 academic librarian leadership development programs from 26 past participants for an examination of whether they develop leadership.

Herold was kind enough to share what she learned about library leadership development programs with me in a recent interview."