What Great Leaders Have That Good Leaders Don't; Inc., 11/16/12

Brent Gleeson, Inc.; What Great Leaders Have That Good Leaders Don't: "When you think of strong leaders, you probably think of people who are decisive, bold, confident, and fearless. You’re not wrong. Good leaders have all of these qualities. But how many good leaders are also loyal? I don’t know, but I know that every great leader is. Loyalty is one of the core values taught in the Navy SEAL training program. Instructors teach you from the first day that your team is everything to you. You succeed with them, and you fail without them. And you never leave anyone behind... A commitment to loyalty is becoming uncommon in business leaders. I think that’s a shame. As leaders, we have the duty to hire responsibly and then support the people we hire. These are some of the lessons in loyalty that I learned as a SEAL and apply daily to my job as a business owner..."

The New York Public Library: The Turning Point; New York Review of Books, 10/25/12

Robert Darnton, New York Review of Books; The New York Public Library: The Turning Point: "Polemics rarely lead to happy endings. They usually produce hard feelings and a hardening of positions, rather than mutual understanding and mutually acceptable results. The loud debate about the Central Library Plan (CLP) of the New York Public Library may, however, be an exception to this rule—not that it has come to an end, but it has reached a turning point, which should satisfy both sides. Critics of the CLP were especially incensed about its provision to remove books from the seven levels of stacks under the Rose Main Reading Room and ship them to offsite storage in order to make room for a circulating library to be installed on the lower floors. They petitioned, they provoked a debate—some of it conducted in these pages [Letters, NYR, July 12]—and they were heard. After studying the problem further, a committee of the library’s trustees has made the following recommendations, which were accepted by the full board on September 19."

Developing Your Leadership Presence; Library Journal, 11/28/12

Steven Bell, Library Journal; Developing Your Leadership Presence: "It’s hard to say exactly what presence is, but when it comes to leaders, we know it when we see it. How do you learn to boost your presence, especially if your style is more introverted? When I accepted a position as a library director, it marked my first opportunity to take the helm of a library organization. I had full confidence in my ability to lead the library forward into the future, and help it make a successful transition into the digital world. The responsibilities for planning, budgeting, technology, and managing presented few concerns; I believed I was well prepared to lead in all these areas. There was only one matter that truly had me feeling less secure in my abilities, and it was something I could hardly explain myself. For lack of a better way to describe it, I could only say that I was less certain about my capacity for being “directorly.” At the time it was just this vague worry that I would fail at carrying and conducting myself in a manner expected of a library director and academic administrator. Although this sounds rather silly, it was a genuine concern, and when I joined the College Library Directors Mentoring Program, I learned that others felt the same way, and that none of us new library directors knew exactly what to do about it."

Interviewing Across the Generations; Library Journal, 11/28/12

Cheryl LaGuardia, Library Journal; Interviewing Across the Generations: "Job interviewing in libraries has changed over the years I’ve been in the profession. When I started out, interviews tended to last less than a day and you met with one or two folks during the interview. Now, interviews typically last longer than one day and candidates meet with folks from all over a library and institution. Many of the techniques I’ve learned over the years can be applied today, but there are new techniques and interview skills that smart candidates can use to give them an edge in the interview process. At the same time, I’d like to remind interviewers that there are skills they need to employ to make an interview successful. Here are a few suggestions for both interviewees and interviewers across the generations..."

The Quiet Ones; New York Times, 11/17/12

Tim Kreider, New York Times; The Quiet Ones: "In a 2006 interview David Foster Wallace said, “it seems significant that we don’t want things to be quiet, ever, anymore.” Stores and restaurants have their ubiquitous Muzak or satellite radio; bars have anywhere between 1 and 17 TVs blaring Fox and soccer; ads and 30-second news cycles play on screens in cabs, elevators and restrooms. Even some libraries, whose professional shushers were once celebrated in cartoon and sitcom, now have music and special segregated areas designated for “quiet study,” which is what a library used to be...THOSE of us who despise this tendency don’t have a voice, or a side, let alone anything like a lobby...And so the volume has incrementally risen, the imbecilic din encroaching on one place after another — mass transit, waiting rooms, theaters, museums, the library — until this last bastion of civility and calm, the Quiet Car, has become the battlefield where we quiet ones, our backs forced to the wall, finally hold our ground. The Quiet Car is the Thermopylae, the Masada, the Fort McHenry of quiet — which is why the regulars are so quick with prepared reproaches, more than ready to make a Whole Big Thing out of it, and why, when the outsiders invariably sit down and start in with their autonomic blather, they often find themselves surrounded by a shockingly hostile mob of professors, old ladies and four-eyes who look ready to take it outside."

Ex-Windows Chief Seen as Smart but Abrasive; New York Times, 11/13/12

Nick Wingfield, New York Times; Ex-Windows Chief Seen as Smart but Abrasive: "Both cases underscore a quandary that chief executives sometimes face: when do the costs of keeping brilliant leaders who cannot seem to get along with others outweigh the benefits."

Denying employment based on criminal background could lead to suits, feds say; McClatchy Newspapers via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/12/12

Ellen Jean Hirst, McClatchy Newspapers via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Denying employment based on criminal background could lead to suits, feds say: ""The EEOC in April issued enforcement guidance on the matter that is expected to hold significant sway in court. The commission said people cannot be denied employment based solely on criminal histories but it stopped short of banning the use of criminal background checks. To avoid missteps, the EEOC suggests companies consider three things: how long ago the crime was committed, the nature of the crime and how the crime might relate to the job. The agency also said companies should also give ex-offenders a chance during job interviews to explain conviction circumstances as well as rehabilitation efforts. "Employers should record and document the justification for their employment decisions when they are making the decision with someone with a criminal history," said Jeff Nowak, a Chicago labor and employment attorney."

Social Fingerprint gives job seekers a hand with online reputation; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/4/12

Deborah M. Todd, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Social Fingerprint gives job seekers a hand with online reputation: "When the Federal Trade Commission determined last May that Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Internet background screening service Social Intelligence was in compliance with Fair Credit Reporting Act guidelines regarding collection and distribution of personal data, the floodgates opened for companies such as SMI to customize software to meet the new demand... With Social Fingerprint -- a free online service that individuals can use to monitor Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, LinkedIn and the Internet at large for negative content associated with their name -- much of the technology behind the social media search remains similar to what's used by consumer reporting agencies. The technology conducts a targeted crawl -- a search over several sites -- seeking specific keywords on social media sites and the broader Internet to weed out pages with negative content about clients. Links to pages that show the negative keywords are sent to clients. Reports can be sent daily, weekly or monthly at their discretion. Customers can then take action to have incorrect information removed."

In Sports or Business, Always Prepare for the Next Play; New York Times, 11/10/12

Adam Bryant, Corner Office, New York Times; In Sports or Business, Always Prepare for the Next Play: Interview with Jeff Weiner, chief executive of LinkedIn: "Q. Tell me about the culture you’re trying to foster at LinkedIn. A. We take culture very seriously, and we do draw a distinction at LinkedIn between culture and values. Culture is who we are. It’s essentially the personality of our company — who we are and who we aspire to be. Values are the principles upon which we make day-to-day decisions. And of course your values are a subset of your culture, so they’re very much inextricably linked. Getting that right helps with recruiting. It helps with motivating. It helps with inspiring. It helps with productivity."

Act powerful, be powerful; CNN.com, 10/28/12

Amy Cuddy, CNN.com; Act powerful, be powerful: "“Open, expansive postures reflect and signal power (picture Wonder Woman). They are expressed by individuals who already feel powerful. Powerless people do the opposite -- contracting, hunching, and making themselves smaller… Preparatory power posing is taking a few minutes before walking into a stressful interaction or situation to open up, occupy more space, and make yourself big. Stand with your feet apart and your hands on your hips, or with your arms reaching up in a 'V.' Or sit with your legs in front of you, feet propped up on desk or a table, leaning back, with your hands on the back of your head, fingers interlaced, and elbows pointing out."

From Calm Leadership, Lasting Change; New York Times, 10/27/12

Nancy F. Koehn, New York Times; From Calm Leadership, Lasting Change: "RACHEL CARSON’S story offers many leadership lessons, including the importance of persistence in pursuing an objective. When I discuss her with business executives, many are struck by her ability to stay focused on goals in the face of obstacles including severe illness. Another lesson involves the importance of doing thorough research and taking the long view. A sense of context based on hard facts, along with a knowledge of history, is essential to understanding what’s at stake in difficult and uncertain situations. It also confers a sense of authority on the person who has acquired this knowledge. A third insight concerns the juggling of personal demands and professional ambitions."

Napping in the Library—On Purpose; Library Journal, 10/24/12

Meredith Schwartz, Library Journal; Napping in the Library—On Purpose: "They’re designed to provide the perfect environment for a 20 minute nap, from positioning to privacy to white noise and a gentle wake-up call via vibrations and lighting rather than a blaring alarm clock... In 2007, Chowdhury donated an EnergyPod to Carnegie Mellon’s Hunt Library. Gloriana St. Clair, Dean of Libraries at Carnegie Mellon, told LJ the pod is “very heavily used,” particularly around mid-terms and finals. When the pod is in use, Carnegie Mellon’s sleepy library users now have another option. Said St. Clair, “My partner (a champion napper) died last year. Several people gave gifts to the libraries in his honor and I used that money to buy nine recliners for the Sorrells Library… Most of these chairs are used most of the time. It is a very cheap alternative to the napping pod.”"

Romney as a Manager: Unhurried and Socratic; New York Times, 10/19/12

Michael Barbaro, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Michael Wines; New York Times; Romney as a Manager: Unhurried and Socratic: "Mr. Romney’s bid for the White House largely hinges on his own narrowly drawn image of himself as a chief executive: the data-splicing, cost-cutting turnaround expert. But dozens of interviews with those who have worked for him over the past 30 years — in the Mormon Church, business, the Olympics and state government — offer a far more textured portrait of the management style that he might bring to the presidency. A serial chief executive, the Republican presidential nominee is steeped in management theory and eschews gut instincts. He is not so much a micromanager as a microprocessor, wading deeply into the raw data usually left to junior aides. He entrusts advisers with responsibility, but keeps them on a short leash, monitoring them through a flurry of progress reports and review sessions. Mr. Romney is, colleagues said, “conflict-avoidant.” His decision-making process is unhurried and Socratic, his instinct to exhaustively debate and prod."

Wetenhall's tenure as Carnegie Museums president wasn't smooth sailing; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/17/22

Marylynne Pitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Wetenhall's tenure as Carnegie Museums president wasn't smooth sailing: "I've been really very busy and engaged with our museum trustees, directors and boards working on our strategic plan, which I'm very pleased with," he said about the five-year plan that he plans to present to the 60-member museum board in November. "I think from this effort our museums have developed their own strategic plans that are, in my judgment, very well aligned to help aim our museums toward a successful future."... One local arts leader concluded that Mr. Wetenhall's tenure would be brief after meeting him for the first time. "There was a lack of self-awareness, a lack of inquisitiveness about this new place he found himself in. He would talk, but he wasn't really listening," the individual said... About nine months ago, Mr. Foster suggested to executive committee members of the main Carnegie board that 360-degree assessments be done of all senior management staff to develop their managerial skills."

Young People Frequent Libraries, Study Finds; New York Times, 10/22/12

Christine Haughney, New York Times; Young People Frequent Libraries, Study Finds: "But in troubling news for tablet makers, the study also found that the subjects under 30 who read electronically were more likely to read books on a cellphone or a computer. In fact, the study found that 41 percent of readers under 30 view books using a cellphone and 55 percent read from a computer. Only 23 percent of Americans under 30 used an e-reader and 16 percent used a tablet."

The Education of Tony Marx; New York Times, 10/10/12

Jacob Bernstein, New York Times; The Education of Tony Marx: "As the dispute over the central library plan dies down, Mr. Marx is choosing to see the sunny side of things. “The good news,” he said after leaving the Doris Duke Foundation event, walking toward the nearby Time Warner Center, “is that people are talking about the library. What they want it to be and what they don’t want it to be, rather than taking it for granted and letting it sink. Right?”"

The Power of Praise; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/7/12

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; The Power of Praise:

Library managers and administrators, part 1: Who would be a middle manager?; Library Journal, 10/3/12

Cheryl LaGuardia, Library Journal; Library managers and administrators, part 1: Who would be a middle manager? : "I’ve been a library middle manager on and off throughout my pretty lengthy career, in access services, instruction, electronic services, and reference, and along the way I’ve collected a number of what I’ll call “impressions” about the role. Those impressions are..."

Men, women on corporate boards split on diversity; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/5/12

Joyce Gannon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Men, women on corporate boards split on diversity: "Men and women who serve on corporate boards of directors worldwide frequently agree on political and economic issues that impact business but they have widely divergent ideas on how to improve diversity in their own board rooms. Those are among the findings of a survey that polled more than 1,000 directors on issues ranging from environmental regulations to diversity quotas."

ALA President Talks to Publishers at AAP Event in NYC; Info Docket, 9/27/12

Matt Enis and Gary Price, Info Docket; ALA President Talks to Publishers at AAP Event in NYC: "American Library Association President Maureen Sullivan spoke to about 100 publishers this week during an Association of American Publishers event in New York. The presentation struck a more placatory tone than Sullivan’s open letter to publishers regarding the current state of ebook access in libraries. Sent just days earlier, it began by arguing that “it’s a rare thing in a free market when a customer is refused the ability to buy a company’s product and is told its money is ‘no good here.’ Surprisingly, after centuries of enthusiastically supporting publishers’ products, libraries find themselves in just that position with purchasing e-books from three of the largest publishers in the world.” Instead, Sullivan began the speech by emphasizing the history of cooperation between libraries and publishers, and noting that both fields are attempting to address “a time of extensive change in how content is created, distributed, read, and used.”"

Budget Cuts to Hobble State Archives in Georgia; New York Times, 9/26/12

Kim Severson, New York Times; Budget Cuts to Hobble State Archives in Georgia: "The Georgia Archives, which holds both historical curiosities and virtually every important state government document ever created, is about to become nearly impossible to visit. In November, a round of government budget cuts will reduce the staff to three, one of them the maintenance man. Thousands of documents that pour in every month are likely to languish because no one will be available to sort through them, archives officials said. People who view accurate and open government records as the bedrock of democracy are outraged."

Millennials' Biggest Interview Mistake Is 'Inappropriate Attire,' According To Hiring Managers; HuffingtonPost.com, 9/24/12

Nate C. Hindman, HuffingtonPost.com; Millennials' Biggest Interview Mistake Is 'Inappropriate Attire,' According To Hiring Managers: "About 75 percent of the 501 hiring managers polled by Adecco, a human resources consulting company, said that Millennials, those born between 1981-2000, frequently fail to wear appropriate interview attire. Fashion gaffes were the biggest mistake observed, followed by Millennials posting “compromising content” on social media channels like Facebook (70 percent of hiring managers saw this) and lack of research on the prospective position (62 percent saw this.)"

Libraries to tackle five-year program; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/16/12

Patricia Sabatini, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Libraries to tackle five-year program: "Another part of the strategic plan is to ensure that the library buildings are kept in good repair to serve as an anchor for their respective neighborhoods. As part of that plan, the South Side branch was recently remodeled to include air conditioning for the first time in its 100-year history, said Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh president Mary Frances Cooper. Air conditioning also is coming to branches in Lawrenceville, the West End and Mount Washington. The Lawrenceville branch is also getting a new roof and heating system and refurbished windows. "We want to be a beacon for the city," Ms. Cooper said. Residents can read the final draft of the plan at www.carnegielibrary.org/about/strategicplan."

Have You Tried Being Likeable?; Chronicle of Higher Education, 7/24/12

Allison M. Vailloncourt, Chronicle of Higher Education; Have You Tried Being Likeable? :

"“But I am not trying to be liked, I am trying to get things done,” she responded.

“Think of what you could accomplish if people actually wanted to help you,” I replied.

What advice have you given to students or colleagues who delight in making others feel small? Have you seen excessive arrogance hold people back? Do you have any tips for gently increasing self-awareness in others? Do you ever engage in fake niceness in order to get things done?"

Jail for Library Employee Who Embezzled Fines; New York Times, 6/20/12

Peter Applebome, New York Times; Jail for Library Employee Who Embezzled Fines:

"Mr. Force said the theft was discovered only when a new business manager was hired in September 2010. While learning about the procedures in the business office the business manager realized in early December that a number of the receipts had clearly been altered, Mr. Force said. Ms. Reed was then questioned and arrested.

Had the new business manager not been hired, he said, Ms. Reed’s embezzlement might have continued for years.

“I was shocked when I saw the records,” he said. “When you looked at them, it was very obvious something was going on, and I immediately contacted the inspector general for the city and worked with them to supply all the records we could.”"