Making a Difference: Leadership and Academic Libraries - Softcover

Hernon, Peter; Rossiter, Nancy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1591582911 ISBN 13: 9781591582915

Publisher: Libraries Unlimited, 2006

Synopsis

Leadership is separate from, but integral to, management; and library directors today and for the foreseeable future can be expected to play an institutional role as they lead the library to contribute towards the mission of their college and university. Similarly, new courses in library leadership now accompany more traditional ones on managing organizations and information resources. However, much of the literature on LIS leadership represents a distilled application of principles and practices borrowed from other disciplines, with few reports of research from the library field. Conceived as a companion to The Next Library Leadership (Libraries Unlimited, 2003), Making a Difference includes not only a discussion of effective attributes, but of issues central to the development of leadership qualities, strategies, and dispositions. Essential reading for anyone interested in advancing the quality of leadership within LIS, particularly academic librarians in or aspiring to positions of managerial leadership.

About this title

About the Author

Peter Hernon is professor of library and information science at Simmons College, Boston, MA. He is the author of 50 books, including Library Unlimited's Viewing Library Metrics from Different Perspectives and Making a Difference: Leadership and Academic Libraries; and Praeger's Federal Information Policies in the 1990s: Views and Perspectives.

Reviews

Hernon and Rossiter's study of leadership includes different approaches, perspectives, and theories on this complex topic. The first two chapters discuss the current academic workforce, its leaders, and challenges. Subsequent chapters treat leadership literature, theories, effectiveness, diversity, and assessment. Two especially interesting chapters, 17 and 18, discuss the concept of managerial leadership and how it applies to the information profession. Notes at the end of the chapters provide lengthy lists of further reading and research, as does the long bibliography at the end of the book, which includes unpublished sources. This work is clearly targeted at academic librarians aspiring to leadership positions. Recommended for professional, personal, and library-school collections. Susan Awe
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Libraries Unlimited
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1591582911
• ISBN 13: 9781591582915
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 316