Russ HallPenn State - Erie

A bit about me…

Library School

Finally, a happy librarian

My future?

Questions for this studyWhat does it take to be a good library

manager?Are learnable skills more important than

innate traits?What skills are important?What personal traits are important?What training is useful to a library manager?Is library school the place to get that

training?

Main SourcesPeter Hernon’s work on leadership and

librariesAlong with others (Schwartz, Young, Powell,

Rossiter)

Rachel Singer Gordon’s The Accidental Library Manager.

Survey PopulationAcademic library managers in Pennsylvania

whose institutions granted at least a bachelor’s degree.

Information was taken from the PA Department of Education’s website.

Searched each institution’s website to try to find managers. (Univ. Librarians, Deans, Directors, Heads, Department heads, etc.).

Total of 313 were emailed the link to an electronic survey.

DemographicsReceived 119 useable surveys, for a response

rate of 38%

62% of respondents were female, 38% male (reasonably close match to Hernon’s ARL study).

Mostly directors and department heads responded.

Percentage by Title

Degrees and DatesAll 119 respondents had the MLS degree.

Too few answers/survey problems for other degrees.

Average year obtained highest degree: 1990Average year starting 1st management job:

1993Average year starting current job: 2002

Most difficult aspect of library management?Easily “Personnel/Human Resources” with 64%

Tied for second with 6% each were “Evaluation and Assessment of Services” and “Communication.”

Other categories were: strategic planning, budgeting, development/fundraising, collections, outreach, facilities, marketing, legal issues, and other.

What management skills should students learn in their MLS programs?

Skills for MLS Students

Management Class in library school?

Only 10 respondents answered this question; however 102 answered the follow up: “If you did take a management class, was it useful to you in your future work? How or in what ways?”

Management class was Useful“For the first time, I was exposed to management

theory and many of the principals of goal-setting, evaluation, communication, and institutional functioning.”

“The importance of planning strategically and envisioning the future/leadership versus management.”

“Better understanding of campus politics and its impact to the library, legal issues such as copyright and licensing, challenges to budgeting.”

Management Class Not Useful“Not really; the amount of time between the class

and when I started managing was too great.”

“Everything I learned about management was on the job training, reading and conferences, networking, and through trial and error.”

“Management is learned on the job.”

“Good Lord—I took a library management class in 1982—can’t remember a thing!”

How valuable is management education in MLS programs for academic library managers?

Very Important/Important“I think an overview of library management

issues is important, just as other aspects of librarianship are treated.”

“I believe that librarians need to see the “big picture” in higher education and that management training helps with that.”

“One usually ends up supervising someone in the library.”

Unimportant/Not Important“Because people don’t become managers, or

good managers, by being taught it. They have to learn it through experience and development of skills and personal qualities.”

“It’s relevance doesn’t come until years later in most cases, and even with that, it doesn’t prepare you for the personnel issues one typically faces.”

Importance of management skills for new graduates

Very Important/Important“It is helpful for librarians, even newly minted

ones, to have clarity of the big picture and to think of where they fit in the larger system.”

“I think project management skills are very important for new graduates because much of the work they will be doing will either be leading or being part of team projects.”

“Everyone manages the library during his or her time of duty.”

Unimportant/Not Important“I need them to be skilled in many ways, but

management is far down on the list of priorities.”

“They need to learn how to think like a librarian, learn librarianship skills, etc. before they can begin to think about how to manage within the library framework.”

“Either they have it or they don’t.”

Formal management coursework other than MLSOnly 55% answered yesExamples: MBA, Educause leadership

programs, Harvard Leadership Institute, HERS institute, consortial and institutional programs, ALA & ARL programs.

86% rated these as Very important or importantMainly because of practical experience,

networking, and a “safe environment” to discuss management issues.

What attribute is the most important to a library manager?Respondents wished they could have chosen

more than one and/or rank-ordered top three choices.

This probably would have been a better approach.

Personal Attributes (Hernon)IntegrityStrong interpersonal skillsServe as an advocate for the libraryOral and written communication skillsAbility to work collaborativelyAbility to articulate vision for the library

within the institutionFlexibilityExercise mature judgmentGood listening skills

Personal Attributes (cont.)Commitment to professional development of

library personnelRespect for scholarship and learningStrong service orientationEnthusiasm for work in an educational

environmentSense of humorRecord of problem solvingCreativityHigh energy levelDynamic

Results from the survey (%)

Nature or Nurture?

Concluding RemarksPersonality traits and learned skills are both

important.MLS grads should have some foundational

knowledge about management. Important even if just for consciousness-raising.

Professional development programs for library managers are very valuable.

Evaluation/Assessment, personnel/HR, strategic planning, and communication skills seem to be the ripest areas for professional development.

Selected BibliographyGordon, Rachel S. The Accidental Library

Manager. Medford, NJ: Information Today, 2005.

Hernon, Peter, ed. Shaping the Future: Advancing the Understanding of Leadership. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, 2010.

Hernon, Peter, Ronald R. Powell, and Arthur P. Young. The Next Library Leadership: Attributes of Academic and Public Library Directors. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2003.