AUTHOR: Robert D. Stueart and Maureen Sullivan
STARTED: January 23, 2018
FINISHED: February 2, 2018
PAGES: 106
GENRE: Library Science
FIRST SENTENCE: [From the Foreward] The rhetoric of librarianship has been dominated in the past decade by debates about the nature and content of leadership.
SUMMARY: [From BN] How can you successfully lead your library through the changes taking place in today's transitional information environment? What skills must you develop or hone in order to build a confident, comfortable, and capable staff in your institution? In their highly practical new How-To-Do-It Manual, authors Robert D. Stuart, the former Dean Emeritus of Simmons College's Graduate School of Library and Information Science and Maureen Sullivan, a leadership expert with over thirty years experience delivering consulting and training services to libraries and other information services, will help you identify the essential concepts and goals behind great leadership, and effectively implement each one into your library's organizational structure. Developing Library Leaders covers key strategies and processes for coaching, team building, and mentoring library staff. Following a foreword from James G. Neal, (Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian, Columbia University) the authors clearly define the major roles and responsibilities of a library leader and offer valuable techniques for persuading and influencing others, building and leading teams and groups, and managing projects. There is step-by-step guidance for developing crucial coaching and mentoring skills, as well as tips for succession planning and facilitating long-term development. Throughout the book, Stueart and Sullivan provide ample models, outlines, examples, and charts for further guidance and to reinforce the practical use of key strategies. The generations-old adage that "leaders are born not bred" is a myth; it is now commonly accepted that leadership is a skill that can be developed. Stueart and Sullivan show current and future library directors and managers how to develop their institutions' most valuable asset - their staff- and better prepare them to lead.
THOUGHTS: This was your basic, boilerplate book about leadership. This version just happened to put a library spin on things. If you read anything at all about leadership, whether it be blogs, articles, or other books, this is basically the same tips and techniques you see all the time. The subject material was easy to understand and presented well, but there was nothing special to this book.
RATING: 5/10 [Meh.]
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