By Katherine McGivern

This past August I joined 41 other librarians from across the country gathered in Itasca, IL for the fourth American Library Association Leadership Institute. The librarians were selected from a pool of more than 400 applicants and consisted of public, academic, special and K-12 librarians with at least 5 years’ experience in the workplace. All were recommended, supported and encouraged by their employer. The institute was led by former ALA President Maureen Sullivan and library advocate and leadership consultant Kathryn Deiss.

The 4-day immersive program began with a self-assessment of leadership skills and qualities; sessions on emotional intelligence; personal vision and values; and interpersonal competence. Each day added another level of leadership knowledge and action including communications skills; understanding and acknowledging stakeholders; community engagement; strategic planning; leading change and self-care. Various leadership models were presented as well as an extensive suggested reading list. Each day began with a reflection on the previous day and personal journaling about leadership attributes, skills and areas that need enhancing. Participants were asked to come prepared with a particular workplace issue which could be shared with the group.  

The group stayed in a resort outside of Chicago. We ate, worked and recreated together which provided time to discuss common problems and learn about problems more specific to various types of libraries. The practice of sharing a workplace issue and having other librarians try to understand the issue and then offer suggestions to deal with the issue was thought provoking and illuminating. What seemed like a huge problem for some became no big deal when dissected, explained and suggestions for ways to deal with it were offered. As one of only three community college librarians in the group, I found the program to be professionally renewing for me.  In conversation with the other two community college librarians, I learned that we are very similar in our mission and vision and completely different in our mode of operation.

The program leaders, Maureen Sullivan and Kathryn Deiss, kept attendees on task but also kept the atmosphere light and interesting. Both are library professionals with a great deal of experience with good and bad leaders, and good and bad libraries. Invited guests included ALA Executive Director Keith Fels and Miguel Figueroa from ALA’s Center for the Future of Libraries. Guests shared their personal experiences with leadership and spoke of the need for creative leadership within libraries. Fels talked about the history of ALA and the important role it plays in keeping libraries relevant in the United States. Figueroa stressed the need for library leadership to create the future for libraries rather than allow others to create it. Figueroa led attendees in an exercise to demonstrate how to envision the future and take action in the present to shape that future.

The institute was not all work and no play. Participants ate well; had a bowling party; swam; walked; worked out and networked. In an exercise designed as a conversation starter we learned that among the participants were: a romance novelist, a beekeeper, a fitness instructor, a marathon runner, a jewelry maker and some serious shoppers. After the institute, participants created a Facebook group to keep in touch and share information and ideas.

Katherine McGivern is a Reference and Instruction Librarian at Bergen Community College.