Description
Book SynopsisQuality leadership is integral to the very future of our profession. And it doesn't only come from the top down. Effective leadership is customer-focused and collaborative, fostering a service culture that invites the involvement of individuals in every part and at every level of the organization, as the authors persuasively demonstrate in this practical new book.
Drawing from case studies as well as the literature of business and social sciences, Leading Libraries provides guidance on how to apply the values of service leadership to both public and academic libraries. Through the use of examples, exercises, and tools for development, this book walks readers through the steps needed to create a sustainable, service-oriented model by:
Explaining how a service culture reaches beyond the individual leader with positional authority and extends to all individuals
Showing ways to build rapport and trust within an organization, and how to balance encouragement with accountability
Detailing strategic thinking and planning methods that will lead to improvements in customer service, human resources, organizational development, and training
Helping library leaders create a sustainable service culture through codifying their organization's values, with advice on policies and procedures such as recruitment, performance evaluation, compensation, and succession planning
Discussing the environment of change in libraries, showing how a library's organizational culture is at the centre of being responsive and staying relevant.
This valuable resource gathers the principles and best practices of leadership, and points the way towards creating a service culture that makes every staff member a library leader.
Readership
: This book will be useful for information professionals and aspiring leaders seeking to understand leadership and to develop their own service-lead leadership.Trade ReviewThoughtful and thought provoking, the book’s extensive bibliography serves as witness to the thoroughness of the authors. For each topic, vanDuinkerken and Kaspar chose excellent sources, relying on experts within each domain. -- SLA Leadership and Management Division
This is probably one of the best books on leadership in libraries that has come out so far. It is a great resource not only for librarians who are already in leadership positions but for those who wish to lead who may not be quite ready to do so. -- Against the Grain
Table of Contents1. Leadership theories: traditional and transformational 2. Service leadership and its paradigm in libraries 3. Conscientiousness as the foundation 4. Building rapport 5. Balancing encouragement and accountability 6. Innovation and evolving service 7. Strategic planning: the practice of innovation and strategic thinking 8. Sustaining service as a value 9. Formalizing service leadership in libraries: embedding processes and policies 10. Service leadership in libraries
