Making a Difference: Leadership and Academic Libraries - Softcover

"It is thought-provoking; it assembles a rich set of references and resources from general leadership theory. It has some extremely thorough and well written chapters and surveys. It is rigorous in its approach and descriptions . . . and above all it makes one think." - Library Review "A companion to The Next Library Leadership (Libraries Unlimited, 2003) this text focuses on the needs of the library and information sciences field, rather than on applying techniques taken from other disciplines. The articles discuss effective attributes and the development of leadership qualities, strategies and dispositions. They consistently distinguish between leadership and management, while explaining the close relationship between the two activities." - Reference & Research Book News "This work is clearly targeted at academic librarians aspiring to leadership positions. Recommended for professional, personal, and library-school collections." - Booklist/Professional Reading "This fine collection of essays provides a welcome introduction to the literature on leadership, ranging from exposition of management theory to administration of practical advice. Making a Difference includes articles that would be helpful to librarians at any stage of their careers. . . . Academic (and other) librarians who read this insightful and comprehensive text really can enhance their ability to make a difference as they lead their libraries further into the 21st century." - College & Research Libraries "It is thought-provoking; it assembles a rich set of references and resources from general leadership theory. It has some extremely thorough and well written chapters and surveys. And above all it makes one think." - Library Review "[T]his is an excellent reference book for library managers and managers of the future. It is full of interesting information, discussions, data from surveys, along with helpful charts and self-assessment exercises on leadership. References to recent literature are useful, especially the review of available literature on library information studies. . . . In addition this volume is helpful for library managers when planning and setting short- and long-range goals. Overall this is a practical addition to the field of leadership in libraries." - The Australian Library Journal

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.