Guest post by Alex Lent, Director of Milis, Massachusetts Public Library
Alex Lent contacted me and asked would it be possible to bring to the attention of Library Directors everywhere a group called The Library Directors Group. With that in mind could you please RT this post, share with those you think it might interest. And even copy and paste and share on any LIS mailing lists you think might be interested. The resource looks invaluable, and, I would argue, not just of use to current library directors, but those who would like to be in that position down the line.
Hi Everyone,
Last year, I started the Library Directors
Group, which exists to facilitate communication, collaboration, and continuing
education for library directors, especially for those library directors who are
in their first five years on the job.
This group is the resource I wish I had had
on my first day as a library director and it has been a huge help over the past
year. I'm writing to tell you about the group because I think it could be
useful to you as well.
We have a website,
which has a list of resources other library directors have found useful, a blog
which will soon be posting a steady stream of original content from a number of
authors, and a link to a list of library director job postings. We're also on
Facebook (facebook.com/librarydirectors)
and Twitter (twitter.com/libdirectors).
One of the projects we're working on right now is gathering as many
state-produced manuals for library directors as we can. We've reached out to
COSLA to help with this and the
manuals have started to trickle in. Ultimately, we hope to have as complete a
list as possible of these sorts of manuals.
We are also working to have a presence at
as many library conferences as possible, hosting round tables for directors
(and anyone who is interested in library administration) to discuss the
challenges they face, share their experiences, and build a network of other
directors who they can rely on for advice. I've been leading most of these
round tables, and I'm hoping to convince other people around the world to lead round
tables in the same format at their local conferences (although, if you want to
fly me to Ireland to lead round tables or workshops, or give conference
presentations, I would LOVE that).
But our most active platform is our
listserv, which you can sign up for at librarydirectors.org.
We have over 300 members from all over the United States and Canada and are
looking to expand overseas. We've had questions on Friends groups, contracts,
fundraising, mentoring, and a wide variety of other topics. Librarians are a
question-friendly bunch and this listserv has proven quite useful.
If any of this sounds interesting to you,
please sign up at librarydirectors.org.
If you have any questions, you can email me at at alex@alexlent.org.
Thanks!
Alex Lent
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