Core Library Leaders and Managers Interest Group

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last person joined: 15 days ago 

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About this Group

👐 Anyone can view all content in the group, but only people who join it can post to it. Anyone can join to participate.


Purpose: Organizes, moderates, and distributes summaries of virtual and face-to-face discussions on topics of interest to leaders and managers at all levels and types of libraries.

This interest group is part of Core's Leadership and Management Section.

Portraits of three Core members with caption Become a Member: Find Your Home: Core.

 

  • 1.  Introduction

    Posted Jan 08, 2020 09:26 PM
    Hello Everyone, 
    I got my first Library Director job in 2011, was proudly Director for Torrance Public Library for eight and a half years, and have joined because as of August, 2019 I am a Library Director in a completely new system, environment, and area of the state.  I'm the Director for Monterey County Free Libraries, Monterey County California.  Moving agencies, areas, and types of governing body (moved from City to County) means many things I thought I had down cold, I'm learning all over again.  Rural, County, 16 branches and 3 bookmobiles (instead of 3 branches), different funding mechanisms, different umbrella organization means a lot of what was comfortable is now ... not.

    This is also my first leadership job that I didn't promote to, so I came with no relationships built.  That alone was a challenge.  I miss my mentors, just sent a card to one saying that I missed being able to walk into his office, sit down, and hash something out.  That's invaluable.  

    Hillary Theyer

     


  • 2.  RE: Introduction

    Posted Jan 09, 2020 01:51 PM
    Welcome to the group, Hillary. Sounds like an interesting change for you these last 6 months, not only in job but up the coast in CA. 

    Having changed jobs 4 times in the last decade, I experienced the same loss of community and network. New leadership jobs can be very isolating, because you have so few immediate and obvious peers. Sure you have a new group of employees and board members, but they really aren't peers (and don't necessarily want to pal around with you).  In each case, however, I did attempt to accept the challenge to find my new peers and professional community, both locally and virtually.  These people may be leaders of similar sized organizations and non-profits, you may find them through the local chamber of commerce or United Way members, and don't need to be library people.

    And, of course, there are all of us here in the virtual LLAMA New Directors Discussion Community!  Welcome and feel free to start a separate discussion thread on a topic of your choice, or even to ask a simple question.  We're here for each other.

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    Erik Nordberg
    Dean of Libraries
    Indiana University of Pennsylvania
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  • 3.  RE: Introduction

    Posted Jan 10, 2020 06:45 AM
    What an exciting challenge, Hillary! I'm also adjusting from urban to rural, with new responsibilities and no familiar confidante to bounce ideas off. It's a learning curve starting out, and you're likely to feel left out to dry sometimes - but you'll love it, and I've found that a change of scene really gets my creative juices flowing again, and force me to rethink what I thought worked before (because what worked in an urban library might not work here). Relationships seem to take longer to form in rural areas than in the city, but they also seem to stick better. So with a little patience, you'll find those people you can wrestle ideas with and go to for advice. Some of your best future mentors may not have any leadership titles, and may not even be in your industry. You just never know!

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    Julie Phillips
    Library Director
    Botetourt County Libraries
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  • 4.  RE: Introduction

    Posted Jan 17, 2020 12:30 PM
    I agree with the trade-offs of moving from The Big City to a rural or small town setting.  

    It can be harder to be accepted into a local community if you are seen as an outsider.  Just last week I was at a planning meeting for one of our local service agencies and one of the participants basically said that I couldn't really understand the situation if I hadn't grown up here.  Of course, there were plenty of other supportive voices around the table and one just needs to have a thick skin for that sort of thing.

    On the positive side, though, I have found better opportunities to build identity (both personal and institutional) in a small town setting.  It isn't as anonymous as the urban/suburban setting, so people have no choice but to get to know each other ;-)  Seriously, though, it does make a difference when you have meetings with partner agencies, but also run into your peer leaders at the grocery store or at the local hockey arena.

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    Erik Nordberg
    Dean of Libraries
    Indiana University of Pennsylvania
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