RMRT Colleagues,
I will be one of the panelists for the session described below, to be held at the ALA conference in Philadelphia. I will specifically be addressing the situations an academic library dean might seek to address as they prepare to retire. The focus is succession planning and, as a subset of that, retirement planning. Many other perspectives are sought! (Please contact the session organizer, as listed below, not me.)
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Call for ALA Conference Panelists: Library Management Perspectives on Succession Planning
The ACRL University Libraries Section (ULS) Conference Program Planning Committee is seeking library administrators and managers to join our panel presentation, "Navigating the Transition: Retirement and Succession Planning from Diverse Perspectives in Libraries" at the ALA Annual Conference, June 26-30, 2025 in Philadelphia, PA (exact date/time TBD).
We are specifically seeking 1-2 library administrators or managers who can speak to:
- Succession planning strategies and challenges
- Maintaining service continuity during transitions
- Knowledge transfer and documentation practices
- Staff development and internal capacity building
- Managing replacement hiring (or reorganization when unable to replace positions)
- Supporting staff through retirement transitions
The program will feature perspectives from both retired academic librarians and current library administrators to provide a comprehensive view of the retirement transition process. This topic is particularly timely as academic libraries face increasing retirement rates and the need for effective succession planning.
We welcome panelists from diverse academic library settings, particularly those serving diverse student populations. Ideal candidates will have experience managing retirement transitions and developing succession planning strategies in academic libraries.
Please note that ACRL ULS may only be able to provide limited funding that can be applied toward conference registration. Panelists are responsible for their own conference expenses, including any registration balance, travel, and accommodation. Given these financial limitations, we particularly encourage submissions from those in the conference region.
If interested, please complete our panelist interest form by January 31. Panelists will be notified by mid-March, before ALA's early bird registration deadline (March 31).
If you have questions about the program, please contact:
Yang Wu
Co-Chair, ACRL ULS Conference Program Planning Committee
ywu9@clemson.edu
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Sarah M. Pritchard
University Librarian Emerita
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
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