Monthly Archives: May 2025

This is another installment in my ongoing series of “Two and a Half Cheers” posts, in which I discuss something that I feel deserves more general respect in our profession – even while recognizing and acknowledging that people may have … Continue reading →

I’m visiting a grandbaby this week (and also doing something else, what was it… oh, right, attending the Society for Scholarly Publishing meeting – say hi if you’re there!), so this week there will only be a Thursday post, for … Continue reading →

We’ve all seen leaders brought low by hubris. One problem is that we’re all susceptible to it; another is that it can manifest itself in so many different ways. For one leader, it’s the mistaken belief that being in charge … Continue reading →

With apologies for a post title that sounds like an attempt at a low-rent Zen paradox, I wanted to share this week something that has been on my mind a lot recently in the context of campus politics  First of all, … Continue reading →

One of the overwhelming things about being a manager or leader in an academic library is that the scope of things about which you really need to know something is vastly wider than your capacity for knowing things. It’s easy … Continue reading →

A few months ago I was reading an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education on the “friend deficit” among campus leaders. (By the way, the Chronicle is a must-read for library deans and directors. More on this in Thursday’s … Continue reading →

Some years ago I was in a meeting with Susan Gibbons, the brilliant former university librarian at Yale (and current chief of staff to the president and Vice President for Collections). During the discussion, she said something that has stuck … Continue reading →

In libraries, we’re dealing with constantly increasing costs and are funded by institutions that are experiencing the same thing. This means not only that we’re competing with other campus units for budget enhancements each year so that we can continue … Continue reading →

One of the more difficult situations you’ll have to negotiate as a library leader is when the people you lead believe strongly that you should be advocating for something on their behalf – a policy change, a budget increase, a … Continue reading →