Category Archives: Uncategorized

As a library leader, you have to do a lot of planning: putting together a strategy for accomplishing a future task like renovating a space, hiring a librarian, adapting to an expected change in budget, etc. You also have to … Continue reading →

I bet you’ve had the frustrating experience of asking a manager or leader for permission to do something out of the ordinary (it may or may not have involved an exception to policy or an unusual budget outlay) and being … Continue reading →

Last week I offered some advice for library leaders on dealing with people who want to change the subject. This week I’d like to offer some advice on dealing with people who want to divide and conquer. Let me explain … Continue reading →

A couple of weeks ago I called for “Two and a Half Cheers for Niceness,” in which I pointed out that “niceness and civility are not the same thing,” arguing that “civility… represents a rock-bottom standard of behavior to which … Continue reading →

One of the most daunting challenges a library leader faces is implementing change. It’s a challenge for multiple reasons. First of all, libraries were never either designed or intended to change. On the contrary: for centuries, the purpose of the … Continue reading →

A year or two ago, I was in a meeting at which the participants were seated at round tables. This arrangement raises alarm bells in the head of any introvert, because it suggests that at some point during the meeting, … Continue reading →

As a library director, I spend a lot of time making decisions. Actually, let me rephrase that: as a library director, I spend a lot of time engaged in decision-making processes. I make very few decisions on my own. Sometimes, … Continue reading →

A few weeks ago I introduced a new occasional feature in the Vision & Balance newsletter: what I’m calling “Two and a Half Cheers.” These are posts that reflect briefly on concepts or practices that are commonly underappreciated or denigrated, … Continue reading →

One of the very wise things my library did long before I arrived as university librarian a few years ago was to create a guidelines document for administrative decision-making that includes definitions of various levels of “stakeholder” in a program, … Continue reading →

In my two previous posts, I discussed a couple of important principles of policy management: first, the fact that library policies are like carbohydrates – in that they’re essential, but not all of them are equally healthy and it’s easy … Continue reading →