LITA Leadership Guide

Carl Antonucci, Ph.D., director of library services, Central Connecticut State University, has been employed in library services in higher education since 1993. He is a member of the planning committee for Connecticut Library Leadership Conference and is the ALA chapter councilor from Connecticut, and was selected to be a mentor at the 2015 New England Library Association’s Leadership Symposium.Sharon Clapp, digital resources librarian, Central Connecticut State University, is a systems librarian, web developer, and user experience advocate. She frequently presents on topics related to technology and disruptive change in librarianship.

• ForewordPrefaceIntroductionPart 1: Leadership1What it means to be a leader in academic libraries in the 21st centuryBradford Lee Eden2From a Transactional to Relational Model: Redefining Public Services via a Roving Pilot Program at the Georgia Tech LibraryEmy Nelson Decker, Marlee Givens and Bruce Henson3Leading Changes in Library as an Architect of Technology InfrastructureHong Ma Part 2: Entrepreneurship4The Entrepreneurial Spirit Lives in Librarians Mary G. Scanlon & Michael A. Crumpton 5The End of the World as We’ve Known It: Disruptive Innovation in an Academic LibraryRebecca Bichel and C. Heather Scalf6Creating Spaces for Innovation in the Workplace Michael RodriguezPart 3: Technology7The Promise and Perils of Open-SourceJunior Tidal 8Early Adoption, Early Abandonment: Parallel Problems in Promoting New TechnologyCaitlin A. Bagley 9A Model to Align Technology with Strategy and Structure in Academic LibrariesHarish Maringanti

In addition to exploring the traditional leadership role of a library director, this work by Antonucci and Clapp proposes models of librarians as leaders in technology and entrepreneurship. According to the authors, libraries are conservative organizations, often at odds with risk-takers and disrupters, much of that disruption coming as a result of technological innovation. The book begins with an examination of open-source software, the adoption and abandonment of new technologies and software, and the impact of technology on libraries’ operations and overall mission. The entrepreneurial spirit in librarianship is defined not by taking the considerable financial risk of operating a new and untried business but by shaking up the tradition organizational model. At risk is the very character of a library. Is it a library if there are no physical books? What if there is no dedicated physical location? The librarian/entrepreneurs here haven’t quite reached that level of disruption, but those questions are in the air as large physical collections shrink and space in library buildings is dedicated to other uses. Verdict: Recommended reading for all librarians.