ALA Leadership Institute 2013
The inaugural American Library Association (ALA) Leadership Institute was held outside Chicago in August 2013.
It was an unique 4-day immersive leadership development program for future library leaders that was led by ALA President Maureen Sullivan and ACRL Content Strategist Kathryn Deiss. 40 participants were selected from various types of libraries across the nation; the California Community Colleges Libraries were represented by Monica Lopez, Acquisitions and Collection Development Coordinator at Cerritos College and Pearl Ly, Interim Assistant Dean of Library Services at Pasadena City College.
- Leading in turbulent times
- Interpersonal competence
- Power and influence
- The art of convening groups
- Creating a culture of inclusion, innovation, and transformation
- Learning outcomes for participants
- Return to their institution with greater self-awareness and self-confidence, equipped with better skills for leading, coaching, collaborating, and engaging within their organizations and in their communities.
- Return to their communities as better leaders, prepared to identify, develop, and implement solutions which will benefit all stakeholders.
- Have the opportunity to form a vibrant learning community and network, which is an essential element of effective leadership development
Participant reflections
Monica Lopez:
I was pleased to return to my campus library renewed with the knowledge I gained at the ALA Leadership Institute. I feel what I learned at the institute can only help me begin to build on a path towards management. I see myself applying to a leadership position in the next five to six years because of the experience. I feel that I acquired and strengthened my core professional competencies by participating in this academy. Not only did I appreciate the experience the facilitators shared with the participants but how intentional every aspect of the entire program had been. This made it easier to return to my campus to inspire, share the same vision, to be more resourceful, support team-building, be accountable, learn to be politically savvy, and learned about entrepreneurship possibilities. Best of all, I learned a great deal from my new colleagues and created life-long relationships.
Pearl Ly:
The ALA Leadership Institute was an excellent professional development program for me with a new library manager lens. The curriculum was very relevant to my current and future work; it was time well spent. The facilitators were extremely knowledgeable about leadership in libraries and were deft in leading discussions. I learned a great deal from my fellow participants that came from all types of libraries. The passion that they brought to libraries was invigorating and inspiring. On a personal level, I committed to continuing my leadership learning, focusing on how to coach and mentor library staff. I also felt more equipped to obtain and succeed in a permanent library dean position. I highly recommend applying for this immersive leadership institute to other future library leaders.