Young And In Charge: Early-Early Career Community College Library Leadership | Council of Chief Librarians

Young and in Charge: Early-Career Community College Library Leadership by Pearl Ly, College of Marin. Journal of Library Administration vol. 55, Issue 1, 2015

DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2014.985902

Although young leaders and entrepreneurs have become prevalent in the business and technology industries, academic libraries remain much more traditional. Library administrator job advertisements often require seven to ten years of library experience in progressively responsible roles as well as supervisory experience. This article shares the experiences of an early-career community college library administrator working with different generations, provides suggestions to become a manager through intentional leadership, and explores how managers learn to lead. Additionally, the author encourages community colleges to consider younger and/or newer librarians that bring a different perspective to addressing the critical issues facing community college libraries today.