Mind The Gap

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tudent

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“Mind the Gap”: Future Librarians Preparing to Take on Leadership Roles Jana Sheardown

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Monique Woroniak

Leadership potential. According to the 8Rs library human resource study, this is the competency that managers find the most difficult to fulfill when hiring new librarians.1 Combine this with the prediction that 40% of librarians will retire by 2014, and what our profession has is nothing short of a leadership crisis.2 MLIS programs certainly have a place in preparing students to take on leadership roles, but students themselves must demonstrate a willingness to learn and to lead. Developing meaningful projects to lead while enrolled in an MLIS program is a great way to build both leadership and management skills. It is a time when you have easy access to the support and advice of professors and the enthusiasm of fellow classmates. Whether it is in the context of a professional association or through other groups, the time you spend as a student offers many opportunities to test the leadership waters.

Student leadership at Dalhousie Leadership and management receive a large emphasis at Dalhousie’s School of Information Management, which is situated within the 64

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University’s Faculty of Management. Both the school and the faculty promote the development of professional competencies in the areas of leadership and management. This has fostered a very proactive student body, as evidenced by student-led initiatives like a Brown Bag Lunch Lecture series, the Dalhousie Journal of Information & Management, Prospectus (an employment website), and student chapters of the Canadian Library Association and the Special Libraries Association. Each of these student-led initiatives offers many opportunities to develop leadership and management skills. The Canadian Library Association Student Chapter at Dalhousie had a particularly busy fall term, organizing two well-received activities.

Supporting children’s and young adult librarianship This past fall, the chapter envisioned, organized and carried out a successful fundraiser entitled “Young at Heart” in support of our school’s Children’s and Young Adult Working Collection. The evening included a research presentation and talks by authors Vicki Grant and Budge Wilson. Attendees included students, public librarians, early

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childhood educators and authors. New connections between our school and the community were made, and the Working Collection received dozens of new titles.

Professional partnering The School of Information Management at Dalhousie is home to the largest established LIS Professional Partnering Program in the country. In its fourth year, the program has successfully paired 57 students with 57 professionals from the community. Library and information professionals from public libraries, academic libraries, archives, special libraries, records management settings, school libraries, independent consulting companies and other non-traditional LIS environments were matched with MLIS students with the goal of creating professional networks and widening the students’ exposure to the many opportunities available in our profession. These are just two examples of student leadership; there are always areas where you can contribute. Consult with your student body, school and community. Think broadly and involve a diverse group of stakeholders. Make a plan. Most important, choose to lead.

Feliciter

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Issue #2, 2007

C a n a d a ' s

The benefits to your future career and to our profession will far outweigh your efforts. Jana Sheardown is a second-year student at Dalhousie’s School of Information Management and co-chair of the CLA Student Chapter, co-chair of the Dalhousie Journal of Information & Management, treasurer of the School of Information Management Student Association, and a member of the Editorial Review Board for Library Student Journal. She holds a BA (Hons) in English Literature from Brandon University and an MA in English Literature from the University of Ottawa.

Feliciter

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Issue #2, 2007

I n f o r m a t i o n

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Monique Woroniak is a second-year student at Dalhousie’s School of Information Management and co-chair of the CLA Student Chapter. She holds a BA (Hons) in Political Studies from the University of Manitoba. Her MLIS thesis research addresses the information management concerns of the reporting requirements of First Nations’-federal government programs.

Signal Hill, NL ~ Courtesy Marilyn Rennick, Ottawa

L i n k i n g

Notes 1. 8Rs Research Team, The Future of Human Resources in Canadian Libraries (Edmonton, 2005), p. 59. 2. Ibid., p. 83.

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