Search results

Library and Information Studies (LIS) education is changing to meet the needs of a dynamic, information-seeking public by infusing new skills development into the education process. This includes new ways to teach from a theoretical point of view in the classroom, new partnerships and expectations, and learning from practitioners through practicums, internships, and volunteering. Embracing innovation and entrepreneurship within the education framework for library and information science education will ensure a profession that can change and be sustainable into the future.

Examples and active programs from field literature are provided to make the case for the need to include entrepreneurial skill development into the LIS curriculum and program development.

This chapter will discuss the value of applying or including an entrepreneurial education component into LIS programs. Changes to practicum experiences can also help students engage more broadly and redefine how to provide library resources and services in an uncertain future. The value to the student will also be examined. Whether as part of a standard program or as part of a professional development initiative, students or individuals obtaining competencies and skills related to risk-taking, building diverse relationships, and becoming comfortable with ambiguity will increase their chances for a broader range of employment.

The work in this chapter has been developed and shared in pieces at various presentations and venues but never collected and documented as a single work, but for this chapter.

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the importance of including emotional intelligence training with programs related to providing mentorship to others. Formal mentoring programs, established with specific goals and objectives, need foundation work for context in order to be successful. This chapter pulls from professional literature, important basic components of both emotional intelligence skills and attributes for successful mentoring. By demonstrating the relationship between emotional intelligence and mentors who are successful, future programs and activities within the workplace regarding formal mentorship structures can be influenced positively. There is a relationship between having good emotional intelligence skills by people who mentor and being successful within the mentoring relationship. Mentors who are more self-aware of their own emotions are more likely to manage a mentoring relationship more positively and with better outcomes. Library and information science professionals are undergoing tremendous change within the professional environment, the establishment of mentoring networks can greatly influence professional turnover. The opinions and concepts presented from professional literature has been used and adapted by the author in various workshops and presentations. It is this practitioner’s opinion that any formal mentoring program should start with providing a foundation of emotional intelligence skills for the mentors.

To identify change in the understanding of entrepreneurship in libraries through content analysis of presentations that were a part of the Conference for Entrepreneurial Librarians from 2009 through 2016. This chapter will discuss key topics and findings related to libraries and entrepreneurship.

Presentations delivered at the conference were categorized into topics and were tracked to uncover perceptions of what is entrepreneurial in libraries and how the importance of certain issues has changed over time. This chapter summarizes the results of that evaluation and of a survey of attendees after the conferences ended.

Entrepreneurship in libraries in 2009 was more heavily linked to making money. Over time, however, the term “entrepreneurial” became more conceptually associated with finding value, reaching out to new constituencies, and taking risks. There is a definite distinction as to the definition of “entrepreneurial” between public libraries (who consider community outreach to be a part of their core mission) and academic libraries (who often see this as an entrepreneurial enterprise). The finding that librarians attended the conference to “find change agents” indicates a yearning to identify with others in the field who are likewise seeking ways to be entrepreneurial.

The evaluation of the status of “entrepreneurship in libraries” has never before been undertaken by evaluating the presentations of the practitioners in a conference setting. Since the practitioners are determining what is most valuable to discuss with others in the field, this provides some insight into the status of entrepreneurship in the field.