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Libraries need library leaders who are able to follow the changes and developments and keep pace with them, manage and shape the changes, bring theories and practices together, be solution-oriented, people-oriented, environment-oriented, well-appointed, successful, and creative, because of the rapid developments and continuous changes. In this context, it has become more important for library managers to improve their leadership skills. In the scope of this study, a questionnaire study has been conducted with staff working in 168 different university central libraries. Information form, consisting of 16 questions about librarians’ demographic characteristics and manager satisfaction and Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire is used for data accumulation. The purpose of this paper is to determine library managers’ leadership approaches in private and public university libraries of Turkey and to survey library staff's satisfaction with their managers.

This research is a methodological and descriptive research. Original sample of this research consists of 168 university central library in total (103 public-65 private) and approximately 500 library employee 183 library employees from 20 public university central libraries (108 employees) and 13 private university central libraries responded. Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, so sample of this research consists of 33 libraries and 183 questionnaire answers. 20.62 percent of the library employees of the target group had responded the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire.

In total, 183 employees (108 public and 75 private university central libraries) from 33 university central libraries are responded to Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Multiple responses were gained from 183 library employees of whom 57.4 percent (105) were female and 42.6 percent (78) were male. When the age distribution is concerned it has determined that 25.1 percent (46) of the participants were centered on 26-34 age group. Other age distributions are defined as in the following: ages 20-25, 19.7 percent (36); ages 31-35, 18.6 percent (34); ages 36-40, 13.7 percent (25); ages 41-45, 15.8 percent (29); and age 46 and over, 7.1 percent.

As with all organizations, library managers with leadership qualities are needed in the field of library science. Organizational structures of libraries are constantly changing. Libraries need library leaders who are able to follow the changes and developments and keep pace with them, manage and shape the changes, bring theories and practices together, be solution-oriented, people-oriented, environment-oriented, well-appointed, successful, and creative, because of the rapid developments and continuous changes.

The aim of this paper is to describe a process undertaken by Colorado State University Libraries' (CSUL) faculty to address concerns regarding their leadership training and development opportunities within the Libraries.

A Task Force (TF) under the direction of the Libraries Faculty Council (LFC) collected and examined feedback from the faculty librarians, reviewed professional literature, and made recommendations to the Libraries' administration and the Council.

Recommendations by the TF include: possible training initiatives, leadership role development, and improvement of organizational communication. The work of the TF heightened awareness of the issue within the Libraries. An LFC standing committee is now exploring and offering leadership training opportunities on an ongoing basis. An organizational climate survey has been completed and its results shared among the library faculty to address the issue of communication. In addition, the Libraries' administration has launched a number of strategic initiatives that were open to faculty and staff for leadership and participation. A number of faculty librarians are now leading these initiatives based on their professional strengths and interests.

This article has value to academic librarians and library administrators as they consider improving leadership training and development opportunities in their libraries. As middle management positions in academic libraries diminish, consideration must be given to how academic librarians gain experience or are trained in order to be well‐prepared for future leadership positions. Additionally, library administration should be instrumental in providing such opportunities to their librarians to ensure professional growth.

This case study aims to explain why one Canadian academic library chose to design and deliver in-house leadership development training for its employees, rather than taking a consortial approach, and seeks to highlight the impact of this decision on the library's organizational culture.

This paper is presented in three parts: the benefits and challenges of in-house, external and consortial training; the impact of an in-house leadership development program at the University Library at the University of Saskatchewan; and considerations when deciding whether to collaborate on the provision of employee training. The author draws upon her own personal experiences as the Director of Human Resources for the library, and presents evidence acquired through surveys, observations, and conversations.

The paper explains how a deliberate decision to provide in-house leadership training had a transformative effect on individual employees and the organization.

When considering collaborating to provide leadership development training, library administrators should ensure the pros and cons of doing so are thoroughly explored; the pressure to collaborate can sometimes lead to participation in activities simply to be seen as a “good library citizen,” and often such activities are not necessarily contributing to the strategic goals of the library. In economically challenging times, library leaders and decision makers will need to be very aware of these implications.

This paper discusses why a library chose an in-house approach to leadership development training rather than a consortial approach. This article has value to library administrators as they consider implementing leadership development training in their libraries.

The paper aims to provide an overview of the background and context of the decision by a Canadian research library to invest in developing and implementing its own in‐house library leadership development program (LLDP).

This paper is a case study and is presented in three parts: leadership circumstances within the Canadian research libraries, with particular reference to The Future of Human Resources in Canadian Libraries (the 8Rs Study), the University Library at the University of Saskatchewan and its Strategic Plan, with particular reference to its relationship and engagement strategy and other strategic HR initiatives; and the conceptualisation, content and competencies of the LLDP. This paper discusses why and how a leadership development program has been implemented.

The paper shows that LLDP is a work‐in‐progress and is a practical step in a journey to change organizational culture, and build individual and organizational leadership capacity.

While some of the context is Canadian specific, the local strategy implementation has relevance and applicability in other academic and research library contexts.

This paper provides a discussion of current leadership challenges for Canadian research libraries, including a leadership development strategy exemplified by the experiences and work underway at the library at the University of Saskatchewan.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on academic library leadership in the digital age. Primarily, the goals are to identify: first, the top five major challenges facing academic library leadership; second, the top five most important leadership skills required for effective academic library leadership; and finally, the top five best ways to develop these academic library leadership skills.

A survey was conducted to elicit responses from individuals who hold senior library leadership positions in American academic libraries throughout the USA. The participants were identified through several means: the web sites of the ALA and its divisions; the web sites of American universities; referrals; and the author’s professional contacts. To simplify the survey research process, e-mails including the survey research questions were sent to potential participants. In all, 38 invitations (n=38) were sent out to large and medium-size academic libraries throughout the USA. Over 36.8 percent (n=14) of the participants returned the survey. The participants represent a wide spectrum of libraries.

The top five major challenges are how to: demonstrate the library values to the university community, operate the library under fiscal uncertainty, retrofit outdated library facilities to accommodate new services, strike a balance between digital and print materials, and keep the library staff trained and current. The top five essential academic library leadership attributes are: vision, integrity, management skills, collaboration skills, and communication skills. The top five best ways to acquire these skills include the need to have mentors, to attend leadership development programs, to gain practical library leadership experience, to seek leadership roles, and to know oneself.

Research in this area is rather limited. As a result, this study will contribute to the academic library leadership literature and help current and aspiring academic library leaders worldwide with insightful leadership lessons needed to lead academic libraries successfully in this transformational era.

To investigate senior library leaders' perceptions of leadership, and to critically explore whether senior librarians distinguish classic leadership from management/administrative practices, both conceptually and in their work lives.

Thirty top‐level public librarians from Ireland, Britain, and the east coast of the United States were selected for inclusion in this study. A review of the relevant literature was conducted in order to design an interview guide which was then used to conduct structured in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews.

Many responses from the senior librarians indicated an apparent ignorance of any distinction between leadership and management. Eighty per cent of respondents tended to confuse leadership with headship, management, administration, or bureaucracy, or a combination of these. The findings argue that classic leadership is a relatively scarce quality in public libraries in Britain, Ireland, and America. Many public library leaders, instead, focus on management/administration.

The findings have practical implications for librarians at the recruitment and selection stage, and later on for the career paths of middle management personnel who show aptitudes for leadership.

This study of the perceptions of senior public library leaders, across national boundaries, makes a theoretical contribution both to the limited extant literature on leadership in librarianship, and the broad corpus of organizational leadership literature. The current study is the most in‐depth study to date, drawing on thirty face‐to‐face interviews with thirty public library leaders.

The paper aims to answer the question: “Where is our profession going and who is leading us there?”

The article presents results of a survey directed to leadership institute attendees and attempts to determine the impact of such institutes on librarians' careers, and their willingness to move into administrative positions (department head, director, etc.) or leadership roles (project leader, committee chair). This paper was developed from the poster session, “Follow Me! Are Leadership Institutes Creating the Next Generation of Library Leaders?” presented at the American Library Association's Annual Conference in Washington, DC, June 24, 2007. Survey questions allowed data collection on the nature and impact of the leadership institute experience, attendees' supervisory and administrative experience, and their future professional goals. The role of leadership mentors and the potential of mentorship to increase the number of library leaders was also considered.

Librarians who attended leadership institutes felt it had a direct impact on their careers because they are more willing to move into leadership, management, and administrative roles. The majority of attendees find their leadership institute experience professionally valuable and would recommend it to others. Additionally, survey findings reveal the importance of professional mentors.

The survey was limited to librarians who attended a leadership institute. Approximately 75 percent of respondents were female, with only 25 percent male, which reflects the general demographics of the profession as a whole.

Leadership institutes should be developed to focus on particular constituencies. A variety of formats – retreats, year‐long – will also help address different needs among potential attendees. Current library and institutional administrators should encourage librarians to develop their leadership potential.

This paper addresses the insufficient number of librarians both willing and prepared to take on leadership roles both within individual libraries and the profession at large, which is a growing concern to the library profession.

An effective measurement of library leadership is crucial to understanding the current state of library leadership and to developing library leaders. This study sought to validate and measure the reliability of the Martin Library Leadership survey.

This survey is based on the Martin Library Leadership Definition, an evidence-based definition of library leadership. The first version of the survey consisted of 28 questions plus questions on respondent and library leader demographics. Each question measured one of the three components of the definition. This version of the survey was distributed to multiple ALA listservs and after analysis 16 items were removed. The resulting 12 question version of the survey was sent to the same ALA listservs and completed by 291 librarians and library staff from various library types and library work areas. The responses were analyzed using SPSS.

Exploratory factor analysis found three factors that align with the three components of the Martin Library Leadership Definition, and questions loaded in their expected factors at least 0.7. Cronbach's alpha was used to determine internal consistency. The alpha for the entire survey was 0.956. The Martin Library Leadership survey was validated and found to be reliable.

The results of this study provide strong and consistent evidence the Martin Library Leadership survey is valid and can be used in further library leadership research and professional development.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a study aimed at assessing the impact of the only recurring Asian library leadership institute on its participants.

A review of the literature focussing on similar longitudinal studies was first conducted followed by a survey of past participants aimed at utilizing a self-evaluation approach.

The study found it difficult to establish a conclusive cause and effect link between institute attendance and the subsequent changes in participants’ professional lives. Nevertheless the study provides compelling evidence that the institute has enhanced participants’ leadership skills, knowledge and insights and thus contributed directly or indirectly to changes in respect of their career progression, involvement in leadership activities and changes at their respective organizations.

Like other similar longitudinal studies on library leadership training, the inconclusive nature of findings suggests that further analysis of participants might be undertaken through a qualitative approach in the form of focus group interviews with the participants and over a time period less than the ten years used in the study.

Survey respondents provided overwhelming support for the institute providing organizers with the motivation to continue to provide this opportunity to librarians in the Asia region.

As the only Asian library leadership training of its kind, this study has delivered a unique set of data that provides perspectives that have not been previously documented.

The paper's aim is to present findings of the recent evaluation of the Leading Modern Public Libraries development programme with reference to the management versus leadership dynamic. The programme provided a strategic intervention to address a perceived weakness in leadership development within the public library sector in England.

Drawing on recent examples from the literature, the theoretical differences between the concepts of management and leadership are discussed and used to inform consideration of the programme's effectiveness. Evaluation methods included participant observation, interviews, focus groups and a questionnaire survey, each administered at various stages of the programme with a representative sample of programme participants. Verbatim quotations from evaluation respondents are included in the analysis.

The research reveals that the programme has had a positive impact in enabling and developing leadership capacity within the sector, particularly in terms of developing participants' confidence and other interpersonal traits associated with effective leadership, including creativity and risk taking. Perceived benefits and limitations of the public library context in which the course was delivered have also been identified.

Important considerations on the transition from effective management to leadership, and the identification, support and development of future leaders within organisations are presented, with implications for current public library leaders, trainers and facilitators within the field.

The paper shows that the programme and its evaluation represent a strategic development initiative on an unprecedented scale in the public library sector.