High quality customer service is an important aim of the library experience. Its importance is evidenced by attention given to the topic in scholarly literature and academic conference proceedings. This article describes the challenging process of creating and delivering a blended customer service training curriculum to all library staff working at public service points in the University of Maryland Libraries. An online course, in-person workshops and digital badges were devised. Assessment was conducted at the end of the first year, resulting in revisions to the course.
Effective leadership and increasing diversity are central concerns in the library profession. Using qualitative interviewing and research methods, this study identifies the attributes, knowledge, and skills that African American women need in order to be successful leaders in today’s Association of Research Libraries (ARL). These findings indicate that, although African American women do not need different skills sets than non-minority library directors to be successful, they may need additional attributes or more of certain attributes to overcome stereotypes and successfully navigate predominantly White academic research library environments.
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