Challenges That Academic Library Directors Are Experiencing as Perceived by Them and Their Supervisors

Abstract

The study examines perceptions of challenges reported by academic library directors and the chief academic officers to whom they report. Findings indicate that perceptions about user satisfaction were similar, that the challenge of serials was perceived to be the greatest challenge, that perceptions are related about the challenges of diversity and hardware, and that challenges of organizational change and crime in libraries appear to be influenced by age and length of tenure. Findings further indicate that training and the budget are related.

The Relationship Between Academic Library Department Experience and Perceptions of Leadership Skill Development Relevant to Academic Library Directorship

“…This is likely due to a number of factors. Longer terms as library directors may correlate with comfort with managing change, but this may be due to increased confidence or it may indicate that academic library directors engage in managing change most when they are new to an institution and engage in organizational change less as they become more accustomed to institutional culture (McElrath, 2002). As library directors inhabit the Administration department in academic libraries, this would explain the findings that Administration departments offer more development opportunities in managing change.…”

“…The library and information science literature does indicate that as age and length of tenure as academic library director increase, directors view change as less of a challenge. That is, the longer one is a library director, the less of a challenge managing change appears to be (McElrath, 2002). This is likely due to a number of factors.…”

“This is an Opportunity for Librarians to Reinvent Themselves, but it is about Moving Out of their Areas”: New Roles for Library Leaders?

“…She also found that library directors did not participate at the highest levels of the university's administration. McElrath (2002) examined perceptions of challenges reported by academic library directors (ALDs) and the chief academic officers (CAOs), to whom they report, in the south of the US. The study showed some close co-relation in challenges identified by both groups but also areas of difference.…”

“This is an Opportunity for Librarians to Reinvent Themselves, but it is about Moving Out of their Areas”: New Roles for Library Leaders?

“…Finally there is a recognition that libraries need to align strategically with the parent organisation (McElrath, 2002;Harland et al, 2017;Pinfield et al, 2017), but a lack of clarity from senior administrators about what a library is, or could be, in a digital age (Grimes,1998;McElrath,2002;Pinfield et al, 2017 ).The work of the SCONUL Group described below aimed to get a view from UK senior staff about their library directors, which can be compared to the literature above. It also took a snapshot of collaborations with other services.…”