Competencies for public library managers: diversity in practice

Abstract

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emeraldsrm:198285 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify competencies in common across public library managers. Design/methodology/approach -The request for public library managers to participate in this survey was posted to the public listserve. Participants were asked about the tasks they do regularly, to identify the skills currently seen as most important in their work. They were then given a list of competencies, and asked to identify those they felt were most important for current public library managers, for those in future managers. Findings -Some commonalities emerged, but there was not a substantial amount of overlap between skills identified by directors and non-director managers as important now or into the future. Research limitations/implications -Further research into managerial competencies focussed on specific job titles is necessary to see what kinds of skills each may value. Likewise, a broader look at public library managers may provide a better set of common competencies that will be useful for both training and hiring. Practical implications -Understanding strategies for managerial competencies will be useful in building successful training programs. Social implications -Learning in this study that it will be challenging to carry out training relevant to all types of public library managers is useful; instead it can be tailored to different levels of managers for more success. Originality/value -This is an original study, building on other work the author has carried out. The value is in understanding the real needs of managers, not just anecdotal stories.