The purpose of this study was to develop a set of competencies for public library directors, which can help them to successfully lead their libraries. The competencies mentioned in the literature, used in previous training or developed as informal lists by members of the profession are pieces of a puzzle that need to be assembled to give a clear picture of the ideas being advanced by the profession. Disparate opinions on the knowledge, skills, abilities and other less easily measured personal attributes necessary for library directors to learn need to be brought together and examined systematically. Using those ideas as a basis, the competency set developed in this study will be further refined by current public library directors in successful libraries, thus helping to ensure that the most important competencies identified from the literature of the profession are confirmed and enhanced by the people who actually carry out these tasks of leadership and management in public libraries.
The research objectives for this study were
The research objectives for this study were:
to identify in the literature and report desired competencies for library manager/leaders drawn from the literature;
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to validate the competencies found in the literature through the opinions of current library manager/leaders; and,
to refine the competencies found in the literature through the opinions of current public library directors.
The research-based development of competencies for public library directors will provide a foundation for those who wish to build up their own skills as they move toward director jobs and will give libraries and professional organizations a useful set of competencies for use in developing training programs, which will ensure they are helping grow and develop those who will be moving up leadership ranks. It also provides a foundation for future research. Good directors are very important for ensuring the success of their libraries, but they do not function alone; other leaders and managers, with or without qualifications or titles, also contribute to the success. Their contributions should also be analyzed and methods developed for their competency development through research that extends the scope of the set of competencies developed in this study.