Making it Personal:

Leadership Development Programs for LITA

2009 EMERGING LEADERS, TEAM T

Amanda Hornby
Undergraduate Instruction Coordinator and Geography Reference & Instruction Librarian at the
University of Washington; Seattle, Washington
hornbya@u.washington.edu

Angelica Guerrero Fortin

Branch Manager of the Spring Valley Branch of the San Diego County Library; San Diego, California
angelica.fortin@sdcounty.ca.gov

Dan Overfield
Reference and Instruction Librarian at the Cuyahoga Community College; Cleveland, Ohio
daniel.overfield@tri-c.edu

Lisa Carlucci Thomas

Digital Collections Librarian at Yale University; New Haven, Connecticut
lisa.thomas@yale.edu
INTRODUCTION

Professional associations have always provided librarians with career development

opportunities like networking and committee involvement. In today’s rapidly evolving world,
increasingly competitive librarians will demand more from their associations. They will ask for a
tangible way to become, or to remain, leaders in their field. Technological fluency is one of the
most valuable skills in librarianship today, and therefore LITA is well positioned to become a
leader among professional organizations. Our proposals will provide LITA with two options to
accomplish this task via two similar but unique programs that will combine the existing
experience inside LITA with the energy and drive of our profession’s newest librarians.

Group T of the 2009 Emerging Leaders Program was assigned to “work in close consultation
with the LITA Membership Development committee to create new leadership programs.”
Project goals were as follows:

Develop ideas for LITA Leadership Programs to promote the training and advancement
of LITA members, increase awareness of the organization, and new members.
Research leadership programs of similar divisions and organizations.
Submit proposals to LITA liaisons for consideration and possible implementation.
Report the results of the process, research, and outcomes at ALA Annual Conference,
July 2009.

To that end, we respectfully submit this final report to LITA, wherein we suggest two
proposals for consideration and possible implementation: the LITA Leadership Institute and the
LITA Mentorship Program.

LITA LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

Purpose:

Our proposal is for LITA to create an online continuing education program to develop the
leadership and project management skills necessary to maintain and promote the value and
ability of LITA’s professional membership to the greater librarian population. The program will
familiarize participants with LITA’s mission, structure and role in ALA using current
technologies. Leadership Institute participants will be taught project management and team
building skills while receiving training relevant to the application and development of
technology in a library setting.

The program will be six months in duration and will utilize, and thus evaluate, emerging
technologies to foster communication between program administrators and participants.

2 Making it Personal: Leadership Development Programs for LITA

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 The LITA Leadership Institute will encourage librarians to join LITA and will provide an
opportunity for professional development to both new and existing LITA members via a concise
and formally developed curriculum. Participants who successfully complete the program will
receive a certificate of achievement and, more importantly, will have a better understanding of
the skills necessary to be a technologically savvy leader in the profession of librarianship.

Overview:

From the LITA website, participants will use the LITA Leadership Institute Wiki, a portal to
Leadership Institute videos, discussion forums, readings and more. A face-to-face meeting
opportunity will be provided at both the midwinter and annual ALA conferences, where
participants can meet the Institute’s leader, speakers and fellow participants. While in-person
conference participation is not required of Leadership Institute participants, we recommend the
development and implementation of video conference technology to allow for a face-to-face
interaction and experience whenever physical travel is not practical.

The Leadership Institute will be announced at the ALA Annual Conference and a call for
applications will be made on LITA’s website. A full description of the program and
participation requirements will be made available on the application. A deadline for applications
will be established (September is the proposed month), applications will be reviewed, and
selected participants will be notified a month after the application deadline. The Institute will
officially start in January, with participants having the option of meeting in-person at ALA
Midwinter. The program will continue for six months, ending in July, with a chance for
participants to meet at ALA Annual.

How:

LITA Leadership Institute Application Requirements:

LITA Membership
Curriculum Vitae/Resume
Letter of Recommendation from a colleague or library system
Short essay (250 words) describing interest in developing leadership skills and interest in
becoming involved in LITA activities

Selection Process:
The LITA Membership Committee will review applications and select participants
based on the criteria described above.
Participant size should be limited to 6-12 people (to form a small cohort). The cohort
size will be reviewed after the completion of the program’s inaugural year.

Program Description:
Once program participants have been selected, they will receive a welcome email
directing them to the LITA Leadership Institute Wiki.
The Wiki will provide a synopsis of the program and outline the Institute’s
commitment requirements.

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 Video lectures: Every month, a video (using YouTube or similar streaming video
technology) will be provided so that participants can view the current month’s virtual
talk. The Institute will include a total of six virtual video talks to be viewed by
participants. The virtual talks will introduce participants to the current month’s topic
of discussion (see “Video Content” for more information) and will be given by
current LITA members, particularly Board members and Committee leaders. This
enables Institute participants to become familiar with those currently involved in
LITA leadership capacities.
Video Content: Suggested themes for the six monthly video talks are listed below.
The content and organization can be customized by the speaker; suggested running
time for each video is 20-25 minutes (and no more than 30 minutes).

o Month 1: LITA 411: Understanding the Structure of LITA- LITA President

and other leaders describe what LITA is and the organization’s overall
structure.

o Month 2: Inside LITA: Committees and Interest Groups - Provide information

about different committees from the viewpoint of experienced LITA
members. Will also discuss how committees are formed and any
organizational requirements.

o Month 3: Developing and Articulating Your Leadership Vision – Strategies

for developing a vision for your LITA Committee or Interest Group (or LITA
itself) and ideas for clearly articulating the vision and related goals.

o Month 4: Communication Skills for Leaders – Overview of effective

communication skills for leaders, and best practices for virtual and in person
communication.

o Month 5: Current Trends in Technology and Leadership – Current

technology and leadership trends and perspectives from LITA members.

o Month 6: LITA Present, LITA Future: Mentoring LITA Members – Overview

of how to become a mentor and best practices for mentors and mentees.

Current Literature: If related readings or other web based videos are available to
supplement the topic, they will also be made available via the Wiki.

Discussion: After viewing each month’s video talk and reviewing the literature on
the Wiki, participants will be required to engage in an online discussion about the
topic. This can be done via a discussion forum, live chat or videoconferencing
technology, such as Skype. The type of technology used should be based on the
availability of the LITA leader who will be leading the discussions. Ideally,
participants should have the opportunity to discuss the topic with the individual
featured in the video. The Committee or individual assigned to moderate the program

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 will need to coordinate such participation. Discussion will allow clarification,
questions and resource sharing.

Upon completing all six videos and related discussions, Leadership Institute participants will
be asked to evaluate the experience via an online assessment survey, and to provide a short
written reflection about the experience. The survey results and the written reflections will help
improve the Leadership Institute content, organization and could be used by participants and
speakers as proof of participation. At the end of the Leadership Institute, participants will
receive a certificate of achievement.

We recommend that a LITA Committee be assigned or be formed to administer the

Leadership Institute program. In addition, a moderator must be selected to ensure that
discussions move forward. Other committee tasks include:

Creation of Leadership Institute application

Publicity for the Leadership Institute
Review of Leadership Institute applications, participant selection and notification
Leadership Institute Wiki maintenance
Video speaker volunteers
Video content creation and production
Current literature selection
Organization of face to face meetings as part of ALA Annual and Midwinter
Leadership Institute program completion certificate creation and mailing
An assessment of the program’s potential cost.

LITA MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Purpose:

To promote the unique benefits of LITA as a leadership organization and attract new
professionals to LITA membership, we propose the establishment of a LITA Mentorship
Program; a collaborative professional development program designed and administered by LITA
to expand the leadership skills of all LITA members, strengthen and promote community, and
provide support to new LITA members.

The LITA Strategic Plan (2005-2008) indicates three core goals of the organization: 1. to
educate, 2. to serve, and 3. to reach out. The establishment of a LITA Mentorship Program
supports these essential goals by partnering dedicated LITA professionals with junior colleagues;
toward:

Educating mentees regarding the role and purpose of LITA, benefits of membership,
and opportunities for leadership and continued professional development.

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 Enhancing, mutually, the knowledge of both mentors and mentees; through the
sharing and dissemination of information relevant to the respective professional’s
area of expertise and awareness.
Reaching out and expanding the leadership skills and experience of mentorship
participants; developing a close network of professionals at all levels; and
contributing to the vibrancy and expansion of LITA through personal
communication and connections.

The success of a LITA Mentorship Program as a leadership initiative will require enthusiasm
for the purpose, an organized plan, and a flexible, scalable structure. Designed well, with the
goals and ideals of LITA in mind, a LITA Mentorship Program would offer lasting benefits to
participants and the organization alike. With the continued retirement of experienced librarians
and IT experts in the field, there will be an ongoing need for technologically proficient leaders to
take the helm. Additionally, implementing a LITA Mentorship Program at this time provides an
alternative means of continuing education and networking for librarians facing budget cuts and
travel restrictions due to the present economy. The ability to deliver a mentoring program which
offers professional achievement, leadership emphasis, and recognition to its members will make
LITA more competitive and appealing to a diverse audience. Moreover, a LITA Mentorship
Program establishes opportunities for leaders to learn from leaders at all levels of experience, so
each may better educate, serve, and reach out as proud and involved members of the LITA
community.

Overview:

The LITA website states that LITA “provides its members and the library and information
science community as a whole with a forum for discussion, an environment for learning, and a
program for actions on the design, development, and implementation of automated and
technological systems in the library and information science field”
(http://www.lita.org/ala/mgrps/divs/lita/litamembership /joinlita/joinlita.cfm). LITA unites
librarians, IT professionals, and other practitioners using information and communication
technologies and brings together voices of specialized knowledge and expertise. LITA also
fosters a culture of innovation and growth toward the betterment of library services. The
development of a LITA Mentorship Program would strengthen connections within the
organizations and promote information-sharing among experienced and new professionals.
Moreover, these partnerships would attract positive attention to LITA as an organization for new
professionals, encourage membership growth, and provide opportunities to develop the
leadership skills of participants.

In July 2008, Diane Zabel, formerly President of RUSA, published “The Mentoring Role of
Professional Associations.” Zabel states that “mentoring can help develop new leaders for the
profession” (349) and that “ALA divisions will become even more important in the socialization
of the new type of individuals entering our profession” (350). Her article reports on mentorship
programs among ALA divisions (see pages 353-357) as well as activities in “other library-related
associations” (see pages 357-359). As of 2008, these ALA divisions reported having mentorship
programs in place: AASL, ACRL, ALCTS-CETRC, LAMA, YALSA, and NMRT (Zabel).

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These programs offer possible mentorship options for ALA members, but cannot offer the
unique perspective that a LITA Mentorship Program could provide.

How:

A successful LITA Mentorship Program requires a written plan, policy, and procedures as
well as assignment of administrative oversight. We suggest the creation of a LITA Mentorship
Task Force to document and develop the plan, policy, procedures, and tools (i.e. wiki, blog, and
social media presence). Following the conclusion of the Task Force, we propose that the
Mentorship Program be managed by the Membership Development Committee.

To centralize the activity of the LITA Mentorship Program, we recommend that a wiki be
created. The wiki would be the place where information about, and of interest to, mentors and
mentees would be maintained. This could include documentation about the program as well as
profiles and idea boards. The nature and extent of information requested and/or required would
be determined by the LITA Mentorship Program Task Force. The use of a wiki varies from the
commonly used web-form submission method of information gathering (ex: ALA-NMRT); it is a
dynamic platform where up-to-date information can be shared. Furthermore, a wiki offers the
potential of a single location where mentors and mentees can learn about the program, learn
about each other, become aware of possible topics for discussion, and add and access additional
resources.

Once launched, the wiki would be the go-to place for information about the LITA
Mentorship Program. New members would be notified of the leadership program in their
“Welcome” email, and encouraged to review the wiki and add their name and information. New
members may also be asked whether they would like to be matched up with a mentor
immediately. If so, the request would be forwarded to the Membership Development
Committee. The Committee would “match” the mentee to a possible mentor and submit all
documentation to both parties so they will understand the process. The policy and procedure
documentation should address the timeline of the partnership (ideally 1 year from the start date
of the partnership), the suggested meeting schedule (once per month), the expected deliverable
(mentee writes monthly blog post or similar), and include information about how to end a
mentoring partnership if needed. Either party may request the termination of the mentorship at
any time, and for any reason.

Special benefits for mentors may include a reduction or waiver of LITA membership renewal
fees for the year of active mentorship, a special feature in Information Technology and Libraries,
and the ability to voluntarily contribute to the blog or Twitter feed.

In order to give maximum potential benefit exposure to both mentors and mentees we also
recommend that, at the conclusion of the mentorship experience, mentees voluntarily submit a
written summary of their experience to ITAL, Information Technology and Libraries for
publishing consideration. The publishing facet of the program will provide additional incentive
to all who participate and will further provide LITA with sincere and concise feedback about the
program.

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 A rolling calendar year schedule is recommended to ensure a consistent flow of volunteer
mentors and to offer immediate involvement and benefit to new members at the time of joining
LITA. Moreover, this guarantees that the LITA Mentorship Program is always growing and
always current in topic. Mentors and mentees should be advised that a partnership will be made
only if and when there is a possible mentor or mentee available. Finally, mentees will be asked
to serve as mentors for one year following one year of receiving mentorship. This allows them
to become involved, demonstrate their leadership skills, and expand their networks. It also
promotes the continuation and growth of the LITA Mentorship Program.

SUMMARY

The 2009 Emerging Leaders of Team T submit these proposals to LITA for review and
consideration. With more and more people turning to libraries to use services unavailable
elsewhere; and news of shrinking budgets is spreading across the library landscape at staggering
speeds, libraries and librarians must “do more, with less” in order to maximize resources and
opportunities. Associations such as LITA offer a valuable forum to bring together experienced
and new professionals and serve a central role in preparing the next generation of leaders. These
proposed programs will build on the strong foundation of LITA’s reputation and expertise, and
set an example for other divisions within ALA seeking to promote membership, leadership, and
excellence within their organizations.

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APPENDIX

This paper was collaboratively written by authors located in Connecticut, Ohio, California,
and Washington using Google Groups and Google Chat to facilitate interaction and to host
discussions between the authors. We chose Google Groups because it acts like proprietary course
management software in that group members can post comments, questions, and documents for
the rest of the group to review without sending large unwieldy files via electronic mail. Google
Groups also featured a group email address that the authors were able to use to easily address the
entire group in outgoing messages. Further, comments from these messages were stored in the
form of conversational threads on our Google Groups page. Given the span of time in which we
worked on the project this feature of archiving our email correspondence was especially
welcome in that allowed us all to quickly see the entire scope of our work in one convenient
location.

Google Groups allows users to control who can see the group’s content by allowing the
creator to set access to private or public. LibStats, an open source statistics tracking software
package for libraries has a public group on Google Groups that allows anyone to comment or
read the contents of the work. It includes the software download, the directions, and conversation
threads between the products users, developers, and administrators. Our group, given its nature,
was set to private, thus preventing its content from appearing in search results or from being
visible to the general public. Google Groups also features a new content RSS feed that makes it
very easy for members to remain aware of the project’s progress at all times.

When email correspondence was not immediate enough to facilitate communication we

chose to use Google Chat, an instant messaging service that allows users to communicate with
one or more member of the group instantly. Within Chat users can make their comments visible
only to selected participants or to the entire group as they are typing. Use of this service allowed
us to circumvent the cost of telephone conversations and, more importantly, the Chat service
automatically archived our entire conversations in a separate “chat” folder within our Gmail
(Google email) inboxes.

We found both Google Chat and Google Groups to be effective communication tools when
performing a group project across different time zones and states. Google Chat required a small
software download, but otherwise, no additional hardware or fees were required or incurred in
the use of this system.

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REFERENCES & CONTINUED READING

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10 Making it Personal: Leadership Development Programs for LITA

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