The Machiavellian Librarian: Winning Allies, Combating Budget Cuts, and Influencing Stakeholders
Melissa K. Aho, Erika Bennet
Language: English
Pages: 341
ISBN: 2:00231237
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Do librarians ‘rock the boat’? Do they challenge those around them to win influence and advantage? Why is it that librarians are little found on the ‘influence’ grid of personality assessment tests? The Machiavellian Librarian offers real life examples of librarians who use their knowledge and skill to project influence, and turn the tide in their, and their library’s, favour. Authors offer first hand and clear examples to help librarians learn to use their influence effectively, for the betterment of their library and their career. Opening chapters cover visualizing data, as well as networking and strategic alignment. Following chapters discuss influence without authority-making fierce allies, communicating results in accessible language and user-centred planning. Closing chapters address using accreditation and regulation reporting to better position the library, as well as political positioning and outcome assessment.
• Throws the spotlight on librarian’s professional and personality traits, many of which are deleterious to the long-term viability of library funding
• Shows how best to boost the value proposition of libraries, through enhanced influence
• Includes how-to chapters on influencing others in the organisation
Academic stress, relationship stress, performance (athletic) stress, and even time management tips. Charleston Southern University, on the other hand, needed regular library instruction. While citation is standard library instruction fare, the examples and scenarios, however, still need to be specific to the situations that student-athletes face every day. Penn State University is a brilliant example of librarians and athletic departments working together for the benefit of all, resulting in a
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sound and not-so-sound professional advice. I was essentially hired to fire employees, as the firm was transitioning from typewriter to personal computers. Employees resistant to change and unwilling to take advantage of Microsoft certification training were the first I had to immediately terminate. I immediately burned a lot of bridges. I was incredibly inexperienced, and yet I exerted confidence and an ability to take charge. It was the late 1980s in America and the persona of the Black Urban
organizational change was such a “high point” in my life that “blinded” me to the realities of organizational challenges as a human service provider. I was passionate about this work, seeing how my long hours were keeping the disenfranchised from further harm. My bosses and colleagues were shocked, and yet they knew that once I made up my mind, there was no going back. 158 Ambition, innovation, and tenacity Preparing for the next stages of your librarian career In reflecting about your own
manage 173 The Machiavellian Librarian others. What piqued my interest, however, was when she moved outside of the daily operations of supervising and looked toward the larger organization. She wrote, “As librarians, we are in a unique position to appreciate the interrelatedness of all of the parts of our organizations” (Gordon, 2004, p. 229). Gordon lists a few of the attributes that librarians have that can boost our managerial effectiveness. One of these is our “ability to collect and