Professional Associations: Promoting Leadership in a Career

Leadership within the library community is vitally important in the wake of continual technological developments, recurrent budgetary shortfalls, and the fluidity of the job market for library professionals. Libraries must identify and foster the inherent personal characteristics and skills considered most relevant for leadership in the field of information management. Professional library associations play an important role in teaching and developing skills by providing experiential opportunities for their membership. Career models for academic or research librarians are discussed along with an assessment of career management.