I attended the Archives and Library Leadership Network of New York City’s (ALLN) program “Stepping Stones to Leadership: Interpersonal, Business and Professional Challenges” on 11/18/2013. It was held at METRO in Manhattan. It was well- attended and a great program!
Keynote Address
The Keynote address was given by Pam Rollo, Past President and former member of the Board of Directors for SLA. Highlights included:
• Having solid mission statement
• Comparing your association with others
• Knowing what “good looks like” by using good metrics and planning mechanisms
• Formal orientations for board members
• Discourage “unhealthy alliances”
• Formal work projects/targeted meetings
• Pilot programs
Key Challenges Facing Boards
During this segment of the program. The issues of Board Cohesion (Ma’lis Wendt, ALA), Business and Finance (Mitch Brodsky, Archivists Round Table) and Membership and Technology (Elizabeth Lane, ARLIS/NY) were discussed.
• Ms. Wendt gave pointers on how to run effective meetings. Her tips included: delegating responsibilities, creating a team atmosphere, cross-training for board members, forming ad-hoc committees and taking a new look at “reinventing the wheel.”
• Mr. Brodsky elaborated on his experiences as Treasurer of ART regarding migrating financial and membership data using Wild Apricot and Xero software.
• Ms. Lane detailed her experiences with using SilkStart for ARLIS’s membership database. She maintained that social media content gives an organization’s membership a reason to visit its website.
Open Forum
Guest panelists included Caroline Fuchs (ACRL/NY) and Janice E. Henderson (LLAGNY). During this open segment questions such as “What qualities are most important for organization leaders today?” and “What library school educational changes are needed to foster more leadership qualities?” were discussed. The issue of mentoring was a recurring theme. Suggestions for library graduate programs included effective business writing, presentation techniques and project management.
Respectfully submitted,
Katrina Frazier
