NEW BOOK SHOWS HOW SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP GO HAND-IN-HAND
March 21st, 2008 | by Marketing |Experts offer primer on leadership geared specifically to the needs of information professionals
A good knowledge of leadership—its theory and practice, is essential for both an individual’s career and the success of any enterprise. For people in professions founded on a philosophy of service, however—including information professionals in libraries, archives, and information centers world-wide—leadership is often an afterthought, say experts Sue Roberts and Jennifer Rowley. In the new book Leadership: The Challenge for the Information Profession, their goal is to get information professionals to think early and deeply about leadership and its practical impact.
“Our objective is to offer a set of concepts and models which will support the reader in thinking about and developing their own approach to leadership,” say the authors. “No other book offers such a comprehensive and topical perspective on leadership in the context of information services and the wider information industry.”
A companion volume to the widely acclaimed Managing Information Services (2004) by the same authors, Leadership is both an essential text for students of the information sciences and a practical guide for professionals at any stage of their career.
Espousing a philosophy that theory and practice should be closely intertwined, Roberts and Rowley begin by examining the most important theoretical perspectives on leadership, all the while encouraging the reader to assess their own leadership style and strengths through discussions on topics like leadership traits and styles, emotional intelligence, values, gender, communication styles, and personality.
Additional chapters pick up key aspects of leadership roles—from approaches to promoting change and innovation to the people skills of good leaders—team-building; development; empowerment; and communicating vision through mission statements, strategic goals, policies, values, and culture.
Finally, the authors look at potential strategies for leadership development and give practical advice for those seeking to develop management and information competencies.
Ideal for use in LIS graduate programs, every chapter begins with an outline of learning objectives and ends with a summary and conclusion. Every chapter also includes review questions, an illustrative case study, and “challenges” that pose dilemmas—difficult situations in which there are no sure-fire correct responses, but which will help readers think about and prepare for practical, real-world situations. Every chapter also includes extensive resources (both print and electronic) for additional learning.
Published by Facet Publishing in the U.K., Leadership: The Challenge for the Information Profession will be distributed in the U.S. by Neal-Schuman Publishers.
Leadership: The Challenge for the Information Profession
ISBN 978-1-85604-609-1.
2008. 6 x 9. 248 pp. $110.00.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Sue Roberts is University Librarian at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Jennifer Rowley is Professor of Information and Communications at Manchester Metropolitan University. Roberts and Rowley have collaborated previously on Managing Information Services (2004). Roberts is also co-author of Developing the New Learning Environment (2006).