Who should attend the academy?

The Academy is designed for mid-career library professionals interested in obtaining the practical knowledge and basic skills critical to becoming a library leader or manager. Applicants must either have five years of library experience and a Bachelors Degree or two years of library experience and an MLS.

Instructors

Courses in the Library Leadership and Management Academy will be taught by experienced library leaders, academic faculty members, specialized experts, and consultants in particular fields.

Courses

Leadership and Management Practices
This course will compare and contrast activities, skills and behaviors of good librarians with good managers. It will also provide librarians with the tools they need to identify their managerial styles and to learn to maximize the strengths of their styles and minimize their weaknesses.

Communication and Presentation Skills
This course will prepare librarians to be effective public speakers and presenters. You will learn skills for communicating effectively, getting your message out clearly, and connecting with your audience.

Budgeting
This course will familiarize librarians with standard budgetary tools and language, such as financial statements, assets and liabilities, and their relationship to developing and implementing a budget.

Conflict Resolution and Team Building
This course will develop skills toward understanding and managing conflict in the workplace and delve into how to motivate and create a collaborative work environment for employees.

Time Management and Organizational Skills
This course will instruct attendees on managing time effectively, developing strategies for allocating time wisely, prioritizing tasks, and creating a process for controlling time spent on tasks and responsibilities.

Strategic Planning
This course will introduce librarians to the Public Library Association's planning process called "The New Planning for Results" and familiarize them with planning concepts such as community vision statements, library service responses, resource allocation formulas and evaluation strategies.

Fundraising and Board Relations
This course will provide basics on fundraising strategies and techniques, and working with boards and volunteer groups to maximize their potential for friend and fund-raising activities.

Facility/Building Management
This course will provide a basic overview of facility management issues, such as lease or property negotiations and terms, energy usage, HVAC terminology, and ADA regulations.

Legal Issues
This course focuses on the laws, rules and regulations at the local, state and federal level that govern the operations of libraries.

Human Resources
This course will provide an overview of issues associated with supervising employees on a daily basis, ranging from performance evaluations to job descriptions, fringe benefits, employee manuals, and interviewing techniques.

Application Process

Submit application form along with resume and appropriate payment.
Leadership and Management Academy Application Form (pdf)

Tuition

The Library Leadership and Management Academy is open only to NYLA members. Applicants have a choice of paying a per-course fee of $125, or saving $500 by paying $750 upfront for the entire program.