ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 736/C&RL News Every Librarian a Leader Participating in the large r academ ic community By Jean A. Major Observations on the recent conference A CRL’s 1996 conference program series, “Every Librarian a Leader,” w as very use­ ful in stimulating academ ic librarians’ thoughts about leadership skills an d in building our ex­ pectations of cam pus citizenship. By including and discussing a w ide variety o f leadership ac­ tivities, the program planners com m unicated effectively that “leaders” bring a range o f dif­ fering skills to b ear on situations an d that all librarians, rank-and-file as w ell as m anagers, have the potential to participate effectively in cam pusw ide life by em ploying their personal set o f leadership skills. Seeking prominence As one w h o thinks about leadership, b u t also about em pow erm ent an d visibility for all my colleagues, the program stim ulated m e to co n ­ sider o ther elem ents n eed ed to enhance “be- yond-library-walls” librarianship. My best ad ­ vice to those librarians seeking prom inence in the larger academ ic com m unity is contained in the following points: • Believe in the im portance o f your area o f specialization w ithin th e discipline o f librari­ anship, an d the contribution w hich it can m ake to th e core business o f the college o r univer­ sity. Librarians can earn desired recognition and exert influence within their cam pus com m uni­ ties through the professional practice o f their specialty. Besides doing it expertly, how ever, you m ust b e convinced that it is integral to the university’s mission an d that your role requires reaching out to the w ider com m unity to p ro ­ m ote it. • D evelop a real understanding o f the in­ structional faculty, w h at they do, h o w they w ork, w hat they value—an d w hat they disdain. The ability of librarians to appreciate the typi­ cal faculty perspective an d to identify the ways in w h ic h th a t p e r s p e c tiv e d iffe rs fro m a librarian’s typical perspective m ust b e u n d er­ stood for your cam pus citizenship to be effec­ tive. • Have confidence in your personal skills a n d expertise in the m echanics o f gro u p pro­ cess. G roup w ork in committees an d task forces is an arena in w hich m any librarians possess superior skills an d significant experience. To transfer these skills outside the library, librar­ ians m ust develop an understanding of the con­ ventions o f cam pus comm ittees, the political im portance o f certain kinds of activities and decisions to the self-governing system, an d a sense of intelligent questions an d comm ents. You also must b e able to contribute your par­ ticular expertise assertively and effectively. Articulating the message To advance the standing of academ ic librar­ ians, tw o “con tent” issues m ust b e a d d ed to the processes and attitudes that w ere highlighted in th e convention program s and in my previ­ ous comm ents. We m ust equip ourselves to sp eak effectively on tw o points: • B eco m e effectiv e at a rtic u la tin g th e library’s collective identity an d its long-term goals and objectives—w hat w e are about, w here w e are going. • Be prepared to identify the un iq u e infor­ m ation m anagem ent expertise w hich w e can offer as librarians to projects and partnerships, an d b e ready yourself to contribute that exper­ tise. Larger campus roles The professional environm ent w ithin a library should stimulate an d su p p o rt librarians w ho (Leaders cont. o n p a g e 780) J e a n A. M ajor is university librarian a t Old D o m in io n University; e-mail: j a m 1OOf@sbakespeare.lib.odu.edu mailto:jamlOOf@sbakespeare.lib.odu.edu December 1 9 9 6 /7 3 7 780/C&RL News language poets are featured here— Ben Johnson, A lexander P o p e, J o h n D ryden, Percy Shelley, Elizabeth B arrett B row ning— alo n g w ith m any 20th-century poets from North America, Ireland, a n d G reat Britain. It is culturally instructive to c o m p a re th e varying treatm en ts of, say, the p o e m s o f Catullus by su ch w riters as T hom as C am pion, Leigh H unt, T hom as H ardy, R ichard L o v e la c e , W a lte r S av ag e L a n d o r, D o u g la s Young, an d Robert Clayton Casto. Original spell­ ings h av e b e e n retain ed to em p h asize histori­ cal differences. $29.95. O xford University Press, 198 M adison Ave., N ew York, NY 10016. ISBN 0-19-214209-7. For th o se w h o w ish to find o u t m ore a b o u t the G reek an d Latin authors, try C lassical Stud­ ies: A Guide to th e R eference Literature, by F red W. Jen k in s (263 pages, F ebruary 1996), a n a n n o ta te d listing o f bibliographical a n d in­ form ation resources, including th e Internet, re­ search centers, an d professional associations. $43.00. L ibraries U nlim ited, P.O . B ox 6633, E nglew ood, CO 80155. ISBN 1-56308-110-5- The Painted Photograph, 1 8 3 9 -1 9 1 4 : O rigins, T echniques, A spirations, By H einz K. H enisch an d B ridget A. H enisch (242 pages, S e p te m b e r 1996), is th e first co m p re h e n siv e history o f overp ain tin g b lack-and-w hite p h o ­ to g rap h s from th e earliest years to W orld W ar I. P h o to g rap h ers, e a g e r to p lease a public that at first co u ld n o t u n d e rsta n d w h y color im ages w ere n o t o b tain ab le, b e g a n to ap p ly h u e s an d tints using w atercolors, oil, chalk, a n d crayons. By th e m id-19th century, overp ain tin g b ecam e co m m o n p lace as an alternative to traditional portrait painting. In describing the different tech­ n iq u es in America, England, a n d o th e r c o u n ­ tries, th e au th o rs su rv ey co lo rizatio n o f d a ­ g u e rre o ty p e s , tin ty p es, im p rin te d p o rcelain , milk glass, enam el, m agic lan tern slides, a n d textiles. T h e n u m e ro u s illustrations e n h a n c e (Advocates cont. from page 735) tion o f interest to th e library com m unity, an d availability o f grants an d fellow ships. To su b ­ scribe, s e n d an e-m ail m essag e to listp ro c@ a la l.a la .o rg an d leave th e subject line blank. Use “su b scrib e” if yo u r e-m ail system requires a s u b j e c t . W r ite “SU B SC R IB E A LA -W O FirstN am e LastN am e” in the b o d y o f th e m e s­ sage. For ex am p le, P resid en t C linton w o u ld su b scrib e b y sen d in g th e follow ing m essage: SUBSCRIBE ALA-WO William Clinton. ■ u n d e rs ta n d in g o f th e s e fo rg o tte n m e th o d s. $75.00. Pennsylvania State U niversity Press, 820 N. U niversity Dr., Suite C, U niversity Park, PA 16802-1003. ISBN 0-271-01507-1. P ropag anda for W a r , b y Stew art H alsey Ross (341 p ag es, May 1996), ex am in es h o w W orld W ar I w a s “p ack ag ed , p ro m o ted , an d sold to a gullible nation as a holy crusade against evil.” T he author, a retired public relations ex ­ ecutive, describes British a n d G erm an p ro p a ­ g an d a efforts to influence A m erican o p in io n b efore 1917, as w ell as th e cen so rsh ip a n d new s m a n a g e m e n t activities o f P re sid e n t W ilso n ’s C om m ittee o n Public Inform ation (h e a d e d by p ro p a g a n d a czar G eo rg e Creel), th e first overt g o v ern m en t p ro p a g a n d a agency in A m erican history. R oss’s research is th o ro u g h , w ell-d o cu ­ m ented, a n d serves as a useful com m entary o n th e issues a n d attitudes o f th e times. $42.50. McFarland & Co., Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0-7864-0111-7. Racism in C ontem porary A m erica, c o m ­ p iled by M eyer W einberg (838 pages, Jan u ary 1996), lists nearly 15,000 b o o k s, articles, d is­ sertations, reports, an d o th e r m aterials u n d e r 87 subject headings, including th o se for s p e ­ cific states. T he section o n racism in h ig h er ed u catio n has 1,121 listings. Entries are assigned b rief a n n o tatio n s w h e n th e titles are n o t self- explanatory. M ost listings d ate from th e 1980s o r 1990s, alth o u g h th ere are references from earlier eras. An a u th o r index a n d a n ethnic- racial index offer add itio n al access. B ew are the fine print! Introduction, text, a n d in d ex es are all in 7 -point type, so bring alo n g a m agnifying glass if y o u are a n ag in g B oom er. $125.00. G reen w o o d Press, 88 Post Road West, W estport, CT 06881-5007. ISBN 0-313-29659-6. ■ (Leaders cont. from page 736) seek larger cam p u sw id e roles. E x p erien ced li­ b rarians can an d sh o u ld m ak e m ajor co n trib u ­ tions by sharing inform ation a b o u t tech n iq u es to e n h a n c e cam p u s roles, m o d elin g effective b ehavior, a n d creating o r sharing o p p o rtu n i­ ties w ith th eir junior colleagues. N ew com ers m ust se e k o u t th e se kinds o f h elp a n d su p p o rt to d e v e lo p cam p u s citizenship an d ex te n d th e lib rary ’s in flu en ce. T h e c h a n g in g clim ate in h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n c a ll s f o r th is le v e l o f assertiveness from librarians to claim th e im ­ p o rtan t roles w e believe sh o u ld b e ours. ■