march06b.indd


Deborah B. Dancik 

Borrowing
from
the
balcony


The ACRL/Harvard Leadership Institute from a longer view 

“The week long institute was a wonder­
fully thought­provoking experience. 
The combination of excellent instruc­
tors, sharp colleagues willing to discuss 
real issues, and an atmosphere that 
encouraged reflection was super.” 
—Ann Riley 

“. . . it was remarkably helpful to 
discuss in small groups creative and 
intelligent strategies for shaping posi­
tive outcomes to difficult issues . . .” 
—Michael Somers 

“I am now more able to step sideways 
from issues, to look at an issue again 
or from another perspective. It is often 
hard to manage the political issues and 
I find I can use the framing concepts to 
help me.”—Carlos Melian 

The ACRL Harvard Leadership Institute, 
which began in 1999, now has a wealth of 
testimonials to its credit. It has become known 
as a significant educational experience, one that 
effects change in those leaders who attend, en­
abling them to better address the myriad issues 
challenging their organizations and themselves. 
The curriculum of the institute is well­estab­
lished, built around the concepts of framing 
issues from institutional, human resource, politi­
cal, and symbolic perspectives from Lee Bolman 
and Terrence Deal’s book Reframing organiza­
tions: Artistry, choice, and leadership. The text 
is the base. Upon that is layered the analysis of 
complex case studies, the here­and­now issues 
owned by institute participants and explored in 
small­group discussions, and the examination 
of leadership’s “cluelessness” and the resistance 

to change inherent in ourselves and those with 
whom we work. But it is much more. 

As previous authors attest, there are two 
significant factors that make attending the ACRL 
Harvard Leadership Institute such a rich and re­
warding week: the quality of the instruction and 
the caliber of the participants. As my colleague 
from the 2005 class Carlos Melian succinctly put 
it, “It’s the best teaching I’ve had in my life.” 

The faculty lineup in this program has been 
remarkably consistent over the years, and where 
it has varied, it is obvious that a great deal of 
effort has gone into enabling newcomers to 
participate on par with the existing team. And 
it is a team. While each instructor has his or 
her expertise to share, each knows the style, 
examples, and pedagogical thrust of the other, 
making one day or one topic fl ow seamlessly 
and logically into the next. All the teaching is 
integrated and there is humor, high energy, and 
amazing connectedness with the class. Through 
this teaching, case studies, which could seem 
dry on reading, become first interesting, then 
complex, and finally rich stories and lessons in 
leadership success or failure. 

The 90 or so participants in each year’s 
class contribute an equal share to the learning 
environment. The institute is not about being 
a library director. Participants come from a 
variety of academic library leadership posi­
tions, which, in fact, contributes to a deeper 
examination of topics with multiple perspec­
tives represented. Intelligent, creative, thought­
provoking are hallmarks of class discussion. 
Willingness to be self­revealing contributes to 

Deborah B. Dancik is university librarian at Willamette 
University, e-mail: ddancik@willamette.edu 
© 2006 Deborah B. Dancik 

166C&RL News March 2006

mailto:ddancik@willamette.edu


the collective understanding of what is really 
going on for those of us in leadership situations. 
Whether working with seatmates or in the morn­
ing discussion groups, colleagues provide to 
each other insights, remedies, strategies, solace, 
or humor for the topic under consideration. 

Value over time 
The faculty provide the framework, and the 
participants provide the creative practice. And 
it is the colleagues, in fact, who remain the 
connection to the institute experience. They 
become a network of connections that grows. 
Even beyond one’s immediate class, partici­
pants across the annual cohorts have a com­
mon language that facilitates the continuing 
application of the four frames well beyond the 
institute in circumstances where professional 
lives intersect. 

There are now a number of well­regarded 
programs in addition to the ACRL Harvard 
program for library leaders. Given this, and 
the excitement that is reflected in post­institute 
conversation and articles, it might be useful 
to assess the value of the experience several 
years out. Borrowing from one of the institute’s 
pedagogical metaphors of “going up to the 
balcony” to get a broader view, here, in their 
own words, are comments of institute alumni 
from across the life of the program on the 
enduring value of their week at Harvard. 

“The idea of reframing is one I use 
everyday—it’s a very powerful tool for 
analyzing the impact of your actions 
on other constituencies, as well as for 
understanding their needs. I’m able 
to frame proposals in relation to the 
university’s broader needs, or my de­
partment’s culture, and because of that, 
I think I’ve been much more successful 
in promoting the library’s interests.” 
—Rebecca Donlan, class of 2001 

“Since attending the institute I have 
stepped out of library administration as 
dean. Now, as dean emeritus of Univer­
sity Libraries at the University of Dayton, 
I use the resources and insights gained 

through the institute in two ways. First, 
I have developed and teach a doctoral 
course in Strategic Planning and Institu­
tional Effectiveness, as well as another 
graduate course on leadership in higher 
education, where one of the required 
books is Bolman and Deal’s Reframing 
Organizations. Secondly I have used 
many of the insights, approaches, and 
strategies gained through the institute in 
my consulting practice, which focuses 
on providing academic libraries and 
nonprofit agencies with resources in 
planning, facility renewal, and quality 
assurance.”—Ed Garten, class of 2003 

“The Harvard Leadership Institute 
was a wonderful networking experi­
ence and is a great group to turn 
to when issues arise and you need 
feedback . . . .I have had contact with 
one of the faculty in another setting 
. . . and she has been good re­
source for me in preparing presen­
tations for a librarians retreat . . .” 
—Linda Masselink, class of 2004 

“The value for me is the network of 
relationships that grow and deepen. My 
special group is the seatmates I had, and 
we meet twice a year at ALA. Because 
these individuals are in institutions not 
geographically close, which means the 
circumstances and situations of our re­
spective institutions are not familiar, the 
group provides a neutral and objective 
forum for considering questions. These 
are professional friends who have be­
come personal friends; they walk with 
me through issues. Because we shared a 
common experience at the Institute, there 
are metaphors and language that make 
for a common set of understandings 
that have lasted and enrich our perspec­
tives.”—Lee Van Orsdel, class of 1999 

“The ACRL Harvard Institute was the best 
education experience that I have had, and 

(continued on page 176) 

March 2006  167 C&RL News 



2. Denise E. Agosto, “Girls and Gaming: A 
Summary of the Research with Implications for 
Practice,” Teacher Librarian 31 (2004): 8–14. 

3. John C. Beck, Got Game: How the Gamer 
Generation is Reshaping Business Forever (Bos­
ton: Harvard Business School Press, 2004). 

4. Kurt Squire and Constance Steinkue­

hler, “Meet the Gamers,” Library Journal 130 
(2005): 38–41. 

5. “The Big Bang,” “OCLC Newsletter” No. 
267 (2005): 7–12. 

6. Games @ Your Library. Available at 
www.nexgenlibrarian.net/popculture/2005/04 
/games­your­library.html. 

(“Borrowing from the balcony,” continued from page 167) 

I managed to attend at a pivotal point 
in my career. I had been in a director 
position for more than five years and 
going through the personal question­
ing of whether I was in the right posi­
tion. However, it is always great when 
some of your leadership behaviors 
are affirmed, and you are able to tell 
yourself that indeed you can success­
fully do your job. As the same time, one 
discovers new insights, and I began 
to appreciate approaches I had never 
consciously considered before. The 
faculty delivering the program were 
exceptional teachers and they and the 
program required you to stretch. In­
tensive programs like the institute are 
a marvelous way to get reinvigorated 
and refocused. The position of director 
of libraries is very isolated within the 
academy, and over time it is possible 
to lose direction, or at least be follow­
ing a tangent that is not core and for 
me; it is necessary to step away from 
the day­to­day and take the time to 
re­evaluate. Realizing this need, attend­
ing the institute was a major personal 
benefit . . . I have utilized the lessons 
of reframing many times . . . ”—John 
Teskey, class of 1999 

It is clear from my conversations with 
alumni that the value of the institute is endur­
ing, given its focus on developing within at­
tendees a framework for analyzing situations 
and developing strategies to address them 
regardless of the nature, size, or circumstance 
of an institution or an individual’s leadership 
position. Whether one is a new leader or a 
mature leader, continuing to broaden and 

deepen skills is essential to professional vi­
tality. The ACRL Harvard Leadership Institute 
understands and fosters this; how remark­
able to see past participants still inspired by 
what they learned years after their week in 
Cambridge. That’s a remarkable educational 
experience of real value. 

Thank you 
I would like to thank institute alumni Lee Van 
Orsdel, John Teskey, Rebecca Donlan, Ed 
Garten, Linda Masselink, and my colleagues 
from the 2005 class, Michael Somers, Ann 
Riley, and Carlos Melian for sharing their 
perspectives. 

176C&RL News March 2006

www.nexgenlibrarian.net/popculture/2005/04