Lead and manage people and projects in an equitable, just, and culturally competent manner.
Program Learning Outcome #4
Managing and leading people is challenging but deeply rewarding. Leadership goes beyond assigning tasks and ensuring their completion—it’s about investing in the professional growth of your team members. I believe in the importance of self-improvement, and it would be selfish not to extend the same opportunities to those I lead. My goal is to empower my team, help them grow, and celebrate their successes. There is immense joy in watching others thrive and knowing you’ve helped contribute to their achievements, giving them space to flourish.
Libraries are vital pillars of the community, and librarians often serve as community leaders. This role allows us to set a positive example through our interactions with patrons, partnerships with local organizations, and the inclusive services we provide. However, leadership isn’t just about rhetoric—it’s about action. We must align our words with our deeds, ensuring that our commitment to inclusion and equity is evident in everything we do.
4.1 Apply leadership and management principles and practices to direct and manage people and projects.
Connecting to the idea of leading in an equitable and just way, I conducted an in-depth exploration of performance management for my final project in IST 614: Management Principles for Information Professionals. Recognizing that performance management was an area for growth in my leadership journey, I discovered that effective team management hinges on empowerment and offering tailored professional development opportunities. It’s not about a “one size fits all” approach, but rather customizing development to meet the unique needs of each individual.
4.2 Use positional power to advocate for information equity and justice.
LUNASHARK Media has a robust community of listeners around the globe and as their digital librarian, I have the unique opportunity to share information literacy with a wide audience. For premium members, I wrote and recorded a podcast episode focused on information and media literacy. In the episode, I explained the significance of information literacy, outlined its key steps, and illustrated the concept with a practical example. Media literacy naturally complemented this discussion, not only because LUNASHARK Media is a journalistic platform, but also due to the strong parallels between media and information literacy. Collaborating with my producer on the media literacy section of the script, we created an engaging and interactive 30 minute podcast episode.
4.3 Apply principles of equity and justice to ensure ethical decision-making.
In IST 717: Library Leadership and Management, my group worked on a case study titled "The New Guy," which focused on a library that hired a new director with no prior library experience. The existing team had a range of reactions, from open-mindedness to strong defensiveness, while the library board mishandled communication about the leadership change. We collectively concluded that this transition could have been much smoother with improved communication from the outset and greater transparency from both the library board and the new director. Additionally, the library staff needed to adopt a more open-minded approach to the new direction. Open communication shines sunlight and brings transparency. You cannot have equity and justice in the dark.
4.4 Solve problems using empathy, evidence, and critical and creative thinking.
Effective performance management requires empathy, evidence, and both critical and creative thinking. Reflecting on my independent project for IST 614: Management Principles for Information Professionals, I developed a guide on best practices for performance management. Delivering feedback can be daunting, especially for those of us who struggle with confrontation. However, I’ve learned that my empathy allows me to connect more deeply with team members. Sometimes, thinking outside the box is exactly what’s needed to craft a meaningful action plan for professional development. One of the most interesting feedback techniques I researched is 360-degree feedback, which gathers input from team members at all levels—above, below, and at the same level. This approach provides a more comprehensive view of a team member's performance than relying solely on a manager’s perspective. While I’ve never experienced this feedback method firsthand, I see its immense value in creating a fuller, more balanced assessment.
4.5 Facilitate communication with users, colleagues, and community stakeholders.
The most well-thought-out plans are far more likely to fail without a solid communication strategy in place. Communication goes beyond simply creating a flyer for an event or a social media graphic for a new program. A high-quality communication plan should consider all stakeholders, including the community, library staff, and community partners. In IST 613: Library Planning, Marketing, and Assessment, I developed a comprehensive communication and marketing plan as part of my final project. This plan involved reviewing existing marketing efforts and identifying areas for improvement. By considering the intended audience, I carefully crafted messages and delivery strategies. I believe relying on a single communication channel is a mistake; people connect with different methods, so it’s crucial to employ multiple avenues to ensure your message reaches everyone effectively.
4.6 Direct and participate in responsive public relations, marketing, and development.
For my final project in IST 613: Library Planning, Marketing, and Assessment, I focused on the importance of active partnerships with community agencies. Successful marketing strategies rely heavily on collaboration with local organizations, as it helps tailor initiatives to better connect with the community. Understanding the audience is critical when creating and developing a marketing plan. Knowing their needs, preferences, and communication habits can determine whether a campaign resonates or falls short. What is the most effective way to reach them—through audio, video, or graphics? Are these mediums accessible and engaging for all demographic groups?
Additionally, it’s essential to assess whether the message is clear, concise, and provides all necessary information upfront. Are we addressing the audience’s needs in a way that is both compelling and easy to understand? Prioritizing transparency and simplicity ensures that important details aren’t overlooked or buried in complicated language.
Equally important is defining roles and responsibilities within the communication and marketing plan. Who is responsible for content creation, managing social media, or handling community outreach? Ensuring each stakeholder understands their role streamlines the process and minimizes confusion. By establishing a well-organized communication structure, partnerships with community agencies will be more effective, and marketing efforts will have a greater impact.
4.7 Manage information resources through the information life-cycle, including processes of information creation, collection development, representation, organization, preservation, curation, access, and dissemination.
Transparency and accountability are core pillars of LUNASHARK Media, exemplified by their commitment to sharing court documents and case files related to the investigations and reports they produce. As the podcast expanded, the team needed an efficient way to organize and share these files. The process begins with collecting documents, followed by reviewing them for necessary redactions, and finally uploading them into the digital library. Each entry is tagged for easy searching, assigned to a category (with an optional subcategory), and includes a brief description. Given that some court documents are lengthy or have confusing titles, I’ve added short descriptions to help team members navigate the collection more easily. As of now, the digital library I created for LUNASHARK’s premium members contains nearly 600 entries.
In recent months, we've enhanced accessibility and transparency by including direct links to the documents referenced in episode descriptions, ensuring that critical information is easily accessible to listeners.
Conclusion
I am grateful for the leadership and project management skills I developed through my non-library work, which provided a solid foundation that I was able to apply to my courses in the program. However, as a lifelong learner, I recognize there is always more to learn. Moving forward, I plan to seek out additional learning opportunities, particularly in the areas of communication and marketing, to further build on my foundation and enhance my skill set.
Notice: All personally identifiable information related to individuals, libraries, or locations has been omitted from my program work product.