Sponsored by Society Circle
Speakers:Ask Not What Your Profession Can Do For You: Surveying Art Librarian Career Paths and Attitude- Eamon Tewell, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Long Island University, Brooklyn
The Problem with Leadership Training for Librarians- Rachel Resnick, Librarian, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Moderator:Alison Huftalen, Head Librarian, Toledo Museum of Art
As many can attest, the path one takes to art librarianship is not always a direct route with clear goals and strategies. Additionally, once in the profession, support for development in leadership skills is often lacking. Eamon Tewell from Long Island University, Brooklyn, will present the results of an international survey of art librarians' motivations for selecting the field, as well as their educational backgrounds, previous and current employment, and advice for graduate students and prospective librarians seeking to enter the profession. The survey results, accompanied by illustrative quotes from respondents and charts to visualize the data, will be reviewed and critically evaluated.
Attendees will learn more about the demographics and career paths in the profession as voiced by respondents in two dozen countries, and be able to identify core values of art librarianship expressed of, by, and for the profession. Rachel Resnik from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design will examine the scarce opportunities for art librarians to hone their leadership skills. Librarians need to be savvy negotiators, excellent bridge builders, and creative agents of change.
For the sake of their careers and the Society, ARLIS/NA members need to become power brokers within their institutions. The presentation will investigate why a profession that is traditionally so effective and proactive in training, is failing to satisfactorily provide training opportunities in regards to leadership.
