Mid-career and middle-management librarians occupy a complex and operationally demanding role in academic libraries. Positioned between senior leadership and frontline staff, they are expected to lead from the middle while developing their own managerial practice and supporting the growth and development of others.
This panel brings together librarians from four different institutions to examine the lived practice of middle management, with a specific focus on developing as a manager and leading others through growth and change. Drawing on perspectives from Critical Management Studies (CMS) and practical managerial experience, panelists from public and private institutions with both faculty and non-faculty status will discuss how organizational hierarchies, institutional rhetoric, and cultural norms shape leadership work, decision-making, and professional development opportunities for both managers and the staff they supervise.
Panelists will explore how middle managers balance immediate operational needs with longer-term responsibilities such as mentorship, succession planning, and staff career development, even when advancement pathways may exist outside of their own institutions. Particular attention will be given to mentorship as a core leadership practice, including how managers support growth, navigate developmental conversations, and prepare staff for opportunities both within and beyond their organizations. This session emphasizes actionable leadership strategies for navigating ambiguity, sustaining team engagement, and fostering meaningful professional development in contexts where authority and accountability are not always aligned. Unlike sessions focused on individual skill-building, this discussion centers on managerial growth and the practical work of leading and mentoring others from the middle.
Research Librarian, University of St. Thomas School of Law
Alison Shea joined the University of St. Thomas Law School in 2024 as a Research Librarian. She has a B.A. from Boston University (2004), and a joint J.D./M.S.L.S. from The Catholic University of America (2007).
Alison's formal management experience was brief, having been promot... Read More →
Most librarians do not receive formal management education or training and, as a result, may refrain from pursuing management roles because they believe themselves underprepared or underqualified. Yet librarians often have a rich set of skills that map well to the demands of management roles; they just don’t recognize them as relevant and transferable. In addition to the strong grounding in core services and content knowledge that the everyday work of librarianship provides, the soft skills that librarians develop in this work are precisely the skills that managers need most. In particular, the user-centered focus and relational competencies at the core of daily library work guide and strengthen management practice as person-centered. Seeing professional experience through this perspective can empower librarians to realize and articulate their preparedness for management roles and imagine administrative career paths for themselves.
In this session, panelists will share how the skills they have developed in various areas of librarianship have shaped and supported their approaches to key management responsibilities including: deep curiosity, communication, cultivating belonging, generating buy-in, decision-making, nonjudgmental framing, advocacy, and a growth mind-set. Participants will have the chance to reflect on their own value-driven soft skills, honed as librarians, that could translate into their current or future management practice. This session will stimulate discussion and reflection for both aspiring and current managers around recognizing, cultivating, and advocating for a growth-oriented, person-centered management culture.
