Conference on Academic Library Management 2026

Like many libraries, the Davidson College Library is organized around functional teams focused on the various aspects of the library’s work and mission: research collections, archives and special collections, access and outreach, digital engagement, and research and instruction. This structure acknowledges specializations and strengthens those cores, but it also creates silos. To overcome these silos, library leadership at Davidson worked to create person-centered processes that honor individuals' ideas for strategic projects, encourage collaboration across functional units, and empower team members to “lead from where they are” in a relatively flat organization.

This presentation will outline the library’s “Great Ideas” process in which library staff, having connected with key partners across teams, identify and pitch projects that further the library’s strategic priorities. Because overcoming silos is complicated work, a re-imagined organizational structure of “Learning Networks” helps to facilitate shared professional interests and peer-to-peer learning, while a “unit” structure brings together staff with shared focus on collections and teaching, and defined “Systems” and “Professional Well-Being” steering groups further identify and prioritize collaborative work. This human-networked framework provides opportunities for leadership and growth at all levels of the organization, lowers the barriers to connecting with similarly-motivated colleagues from across the library, and builds a sense of belonging amongst staff. After sharing the story of the Great Ideas process and collaborative work structures, the presenters will facilitate an opportunity for attendees to identify pain points to collaboration, explore potential affinity groups, and create actionable steps to establish their own great ideas process.