Book Reviews

Shin Freedman and James M. Freedman. Becoming a Library Leader: Seven Stages of Leadership Development for Academic Librarians. Chicago, IL: Association of College and Research Libraries, 2020. 268p. Paper, $68 (ISBN-10: 0838947670). ISBN-13: 978-0838947678.

In Becoming a Library Leader: Seven Stages of Leadership Development for Academic Librarians, the authors contend that administration, management, and service are often the main elements of development emphasized by academic libraries rather than leadership. The change of phrasing underlies the focus and structure of the book. The audience for this book is recent graduates of library schools or new managers. The stated intention of training new leaders and the specified audience creates a book that is geared toward the practical development of a successful leader.

The development of new leaders is the overarching theme and is developed in three parts. Part I addresses “Library Organizations and Academic Cultures.” Chapters cover library leadership in the face of challenges, mentoring, collegiality, and organizational culture. Part II moves from examining the academic library as an organization to focus on developing individual leadership potential. Seven chapters discuss the importance of understanding yourself, emotional intelligence, vision, and strategy, leading with intention, what leaders really do, correcting through reflection, mindset, grit, and resilience. The third and final part focuses on cultural intelligence and diversity.

Aside from the specific emphasis of each chapter and the overarching narrative structure, the chapters are organized in a consistent way. Each contains an introduction and a series of conceptual definitions that frame the argument. Additionally, the book offers new leaders a series of activities that the reader is encouraged to complete. Each activity is designed to develop an aspect of leadership covered in the chapter. For example, an activity in chapter 5 lays out a strengths and weakness analysis of leadership skills. In addition to the organization of the book, there are some good leadership insights as well.

The authors do a good job extending the discussion of leadership in the academic library. One area where the book excels is in the topic of collegiality. Leadership in the academic library has certain specific ideas and nomenclature, while collegiality is a term that has a meaning both within the library and on the academic campus. Taking the time to discuss how collegiality is understood in the academic setting is important. The chapter on grit and resilience is of note as well. Grit is often talked about, but the authors do a good job of extending the conversation to include Carol Dweck’s growth mindset, a nice companion to discussions of grit. The authors also demonstrate how to transform planning into action through a chapter on intention in leadership. Such action requires leaders to recognize that leadership is an ongoing process that requires continuous efforts to improve those skills.

While the overall organization and content presented in the book is comprehensive and informative, there are a few areas that could be expanded upon. First, the authors should expand the scope of their audience. They begin with the argument that the audience for this book is new leaders; however, much of this book could apply to existing leaders as well. While the authors are correct in their assessment and preparation of new leaders, there are existing leaders who could benefit from this book as well. To limit the audience early on introduces a roadblock to potential readers who are existing leaders. The other area of opportunity for the authors is the chapter on diversity and cultural intelligence. As universities increase diversity and discussions of race become more prominent in leadership, it is important for new leaders to be properly equipped to have these discussions. Recognizing that a topic of this magnitude is perhaps addressed best in a standalone monograph, the authors could have done more to expand the topics or to include more activities on diversity and cultural intelligence.

Becoming a Library Leader is a comprehensive introduction to leadership in the academic library. The numerous topics addressed combined with the different activities can help the reader begin to lay the foundations to being a better leader in an academic library. An expansion of the discussion on diversity can only serve to make an already comprehensive book even better. This book should be considered as a primer for any librarian who seeks leadership in academic libraries.—Ryan Litsey, Texas Tech University