NLM/ AAHSL Co-sponsor 2005-2006 Leadership Fellows Program for Health Sciences Librarians

The National Library of Medicine is pleased to announce the fourth year of the leadership program jointly sponsored with the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) and offered in cooperation with the Association of Research Libraries Office of Leadership and Management Services. The NLM/ AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program is focused on preparing emerging leaders for director positions in academic health center libraries.

Fellows will have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills in a variety of learning settings, including exposure to leadership in another environment. They will be paired with mentors who are academic health center library directors. In addition to the individual relationship with their mentors, fellows benefit from working collaboratively with other fellows and mentors. The program takes advantage of flexible scheduling and an online learning community to allow fellows to maintain their current professional and personal lives. The sponsors will provide financial support for up to five fellows and will underwrite travel expenses.

"I can't stress enough the value of the program as a key factor in my being appointed to a director position," noted Judy Consales, fellow, class of 2002-2003. "It strengthened my professional skills and enhanced my vision, and my administration recognized the merit of the NLM/AAHSL connection."

Patricia Thibodeau, mentor, class of 2004-2005, said, "The program has re-energized me and has been a wonderful chance to re-evaluate how to approach the challenges of a library director and institutional leader."

Program Overview

The one-year program design is multi-faceted: three in-person leadership institutes; attendance at an Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) annual meeting; a yearlong fellow/mentor relationship; three Web-based courses on issues related to effective library leadership and management; and a two-week site visit to the mentor's home library (in one or two-week segments).

The program is designed to:

• Introduce emerging academic health center library leaders to leadership theory and practical tools for implementing change at organizational and professional levels;
• Develop meaningful professional relationships between fellows and mentors that give fellows access to career guidance and support;
• Expose fellows to another academic health center library under the guidance of their mentors;
• Examine career development and provide models of directors to potential future academic health center library directors;
• Create a cohort of learners who will draw upon each other for support throughout their careers; and
• Offer recognition to emerging leaders.

Application

The NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program is currently accepting applications and nominations for the August 19, 2005, deadline for potential fellows and mentors for the 2005-2006 experience. Candidates for fellow should have a strong interest in pursuing a directorship in academic health center libraries, as well as a minimum of five years of department head level or higher responsibility, or equivalent experience, in an academic health center library, hospital library, or other library-related setting. Mentors should have at least five years' experience as director of an academic health center library.

Complete program information, including program design, schedule, and application process, is available online at http://www.arl.org/olms/fellows/. For more information about the program, please contact DeEtta Jones, Director, ARL Organizational Learning Services, by e-mail at deetta@arl.org.

Last updated: 20 July 2005
First published: 20 July 2005
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanence Not Guaranteed