If you are reading this for the first time,
you just might be a brand new library director or school librarian. On day one, you may have looked around and wondered just what you had signed up for. For what once looked like a nice, quiet place where people sat around and read was suddenly replaced by the reality of library work: a maze of paper, policies, procedures, and politics.
This Survival Guide has been designed to provide the unexpected library director with professionally-curated resources that lead to success and to identify tutorials and expert advice on specific topics, duties, and tasks involved in running a public library, including:
- planning,
- policy development, and
- resources to help illuminate the new director’s path to enlightenment.
Over time, you will also become aware of what you do not know about running a library, which will help you know what questions to ask the friendly consultants at the Idaho Commission for Libraries (ICfL). If you have questions that you cannot answer, or if you are just feeling a little lost, please do not hesitate to contact the ICfL.
If you are in doubt about how to get started in your new role, please follow the steps in the next sections, and then let us know how we can assist you!