It’s an ongoing debate about whether it’s better for managers to have direct frontline experience in their past or if a “good manager is a good manager” whether they’re selling insurance, dish soap or running a public library.
We’re lucky in Saskatchewan that our province (and I believe BC) are the only provinces that require a Library Director to have an MLIS degree and it was a bit controversial when I was in library school in London, ON and they hired a new CEO who came to the public library from (checks notes) the Canadian Automobile Association? So had no knowledge of the workings and values of a public library – beyond (hopefully) being a patron.
I also know there’s talk of revisiting the Public Libraries Act which hasn’t been changed since 1996 to open up the top job to non-MLIS holders. (My understanding is this is mainly being proposed to help address the challenge of attracting and keeping MLIS-level people to rural library systems which often require significantly more work and more risk for lower pay than big city libraries.)
Now, this may surprise anyone who’s been following my blog for awhile. But I have no issue with people bringing skills and experience from other worlds to management roles. But I still believe strongly that it’s important that the person in the top job have an MLIS and (presumably) a history of working in libraries in various increasing roles over the years.
And I have no issue with library managers who also have other higher degrees – MBA, Masters of Public Policy – as that broadens their knowledge base (always with the caveat that the MBA or other degree shouldn’t carry more weight than the MLIS.)
I think of it similar to how the best instructors I had in library school were those who had worked in public libraries as practitioners – children’s librarians, cataloguers, and some who had started as pages, risen through the ranks to obtain an MLIS then entered academia later in their careers.)
McDonald’s could learn a thing or two…
@peralonomics Why McDonald’s CEO shows the death of fast food. #mcdonalds #charlesperalo #chipotle #business #history
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