Creating a culture of leadership development : CSUL invests in professional development for librarians

Purpose – To describe the process through which Colorado State University Libraries investigated concerns about leadership and development opportunities available to its librarians. Design/methodology/approach – Presents a case study outlining challenges currently facing many academic libraries, the way the CSUL task force identified issues and its recommendations for improvements in leadership development opportunities. Findings – It is not easy for any organization to maintain focus, performance and morale in difficult times. And when you have to deal with reorganization, budget cuts and a drop in staff numbers, the people who are still in place understandably become concerned about the future. Colorado State University Libraries (CSUL) support the curriculum research and outreach mission for a land-grant institution and Carnegie Research University with around 28,000 students. Like many academic libraries, they faced a challenging situation involving - reduced funding because of university-wide budget cuts; - a reduction of over 20% in librarian and support staff numbers; - and increased demands because of rapid technological change. Practical implications – Highlights the role of leadership development in helping academic libraries to meet the challenges associated with a rapidly changing technological environment. Originality/value – Points out the value of a culture of leadership development in enabling a library to use faculty talent to its best advantage.