Leadership Institute

PNLA Leadership Institute
Cultivating Library Leaders of the Future

Q: May I bring my family? Is the Institute in a hotel where there might be rooms available for them too?

A: No, the Institute is being held in a retreat facility . PNLA has all the rooms we could reserve booked for attendees, mentors, and presenters.

Q: Can I go home at night to be with my family? Or do I need to be there in the evening for functions?

A.: Attendees are expected to stay at the facility for evening meals, firesides, chats, and get-togethers. This is a good time to network and work with mentors. To gain the most from the Institute experience, attendees really need to be totally focused and involved with all the activities on site.

Q: When will the payment be due?

A: Applicants will be notified of their acceptance into the Institute first. We hope to notify applicants by June 1 that they have been accepted. Payment will not be due until August 1.

Q: Can applicants pay with a credit card?

A: No, PNLA could not make arrangements for that for such a small number.

Q: Should I tell my references to send their letters of reference to the email application address?

A: That would be best. If they cannot do that for some reason then they may send the letters of reference to the following address:

Kay Vyhnanek
Holland/New Library Room 101
Washington State University
Pullman, WA, 99164-5610

Her email address is: kayv@wsu.edu. All applications go to Kay Vynanek.

Q: What if I haven’t worked in a library for five years? Is there any chance I could still attend?

A: If we do not receive 36 applicants that are qualified that have worked in libraries 5-15 years, then we will consider other applicants with fewer/more years in a library.

Q: Will this be the only PNLA Leadership Institute?

A: If it is a success we hope to be able to offer others in future years.

Q.: Could you please tell me the difference between the “letter of support from an employer/ supervisor…and the “letters of recommendation.”

A.: The letter of support should show that you have the support of your employer in attending and/or that you have financial support for this venture from your employer or some other professional associate/ institution. Our State Library plans to fund several attendees, so they could write this kind of letter too.

Q.: So is it two letters of recommendation , or three? Is this in addition to the letter of support?

We are very sorry that the application instructions are confusing. By the time we realized they were confusing to people they had been posted on line and sent out to many people. Thus we could not change them. The letter of support is different from the two letters of reference. At the end of your application it also asks you to just list contact information for three references.

Q.;: What is the cost to attend the Institute?

A.: $1000; cash or check . No credit cards

Q.: Is this a competitive application process? How many applicants will be accepted? When will successful applicants be notified?

Yes it is competitive. Thirty- six will be accepted. That is our maximum number of attendees. We plan to have 4 attendees selected from each of the seven states and provinces and 8 attendees at large from the same seve states and provinces. Candidates will be notified by June 1 that they have/have not been accepted into this year’s Institute. They will have until August 1 to pay the fee. If we have more than 36 candidates, we hope to be able to offer another Institute in a year or two to the applicants who do not get admitted this year.

Q. Who are the mentors?

A.: The mentors are Ann Symons for Alaska, Pilar Martinez for Alberta, Alison Nussbaumer for British Columbia, Carolyn Ruby for Idaho, John Finn for Montana, Carol Reich for Oregon, Cindy Cunningham for Washington, and Jan Zauhu for PNLA.

Q. What are the credentials of the presenters?

A.: Becky Schreiber and John Shannon are internationally known for their work in this area. Dennis Day, Margaret Chisolm, and Brooke Sheldon selected them to pioneer the library leadership model for the profession with the creation of the Library Leadership Institute at Snowbird in 1990. Since then, they have worked with over 11 state Institutes, one national one ( Snowbird), and five international ones, (in Australia and New Zealand). The Canadian Northern Exposure was also modeled after their work. They bring to the institute years of experience delivering the Snowbird model and subsequent state and other models listed in alphabetical order:

Alaska Dirlead- for Library Directors
Aurora Library Leadership Institute in Australia
Aurora Recall
Idaho Leadership & Supervisory Institute
Illinois Synergy
Magellan, for library Directors in Australia
Maryland Library Leadership Institute
Montana Library Leadership
Nebraska Library Leadership Institute
Nevada Library Leadership Institute
New Mexico Library Leadership Institute
North Carolina Library Leadership
Library Leadership Ohio—formerly LL2000
Southern Stars, for Library Managers in Australia
Tall Texans.

Many participants have testified that the Institutes are life changing. Specifically, they attribute promotions, transfers, significant risk taking, running for office in professional associations to the influence of the Institutes. In Ohio, most officers of Ohio Library Council are alums. The same thing happened in the New Zealand Library Association.

They have presented sessions about leadership to PLA and ALA. They have worked with Maryland to support the Learning Libraries project, providing a mid-manager workshop called Leading from Any Position.

Q.: Do you have more details about the curriculum?

A.: The Institute will provide a combination of skills development, knowledge, and networking opportunities to build the participants’ confidence in their abilities. Participants will:

* Develop a personal understanding of leadership and their own attributes,

* Enhance specific leadership skills, such as how to communicate effectively, inspire others, and deal with conflict

* Strengthen selected management skills, such as planning, outreach, and managing change

Q.: How long does the Institute run?

A.: Sunday evening October 24 through noon Friday October 29.

Further Questions should be addressed to Susannah Price sprice@cityofboise.org