The Post-Pandemic Library Board: Rethinking the Roles of Governance - Webinar (01/11/22)

What’s difference about the post-pandemic world? Three big issues come to mind. First, many things that people take for granted are broken and gone, such as secure supply lines and thousands of businesses. 

Second, unlike most natural disasters, there is no endgame in sight. Fires burn out, floods drain, and hurricanes and tornadoes move away, but viruses mutate. 

Third, technology standards and societal norms, which usually take decades to shift and evolve, have changed in weeks and months. That rate of change is accelerating. And those changes are both stressful and liberating. (See the increase in comfort clothing ads.)

The model that governs how most library boards operate is left over from the Victorian era, when there were universal fixed ideas about class and culture. Library boards could meet on a monthly basis and take care of business, and crises were few and far between. Change happened slowly. Minutes taken by hand and Robert’s Rules of Orders are two examples of artifacts left over from that era. 

Library leadership, including board members and directors, need to reconsider how they govern, meaning how they interact with their communities. That means working with staff to rethink strategic planning and the mission of the library, spending more time focused on the future, collaborating with new community partners. 

Topics include how to speed up decision-making while maintaining financial oversight, focusing more on community challenges, creating more collaborative decision-making processes, and deciding how to juggle budgets and make hard choices regarding what to keep.

Virtual Trainer: Pat Wagner

Pat Wagner has been a library trainer and consultant since 1978. She has been producing and facilitating online programs for over 20 years. Pat has been a frequent visitor to Florida library and was a facilitator for the Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute.

This is an online class. Access information will be emailed one week ahead.

Cost: NEFLIN classes are free of charge for Florida library staff. Registration is required for all classes and NEFLIN members get priority.