For Library Directors

TRUSTEE TOOLKIT | FOR LIBRARY DIRECTORS

Director Confidential: A Companion to the Trustee Toolkit

Download the Companion (pdf)

An effective relationship between the director and the library board is critical to providing the best possible library service for the community. Director Confidential is a companion to the Trustee Toolkit, providing additional guidance and tools for directors in working with library boards.

Resources for library directors (please also see the Trustee Toolkit Resource Guide):

• Surviving your first year as a library director (Public Libraries article by Mary Wilkins Jordan)
• Survival guide for library directors (Idaho Commission for Libraries)
• Administration & leadership (Public Library Association page with curated resources for library directors and trustees)
• Library Directors Group (facilitates communication, collaboration, and continuing education for library directors, especially for those in their first five years on the job)
• The Public Library Director’s Toolkit (American Library Association; practical guide for both new and experienced directors. Must be purchased from ALA, but free templates and sample documents for each chapter are available online).

Working with the board:

• Who runs the library? (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Library Administrative Essential #3)
• Making each other look good (LibraryWorks webinar with Jamie LaRue; practical advice for directors on working with their library boards)
• Templates and sample documents for working with the board (from the Public Library Director’s Toolkit; free online documents)
• Troubled boards (United for Libraries)

Presenting data to the board:

• Outcomes data (California State Library)
• Telling the library story (California State Library; worksheet by Jamie LaRue)
• Data visualization (webinars by the Research Institute for Public Libraries)
• Data visualization tools (Colorado State Library)

Working with consultants:

• Library Consultants Directory Online
• Califa RFP Library
• California cooperative library systems (reach out to neighboring libraries about consultants through your cooperative system)

Building a better board:

• How to build an effective nonprofit board (article by Tatiana Morand, Personify [Wild Apricot])

See the Resource Guide for more on board development.

Board orientation:

• Sample board orientation agenda
• Board orientation powerpoint template