This major leadership programme for public libraries, is primarily funded through the Arts Council England’s Transforming Leadership Fund: with additional support from Libraries Connected and The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). The Transforming Leadership Fund aims to ensure arts and cultural leaders are appropriately skilled and from diverse backgrounds to support the continued growth and long-term sustainability of the sector.
The Birmingham Leadership Institute is delighted to be working with Libraries Connected, a charity founded in 2018, on the delivery of the Transforming Leadership programme. The programme aims to harness the talent within the public library service through an exceptional 30 month learning and mentoring programme. It acknowledges that leaders may emerge from all layers of the service, which values new talent and skills.
The programme involves 15 library services across England in a project that adopts a whole-service approach to developing leadership skills. Our primary focus is the 15 ‘emerging leaders’, who have the potential to be the library service strategic leaders of tomorrow. We are also offering leadership development for their Heads of Service and the emerging leaders are also mentoring two additional members of staff identified as ‘hidden talent’ within their own service. The emerging leaders will also shape their own action learning projects.
In total, the programme involves 60 library workers and the accompanying online learning package will have the potential to engage many more. Ultimately, the 15 services represent 10% of the public library services in England with the potential to deliver long term change across their peer networks.