Embrace change to lead organizational innovation.
6.1 Engages in systems thinking: Utilizes a systematic process for problem solving.
6.2 Engages in Strategic Planning: Engages in long-term focusing of organizational efforts towards a common mission.
6.3 Team building (leads by unifying a group of individuals toward commonly-shared vision and establish mutual accountability; identifying strengths/weaknesses within your team)
6.4 Project Management: Leaders plan deliberate steps to execute, monitor, analyze and report on the progress of a work group charged with the creation of a unique product, service or result in order to deliver the on-time/on-budget results, learning and integration that the project and its stakeholders require (LLAMA).
6.5 Locating, Allocating, and Managing Fiscal Resources: Engages in activities to secure and manage fiscal resources for the organization.
6.6 Emotional Intelligence: Engages in self-reflection and improvement regarding work performance, interactions with colleagues, incorporating critical feedback, and responding to failure.
Artifacts:
LIS 650 Group Project Presentation: School Media Group: Teacher-Librarian Collaboration (6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5)
PLO 6 speaks of the need to embrace innovative change for the betterment of our library programs and student learning outcomes. Our Group Project presentation from LIS 650 outlined our School Media Group: Teacher-Librarian Collaboration proposal. With a systematic approach to solving an evidence-based problem between teachers and School Library resources, we developed an extensive strategic and phased plan with targeted action items to be implemented over the course of 1 school year (6.1, 6.2). Members of the Library management team were assigned roles which were plotted out along a timeline. These roles worked with the strengths of each member. The Lead Librarians became "Library Liaisons" partnered with their Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) for the duration of the year (for example, the High School Librarian paired with grades 9-12). The Library Assistant assisted the entire team with administrative logistics and platform management where instructional videos, promos, and library newsletters were kept up-to-date for teacher reference. All of this lead to the accomplishment of a shared, common mission: increasing teacher awareness, confidence, and engagement with library resources with an expected end result of 100% teacher comfort leveraging library resources for instructional enrichment (6.3).
The skill of project management for such an extensive, long-term initiative is paramount. Without detailed job descriptions with action items aligned with due dates, fiscal management, internal oversight, and community representation from administrators and teachers, such an endeavor could fall short of its goal. Our Group Project presentation displays our project management by highlighting bi-weekly meetings to discuss milestones met, goals not yet met, issues encountered, and tasks on the horizon. These regular meetings aim to foster team building and group moral, both leading to higher likelihood of accomplishing our goal. Team meetings will also help to adjust and pivot when needed and keep everyone current with the timeline. If grants are awarded, meetings will serve to monitor the use of grants by keeping meticulous records that could be reported back, in detail, how funds had been used (“Grant Tracking,” 2025) (6.3, 6.4).
This initiative involved financial management as well. Each librarian took on a role to source funding. One was tasked with writing the LSTA grant, another with writing the “Libraries Transform Communities Engagement” grant from the American Library Association, and the third with working with the PTA to secure the final pot of funding. The library assistant was tasked with supporting all three. By dividing and conquering, and by setting measurable project goals (SMART goals), our team could be held accountable for money acquired and spent as we progressed and carried out the goal of building teacher awareness of library resources (6.5).
The last piece of PLO 6 is emotional intelligence. As a School Librarian, one needs to be able to work with, listen to, and communicate with not only their students, faculty, and administration, but with their library team. For my Interview & Reflection assignment from LIS 650, I spoke with the head librarian of a middle and high school in Washington, D.C. Our discussion was insightful, connecting core management and supervisory values to her real-world experiences. Two key management values that stood out to me were communication and staff development. By ensuring her staff felt heard, team-building and morale improved resulting in a positive environment felt by all. By ensuring her staff had the skills they needed to succeed, via regular training and one-on-one check-ins, she was able to build a competent team, capable of providing equitable access to resources (6.6). "Research has shown (Michele A.L. Villagran and Lisa Martin, 2022) that emotional intelligence (EI) is vital in creating positive library experiences and fostering successful patron interactions"(G. , 2025). My interviewee showed me the power of self-reflection in a Library Manager.
The skills learned in these assignments will continue to grow in my practice as a certified School Librarian, upholding the goals of PLO 6. I am currently the only member of my school's library team, but I do look forward to welcoming in 1 paraprofessional, if not more, in the years to come. Having done these assignments at UNCG, I now know I will have the foundation of understanding needed to be an effective leader, managing a team as we target areas of need, craft strategic plans, manage projects from beginning to end including fiscal managment, and foster positive team moral and skill growth. Throughout all of this, I will seek and value honest conversation from my team so that we can all have the benefit of self-reflection and personal growth.
References:
G. , Dr. S. (2025). The role of emotional intelligence (Ei) in library user services: A research analysis. Shikshan Sanshodhan: Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, 8(2). https://shikshansanshodhan.researchculturesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/SS202502008-min.pdf
Grant tracking: The ultimate guide to manage your grants. (2025, February 21). Optimy.Com.