A library director is the most senior administrative position in the institution. While a library director’s responsibilities vary depending on the type of library in which he or she works, in many cases, the director is in charge of both setting and enforcing library policy as well as upholding the library’s mission statement. Library directors frequently supervise library management, develop and implement hiring policies, and communicate with the sponsoring organization, institution, or government.
The library director’s responsibilities vary depending on the type of library where he or she works. The director of a public library, for example, often reports directly to the library board of directors in a community and is expected to play a significant role in public relations. Public library directors are frequently concerned about issues of community standards and censorship, and they may be forced to play a more active role in collection development standards. A small public library’s library director may have a small staff and be expected to create and implement much of the library’s programming. A large public library director, on the other hand, may have little direct involvement with library programming and instead spend more time supervising other librarians who fill specialized roles within the library.
Other considerations for the director of an academic library include a commitment to provide adequate resources for both faculty and students. Academic library directors must ensure that the library actively supports collection development because academics rely on the library for their research. A large public university’s director of the library or libraries may spend a significant amount of time managing his or her staff, which consists of other academic librarians with specialized areas of interest. The library director at a small college may have a small staff made up mostly of students. Small-school library directors, like public library directors, may be far more involved with the library’s day-to-day operations.
Special library directors, such as those in corporate, law, and medical libraries, may have even more varied responsibilities. A special library’s director may be its only employee or credentialed librarian in some cases. The director of a special library is frequently tasked with devising procedures for assisting employees in obtaining the information they require, which can be a difficult task. The library director may have to spend a lot of time working with employees, department heads, and executives to figure out how to provide needed information quickly and accurately while staying within the company’s budget.
A master’s degree in library science is usually required of library directors. Some librarians have additional master’s degrees, either in a related academic field or in a related field such as business or public administration. Academic librarians may also have a doctorate. Small-town library directors and school librarians may not always have a master’s degree, but they may have a lot of experience working in libraries.