In this free one-hour webinar, John Chrastka helps library directors foster a board that is proactive, engaged, and responsive to community needs.
Originally presented June 26, 2024
Join John Chrastka, Executive Director of EveryLibrary, to learn how to manage a successful library board by understanding their types, roles, and responsibilities.
Regardless of the board type, there are common responsibilities such as policy, budget, facilities, and HR. To ensure effective board management, it's important to have a well-organized agenda, follow a regular order, and use parliamentary procedures. Committees can help kill bad ideas and enhance good ones, and committee structure matters. Beyond committee work, board members can also be ambassadors for the library.
It's important to gauge trustees’ fiduciary comfort and skills, familiarity with legal issues and compliance, and familiarity with intellectual freedom and access. Bringing in outside experts such as lawyers, financial professionals, planners, space designers, and architects and engineers can also help ensure due diligence.
Attendees will learn how to:
- Recognize and differentiate between the various board types and their specific roles in library management.
- Understand and implement best practices for board agenda formulation and management.
- Master the importance and functioning of committees within board structures.
- Identify challenges and pitfalls faced by unprepared boards and devise strategies to address them.
- Gauge individual skills and familiarity in the areas of financial management, facility upgrades, legal contracts, and intellectual freedom.
- Recognize the importance of seeking external expertise to enhance board decision-making.
- Foster a board environment that is proactive, engaged, and responsive to community needs.
Click the video below to access the recording, slides, and transcripts.
When you continue past the introduction to the webinar, you'll be prompted to log in. We require login to view the whole tutorial so we can provide certificates of completion for your records and for professional development credit. No purchase is required and you can create a Niche Academy account if you don't already have one. The certificate will be available for download when you have completed all sections of the tutorial.
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