PDA Event: Does your Library Need a Strategist?

Thursday, February 6, 2025 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm

As libraries evolve to meet changing academic and community needs, employing a Library Strategist offers a transformative solution for institutions seeking to remain essential to the communities they serve. A strategist can bridge the gap between current practices and future goals, aligning library operations with institutional priorities while fostering innovation and collaboration. At the same time, actors like resistance to change, gaining staff buy-in, and balancing long-term vision with immediate operational needs pose strategic challenges which must be addressed. Learn how for the past two years, Library Strategist Elaine Lasda has helped her library manage change, evaluate trends, and implement new service models while working to create a culture of trust and alignment, moving everyone toward shared goals. Does your library need a strategist? This presentation is sure to provide attendees with a framework and context for considering this new approach to library leadership.

Elaine Lasda is the Library Strategist at the University at Albany Libraries, where she holds the rank of full Librarian. Her role in the Libraries centers around change management, project management, and raising staff and stakeholder engagement. Since 2001 she served a variety of progressively more responsible roles at UAlbany. Elaine is the author of the “Metrics Mashup” column, which appears 3 times per year in the Online Searcher section of Computers in Libraries Magazine.

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Hosted by ASERL