Scottsdale Public Library System’s 'Leadership Skydiving' program awarded H.W. Wilson Staff Development Grant

CHICAGO - The Scottsdale (Ariz.) Public Library System has been named as the H.W. Wilson Library Staff Development Grant recipient for 2013, for the system’s “Leadership Skydiving” program.

This annual award, consisting of $3,500 and a 24k gold-framed citation, is given to a library organization whose application demonstrates the greatest merit for a program in furthering its staff development goals and objectives. Staff development is defined as: "a program of learning activities that is developed by the library organization and develops the on-the-job staff capability and improves the abilities of personnel to contribute to the overall effectiveness of the library organization." The award is donated by the H.W. Wilson Company/EBSCO Publishing.

With this grant, the Scottsdale Public Library System plans to create a program developing leadership skills for library supervisors. The program consists of a workshop for supervisors founded on the book Strengths-Based Leadership, followed by a team building retreat, then a final leadership presentation drawn from Arizona State University.

The project will be managed by Anna Mathews, the system’s training/development manager. She said, “This exciting project will help our library supervisors develop 21st Century Leadership skills to shape the future of library services. Leadership Skydiving will give library staff the necessary expertise to proactively lead change and strategically move our library forward.”

In selecting Scottsdale Public Library System for this year’s H.W. Wilson Grant, jury members commented on the dynamic and flexible nature of the program, as well as the important goals the program is designed to achieve, according to Jury Chair Samantha Schmehl Hines of Missoula College at the University of Montana.

Members of the 2013 H.W. Wilson Library Staff Development Grant jury were Samantha Schmehl Hines, chair, Missoula College at University of Montana; Paul Anderson, University of Delaware; Ted Chaffin, Florida State University; Tobi Oberman, Skokie (Ill.) Public Library; and Syma Zerkow, Houston (Tx.) Public Library.

The award will be presented at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois in June. More information about the H.W. Wilson Staff Development Award including how to submit a nomination is available on the ALA website.

The deadline for submissions of applications for the 2014 H.W. Wilson Library Staff Development Grant is Dec. 1, 2013. Guidelines and application forms are available on the ALA website.