Leadership Development Opportunities

The Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) has made a concerted effort to recruit and develop the next generation of academic health sciences library directors. The leadership program provides a continuum of opportunities for career growth and development. It offers a sequence appropriate for different stages in an individual career path and one that addresses different points along the pipeline of future directors. It includes an introductory continuing education course, scholarships, and fellowships.

Continuing Education Course

Do You Want To Be A Library Director? Knowledge, Skills, And Career Paths For Leaders is a face-to-face one-day course at the MLA annual meeting. The course is for those who aspire to become library directors in either an academic health sciences center or hospital setting. It focuses on four topics: what constitutes leadership potential; what library directors do; what is the academic health center like (the hot topics); and how do I decide if a library directorship is right for me.

AAHSL Leadership Scholarships

 Please note: the Leadership Scholarship Program is on hiatus. Check back here for future updates. 

AAHSL Leadership Scholarships support career development opportunities for persons interested in leadership roles at all levels in academic health sciences libraries. They may be used for participation in established educational programs or for individually designed learning opportunities. Reports from recipients evaluate their experience and indicate programs supported in the past.

NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program

The NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program, jointly sponsored by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and AAHSL, is focused on preparing emerging leaders for the position of director in academic health sciences libraries. It offers the opportunity to work closely with a mentor who is a current director and to work collaboratively with other fellows and mentors. The one-year program design provides a variety of learning settings, including in-person leadership institutes, attendance at an Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) annual meeting, and a virtual curriculum on issues of library leadership. The fellow/mentor relationship culminates in site visits to the mentor's home library, giving exposure to leadership in another environment. The program creates a cohort of leaders who can draw upon each other for support throughout their careers.

New Directors Symposium

In prior years, AAHSL has offered the New Directors Symposium which was designed to help new directors be successful as leaders in their institutions and to enhance familiarity with the community of their AAHSL peers. AAHSL is exploring other approaches to support new and interim library directors.


AAHSL Leadership Scholarship Program

 Please note: the Leadership Scholarship Program is on hiatus. Check back here for future updates. 

The recipients were selected as part of a competitive process, with the largest number of applicants in a decade. AAHSL Leadership Scholarships support career development opportunities for persons interested in leadership roles in academic health sciences libraries. Their institutions share in the costs of supporting participation in the programs. The scholarships are part of the continuum of AAHSL leadership programs.


2017 AAHSL Leadership Scholarship Awardees

Mellanye Lackey, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, to attend the 2017 Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians

Emily Glenn, University of Nebraska Medical Center Library, to attend the 2017 Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians

Melissa Haendel
, Oregon Health & Science University, to attend the 2017 Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians

Robyn Rosasco
, Maguire Library, Florida State University, to attend the 2017 Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians

2016 AAHSL Leadership Scholarship Awardees

Jonathan Hartmann, Georgetown University, to attend the 2016 Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians

Heather Holmes, Medical University of South Carolina, to attend the 2016 Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians

Beth Ketterman, East Carolina University Health Sciences Library, to attend the Women's Negotiation Academy

Lindsey Sikora, University of Ottawa, to attend the 2016 Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute

Susan Steelman, University of Arkansas Medical Campus, to attend the Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians

Lisa Traditi, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, to attend the Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians