Purpose & Goals

The ultimate goal of the author’s long term research quest is to understand what constitutes the good library, and how to assess and measure all aspects of its performance. This project follows doctoral work on library value, and seeks specifically to apply virtue theory to the organization, management and leadership of research libraries. Virtue theory has been attracting increasing interest within management literature and practice over the last forty years, resulting in the application of ideas of organizational character, leadership ethics and phronesis (practical wisdom) to education, the professions, and business generally. Discussion and application of this ‘big idea’ in libraries seems absent.

Design & Methodology

This paper reports on a multi-participant study of research library leaders in world class universities in North America and the UK to assess the relevance of virtue theory concepts to library leadership, strategy and practice. In particular the study sought to understand how leaders formed their ethical positioning; what they regarded as the key important virtues for research library leadership practice; and how they handled difficult problems, crises and critical incidents. The methodology was qualitative, using ethnographic and autoethnographic approaches to analyze and interpret autobiographical and socio-cultural data collected through in-depth face-to-face interviews. In the process, researcher and participants co-created reflexive understanding to establish the meaning of their shared stories and narratives.

Findings

The interview process was successful in generating data on the three specific sub-question areas above (ethical formation; leadership practice; practical wisdom). The analysis tested the data thematically against existing frameworks and prior research in the field to identify the important and distinctive virtues for leaders and libraries as organizations. A novel model and categorisation of virtues was consequently synthesized, to show how leadership virtues interact with and influence library character, strategy and operations. Some cases of leadership ethical formation, and of practical wisdom in action will also be presented.

Action & Impact

The author is developing a program of dissemination and publication of the detailed findings and conclusions over 2024/25, through professional and academic channels. He is seeking interest and collaboration from the community in further developing these ideas into practical tools, and to aid their integration into assessment programs and library strategies.

Practical Implications & Value

The value of this work is to provide the assessment community with a new lens from which to view library assessment, particularly for the strategic and transcendent dimensions of library organizational value. This perspective centers ethical considerations within all levels of library practice and performance, and provides a unique insight into how leaders affect organizational cultures and climates. Methodologically this work provides further evidence of the value of (auto)ethnographic approaches to provide a deeper understanding of the social world of libraries, and of how excellence is achieved in practice. The model of leadership and organizational virtue provides a new and ethical practice -oriented framework to add to the armamentarium of assessment tools. The paper opens an agenda for further research and development work for libraries to incorporate ideas of virtue into their ongoing assessment, strategy and practice, and also into professional and leadership education and formation.