The ability to work with trustees is one of the most important administrative skills for a public library director. Directors must learn how to develop a library board that has the skills and knowledge to serve the community effectively. And since library boards are always changing and libraries are always evolving, the partnership is an ongoing priority.

“Working with Library Boards” is a new blended-learning course that will offer cutting-edge ideas on effective board function and development. It will include three online sessions with lively discussions and expertise shared from many public library viewpoints. Students will receive a workbook, online assignments and a choice of course projects.

Session 1: Orientation for New Trustees: Discussion focused on creating an effective orientation program for new trustees.  Gina Millsap presented on including trustee ethics as a critical part of trustee orientation.

Session 2:  Effective Board Meetings: Discussion focused on making board meetings productive and maintaining records that will protect the library from legal and political problems.  Gina Millsap presented on designing board meetings that move the library forward. 

Session 3: Evaluation: Discussion focused on partnering director evaluation with board evaluation and building a strong board.  Gina Millsap presented on creating a strong board.

The Library Administrator Core Competencies Addressed by this Course:
Foundations of Kansas Library Service
Laws, Standards, Governance
Public Library Administration

Course Presenters and Producers:

The course presenters were Shannon Roy, Continuing Education Coordinator, State Library of Kansas and Gina Millsap, Executive Director, Topeka and Shawnee County Library.  The online producer was Cindi Hickey, Director of Library Development.

Gina Millsap is the Executive Director of the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library.   Gina leads an organization of 230 incredible employees serving a library-loving community of 173,000. She’s worked in libraries for 36 years and received her MLS in the previous century. Her degree may be an antique, but her outlook isn’t. She’s worked in three extraordinary libraries in Missouri, Iowa and Kansas and has been a library director for fifteen years.

She’s a Library Journal 2007 Mover and Shaker and past president of the Library Leadership & Management Association (LLAMA) of the American Library Association.

Gina and her staff have partnered with the State Library on many projects. She shared her wide experience in public library administration with the participants in this course.

Requirements for the Course:

Participants who complete “Working with Library Boards” will receive 30 contact hours of training credit. To complete the requirements of the program and receive credit, the student must:

- Attend all three online sessions. Because of the high level of interaction, a program may be viewed in archive only if there is an unavoidable emergency and only with approval of the course facilitators.

- Submit the intra-webinar assignments to the project discussion boards in WebJunction Kansas.

- Submit a completed project, chosen from one of the three course programs.The project report should be posted to the documents tab on the “Working with Boards” WebJunction page.

 Some Additional Resources:

Working with Library Boards:  Best Resources

WebJunction Courses

Become an Effective Trustee
Meetings for Results
Strategic Planning: Quick, Cheap and Decent
What to Consider When Hiring 

Documents

Getting on Your Community’s Leadership Team
Ellen Miller and Patricia Fisher
Training Materials for Trustee Core Skills 
Working Together