Library Management Training

AFTER YOU ATTEND THIS COURSE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO:

• Understand different management styles and identify the kind of manager you want to be.
• Use cultural competency in your management techniques.
• Build a culture of trust and belonging with your staff.
• Run efficient and effective meetings.
• Gain communication skills to lead your team through change.
• Give difficult and constructive feedback.
• Manage conflicts and difficult conversations with confidence.
• Identify causes of burnout for yourself and your staff.
• Advocate for your team within your sphere of influence.
• Manage your team through crises.
• Create career goals for yourself and advocate for your own professional development.
• Use data literacy skills to make informed decisions.

This course is especially helpful for:

• New and emerging managers who are responsible for staff but have not had formal management training
• Department heads, branch managers, and team leads overseeing staff performance, communication, and daily operations
• Library leaders who want more consistent management practices across teams and locations
• Managers responsible for handling feedback, conflict, burnout, and staff development
• Library workers preparing to step into a management role and wanting a clearer foundation before they do

If that sounds like your role, you will likely recognize the situations this course addresses.

If you are someone who:

• Feels like you are figuring out management as you go and want a clearer approach
• Wants to handle feedback, difficult conversations, and conflict more directly and effectively
• Has had situations where expectations felt clear to you but not to your staff
• Is trying to support staff through burnout, change, or resistance without making things worse
• Wants practical tools you can actually use in meetings, reviews, and day-to-day management

This course was built for that kind of real-world management work.

SPRING PROGRAM: 2-WEEK ACCELERATED SESSION

Week 1
Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Course & Workshop Introduction | 11:00–11:20 am ET

An introduction to the weekly assignments, an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course, and a chance to complete the course pre-assessment.

Session 1 | 11:20 am–12:20 pm ET
Foundations of People Management: Becoming a Leader

What kind of manager do you want to be? How do you gain the self-awareness to ensure you can manage yourself as well as your team? And how can you show up authentically without putting on a costume of power? This introduction to the course will showcase different management styles, detail qualities of good leaders, share the foundations of managing a team, and teach you how to foster a culture of relationship building between your staff and yourself.

Speaker:

Kristen Sorth Director and CEO, St. Louis County Library

Session 2 | 12:20–1:20 pm ET
Foundations of Equity-Centered Leadership

How can your leadership style better serve and support marginalized, minoritized, or racialized staff? What is cultural competence, and what does this mean for staff management, recruitment, and workplace culture? Learn how to create a library culture that invites all employees to feel respected and included. You will learn how to build your approaches and capacities as a leader to support staff equitably. Leave this session with a toolkit for engaging with staff and establishing policies in ways that center intersectionality, vulnerability, and relationships.

Speaker:

Christina Fuller-Gregory Assistant Director of Libraries, South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville

Break | 1:20–2:00 pm ET

Session 3 | 2:00–3:00 pm ET

How to Manage People: Team Meetings, Check-ins, Reviews, and Change

How do you run an effective and efficient team meeting? What should and should not go into your annual reviews? How often should you have staff meetings and one-on-one check-ins, and how should you structure them? And how do you communicate clearly, transparently, and directly with staff, especially regarding changes or challenging situations that might impact their work lives? This week will focus on these questions and provide tangible strategies and templates for streamlining your processes and making the most out of time and communications with your team.

Speaker:

Kate Hall Executive Director, Northbrook Public Library

Session 4 | 3:00–4:00 pm ET

How to Manage People: Difficult Conversations, Feedback, Conflict, and Resistance

How do you give negative feedback to staff? How do you know when to escalate to writing a disciplinary report, and how do you write one? How do you manage interpersonal conflicts on your team, especially in cross-generational teams? And how do you manage and create buy-in with resistant staff? This week will teach you practical skills for managing difficult conversations, diffusing tension on your team, and redirecting, coaching, and building relationships with resistant staff. We’ll also discuss how to create and enforce “people first” policies to help set and manage staff behavior expectations.

Speaker:

Catherine Soehner Associate Dean and Executive Director, Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah

Optional Interactive Working Session | 4:00–4:30 pm ET

This live, interactive working session will give you an immediate opportunity to process and apply the skills you’ve learned this week. You will be divided into smaller working groups and presented with a prompt, role play, or activity related to this week’s sessions.

Please note: This session is completely optional, and it’s meant to be interactive, so if you can’t or don’t want to be in breakout rooms, you’re welcome to log off. If you stay, we ask that you please join on camera and audio to discuss ideas, ask questions, and hear from other participants in class.

Week 2:
Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Workshop Explanation | 11:00–11:15 am ET

An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course.

Session 5 | 11:15 am–12:15 pm ET
Managing through Burnout and Advocating for Staff

Staff burnout is at an all-time high, and many systemic and stackable issues contribute to staff burnout. How do you support your staff even and especially when the cause of their burnout is out of your direct control? How can you identify what’s causing burnout and advocate for the resources your team needs to help build resilience? And what are ways you can create positive impact within your sphere of influence? This week will focus on these questions and discuss ways to advocate for your staff, including how to “manage up” when needed. We will also cover ways to reduce burnout and create resilience by ensuring your management practices are equitable and inclusive.

Speaker:

Melissa Munn Owner, Melissa Munn Library Consulting

Break | 1:15–2:00 pm ET

Session 6 | 12:15–1:15 pm ET
Crisis Management and Communications: Showing Up for Your Team and Yourself

Safety and security are top of mind for librarians across the country. How do you manage your team through crises? And how do you communicate clearly and effectively about crises, both internally with your staff and externally with your community and the media? This week will focus on creating safer libraries by ensuring your emergency policies and procedures are up to date and work for you. We will discuss strategies for iterating on and implementing your crisis plans, how to mandate and respond to incident reports, and how to debrief with your team after an event in a trauma-informed way. We will also discuss how to achieve effective internal and external crisis communication.

Speaker:

Michelle Hamiel Chief of Programs, Urban Libraries Council

Session 7 | 2:00–3:00 pm ET

Foundations of Data-Informed Management

How can you collect and analyze data to make informed decisions? What are techniques for data analysis to help streamline the administrative parts of your work? And how can you use data fluency to lead your team more effectively? This week will focus on data fluency and how to manage your branch or department in a way that is aligned with data-driven metrics. You will learn practical tips to recognize your data weak spots and empower you and your team to become more data literate.

Speaker:

Jerianne Thompson Library Director, Tualatin Public Library

Session 8 | 3:00–4:00 pm ET

Promoting Career Development in Your Staff and Yourself

Studies show that career development is one of the key indicators for staff retention. So how do you promote career development in your staff? And how do you advocate for your own goals and trajectory? In this final week, we will discuss how to mentor and coach your teams to help them build the skills and self-sufficiency they need to move forward in their careers. We will also discuss how to find mentors of your own, as well as career path opportunities for managers and strategies for stretching into a new role whenever you’re ready.

Speaker:

Bridget Quinn President and Chief Executive Officer, Hartford Public Library

Optional Interactive Working Session | 4:00–4:30 pm ET

This live, interactive working session will give you an immediate opportunity to process and apply the skills you’ve learned this week. You will be divided into smaller working groups and presented with a prompt, role play, or activity related to this week’s sessions.

Please note: This session is completely optional, and it’s meant to be interactive, so if you can’t or don’t want to be in breakout rooms, you’re welcome to log off. If you stay, we ask that you please join on camera and audio to discuss ideas, ask questions, and hear from other participants in class.

FALL PROGRAM: 8-WEEK SESSION

Coming soon!

SPRING SESSION COURSE INSTRUCTORS

Christina Fuller-Gregory, Assistant Director of Libraries, South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville

Christina Fuller-Gregory (she/her/hers) is a librarian, writer, and facilitator whose sphere of expertise centers equity, belonging, and radical empathy. A 2021 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, Christina’s work is driven by a desire to see libraries develop strategies for becoming brave and resilient organizations.

Kate Hall, Executive Director, Northbrook Public Library

Kate Hall is the Executive Director of the Northbrook Public Library, a Library Journal 5 Star Library, after serving as Director at the New Lenox Public Library and in various library positions in the Chicagoland area for over 20 years. She has held leadership roles in state and national library organizations and has served on and chaired Director’s University. She co-authored The Public Library Director’s Toolkit and The Public Library Director’s HR Toolkit. She received the 2021 Illinois Library Association Librarian of the Year Award and launched Illinois Libraries Present in 2021.

Michelle Hamiel, Chief of Programs, Urban Libraries Council

Michelle Hamiel, Chief of Programs at Urban Libraries Council (ULC), brings more than 38 years of public library experience to ULC. She leads programmatic work with expertise in economic opportunity, youth services, civic engagement, and professional development. She previously served as Chief Operating Officer for Public Services for Prince George's County Memorial Library System and holds an MLIS from the University of Maryland and an Executive Certificate from Georgetown University.

Melissa Munn, Owner, Melissa Munn Library Consulting

Melissa Munn is a compassionate library leader and trainer with over 20 years of experience developing staff and creating inclusive, welcoming spaces. With a background in criminology and social services, she has worked extensively with marginalized populations. Using a strengths-based, trauma-informed approach, she partners with organizations to build stronger teams and inclusive environments.

Bridget E. Quinn, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hartford Public Library

Bridget E. Quinn is the President and CEO of Hartford Public Library. She previously served in executive leadership roles at Queens Library and the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library system. She holds an MLS and MBA from St. John’s University and is active in numerous professional and civic organizations.

Catherine Soehner, Associate Dean and Executive Director, Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah

Catherine Soehner is the Associate Dean and Executive Director of the Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah. She has more than 35 years of experience in librarianship, including 25 years in senior leadership positions. Her research focuses on change management and leadership.

Kristen Sorth, Director and CEO, St. Louis County Library

Kristen Sorth became St. Louis County Library’s first female director in 2013. Under her leadership, she guided the Your Library Renewed capital campaign and expanded community partnerships that support access to food, technology, social services, and legal aid. The library earned the National Medal for Museum and Library Service and the Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize during her tenure.

Jerianne Thompson, Library Director, Tualatin Public Library

Jerianne Thompson is the Library Director at Tualatin Public Library. Bio coming soon.

ALL THE DETAILS

Library management can feel like a weird job to land in. You are suddenly responsible for staff, communication, conflict, feedback, meetings, burnout, and decisions that affect other people’s work lives, but most managers were never actually taught how to do those things well. This course is built for that gap.

This live and self-paced online course gives you practical management training grounded in real library work. Across live sessions, facilitated discussion, and asynchronous workshop activities, you will build skills in people management, equity-centered leadership, difficult conversations, feedback, conflict resolution, crisis management, burnout, and data-informed decision making. The spring accelerated option moves through the material more quickly, while the fall option spreads the work over a longer timeline. Both formats cover the same core management topics and lead to the same certificate.

SESSIONS AND PRICING

This course is offered in two formats. Choose the schedule and pace that works best for you.

GROUP OPTIONS

Training a team? Choose the setup that matches how you want to plan and pay:

Group course enrollment: Enroll 3+ staff in this course and save.

Bulk course credits: Prepay once, get the highest per-seat discount on every course, and assign seats later.

Unlimited annual licensing: System-wide access for a year with no per-course approvals.

Request Discounted Group Pricing

Questions? Email groupsales@libraryjournal.com.

COURSE FORMAT

This hybrid live and self-paced online course includes live sessions with guest speaker presentations, facilitated discussion and Q&A, asynchronous project-based workshop assignments, peer-to-peer sharing through discussion forums, and an online classroom that holds all course content.

All live sessions are recorded and remain available for six months after the course ends. The asynchronous work is designed to be completed over the duration of the live sessions, but you will have six months of access to work at your own pace.

EXPECTED TIME COMMITMENT

If you attend or watch the recordings of all live sessions and complete the workshop activities, you will spend approximately 20 hours on this course. The spring accelerated option compresses that work into two weeks. The fall option spreads it across eight weeks.

COURSE ACCESS

All live sessions are recorded and available for six months following the end of the course. The online classroom and workshop materials also remain accessible for six months after the course ends.

CREDIT & CERTIFICATE

Complete the course and earn 20 professional development credit hours. You will receive a Library Journal Management Training Certificate, which will be emailed to you.

ACCESSIBILITY

All live guest speaker sessions feature auto-captioning and are available on demand after the initial broadcast. If you require accommodations, please email course-support@libraryjournal.com upon registration and we will make our best efforts to support your needs.

SUPPORT

For technical or course-related support, please contact course-support@libraryjournal.com.