Academic libraries are navigating turbulent waters-shifting priorities, resource constraints, and evolving curricula for instructional programs. In this environment, leadership approaches matter more than ever. This session explores compassionate leadership as a framework for guiding information literacy programs through change, emphasizing empathy, communication, recognition, and support as core principles. The presenters will explore how this theory applies to librarians in both formal and informal leadership roles. Join us to chart a course toward leadership that balances advocacy, adaptability, and care-essential qualities for navigating the evolving seas of teaching and learning in higher education.
Participants will: 1. Be able to define compassionate leadership in order to apply it to instructional programs 2. Analyze the compassionate leadership approach, noting limitations and other complementary management approaches 3. Determine possible applications of compassionate leadership for leading library instruction programs, with both formal and informal leadership roles