Shaffer Selected for Leadership Program
Christopher J. Shaffer, Assistant Director for Public Services at the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences has been selected for a NLM/AAHSL leadership fellowship for 2006-2007. The leadership program is jointly sponsored by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL).
In response to the confirmed need for future leadership, the NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program is focused on preparing emerging leaders for director positions in academic health center libraries. Fellows will have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills in a variety of learning settings, including exposure to leadership in another environment.
“I’ve worked with Chris for many years and am thrilled by this recognition of his dedication to health science librarianship,” says Linda Walton, Associate University Librarian and Director of the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences. “
“Providing opportunities for our best people to develop their leadership skills is critical to the continued excellence of the UI Libraries and our profession in general,” says Nancy L. Baker, University Librarian. “This leadership program recognizes those pressing needs and helps emerging library leaders reach their full potential.”
A mentoring relationship is a key element of this program. These leaders have been chosen for the important roles they play in their institutions and in the profession. Shaffer’s mentor is Paul Schoening, Associate Dean for Academic Information Management Director at the Becker Medical Library, Washington University School of Medicine.
The one-year program is multi-faceted: three in-person events; attendance at an Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) annual meeting; an ongoing Fellow/Mentor relationship; web-based activities and discussion on issues related to library leadership; and a two-week site visit to the mentor’s home library.
The NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program is designed for librarians with a minimum of five years of department-head level or higher responsibility, or equivalent experience. Shaffer was one of five applicants selected from a very competitive pool.
