Managing and Managers of Academic Libraries

Abstract

This paper looks at attitudes about leadership and decision making among leaders in academic libraries in Norway and Romania. Two different surveys were conducted, containing similar questions, and the results were compared. The surveys uncovered demographics- "who are the leaders?" as well. One of the findings that concems the status of the library leaders is that in Romania they are considered academics, and this is also mirrored in their backgrounds. For Norway, the recruitment to a leader position in the academic library comes through the ranks, so to speak - most academic library leaders have already worked in the library before they become leaders. This background is different from the Romanian situation. To what extent it also has implications for attitudes about leadership remains to be seen, or whether the differences that can be observed in the attitudes between the academic library leaders in the two countries can be explained otherwise.