The iLead planning grant, conducted in collaboration with national, state, and local partners, aimed to successfully define a leadership program with an equity, diversity, and inclusion focus, identifying the core competencies required for workforce development in Library and Information Science. Through surveys and meetings with advisory committees, we developed a comprehensive understanding of the leadership needs in the field.

Building on these insights, iLead is now focused on implementing a flexible, open-access training program that empowers library professionals to achieve these competencies through stackable micro-credentials, fostering the development of tomorrow’s leaders.

iLead’s Ongoing Initiatives

1. Cultivate an accessible, flexible, cost effective, and impactful library leadership program that is informed by LIS-practitioner and educator experience

2. Strengthen equity, diversity, and inclusion in both the LIS workforce and within the communities that workforce supports

3. Establish a better-prepared internal pipeline for tomorrow’s library leaders

Project Team

Co-Directors

Anthony Chow, PhD, serves as co-director of iLead. Anthony is a full professor and the Director of San José State University (SJSU)’s School of Information whose expertise includes eLearning, instructional design, and technology integration.

Sanda Erdelez, PhD, serves as co-director of iLead. Dr. Erdelez is the Dean at the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons University.

Investigators

José Aguiñaga, EdD, serves as co-investigator of iLead. In 2022, Dr. Aguiñaga joined the School of Information at San José State University (SJSU) as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Aguiñaga’s bilingual upbringing is the foundation for his development as an academic librarian and current scholar.

Rebecca Stallworth, PhD, serves as co-investigator for iLead. Rebecca is an Assistant Professor in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons University. Her research areas include marginalized groups and their use of academic library services and resources, diversity in academic libraries, and first-generation graduate students and their information-seeking behaviors.

Project Managers

Sue Alman, PhD, serves as co-project manager of iLead. For Sue, leadership and communication are among the top areas of expertise that have been present in each of her professional endeavors, which have spanned a four-decade career in libraries and education.

Martín J. Gómez, MLIS, serves as co-project manager of iLead and has held high profile leadership roles in both academic and public libraries both on the West and East coasts. Martín is President/CEO of MJ Gómez Associates LLC, an independent consulting firm that was created to support the work of libraries and non-profit organizations.