C. Bryan Tidwell

Philosophy of LIS Practice

The impact of a library on an individual has the potential to be a palpable, dynamic experience that has drawn thousands before me into this profession, and I’ve been deeply touched by the power of that impact through various service roles over the past two decades of my life. As a public library professional, I’ve been a trainer, a teacher, an organizer, a firefighter, a job coach, and a social worker among countless other roles. These one-on-one experiences are at the center of the service we gladly give to our communities, and as I’ve reflected over the past few years, especially in my time at the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) at the University of Alabama, I’ve become determined to play a pivotal role not just in the lives of the communities that I serve, but also “by fostering the aspirations” (ALA, 2019) of the future librarians in those communities. As a leader in libraries, my responsibility has grown beyond satisfying my own ambitions in service into a desire to impact the profession at large and to help guide and cultivate it in a way that ensures the positive impact of libraries for generations to come.

Successful library leadership should be based on a desire to put others before self, especially employees. Library leaders who have developed and implemented servant leadership practices in their own library systems have shown that true professional development means supporting those under our charge much in the same way we serve individual patrons (Lo et al., 2020), and I firmly believe that cultivating a workplace that values ethical practices and social goodwill is of far more importance than one that is merely efficient. Public libraries that are filled with vibrant programming, well-balanced collections, and great customer service exist because the staff that run them are passionate, driven employees who don’t just love what they do but also have the support necessary to give them every possible opportunity for success. Mistakes should always be learning opportunities, diverse perspectives should be rewarded and encouraged, and adequate staffing and training should eliminate service fatigue wherever possible. Libraries would not be libraries without the people who run them. 

And libraries that aren’t a fundamental part of their communities are a catalyst for professional irrelevance. Library leaders shouldn’t merely be involved in their communities – they need to be leading them. A good library leader is one whose influence precedes them and is sought after by other community leaders to develop ideas. Positive community impact can also be attained through means as diverse as paying an employee a living wage, providing clean furnishings in a library building, or ensuring community members have a safe place to meet. “Understanding our role in community building and being able to articulate this role is essential to the work we do” (Scott, 2020, p.224), and making vital community connections only when we need them for programming or fundraising is an approach that doesn’t align with service-based leadership. There is little doubt that the resources a public library supplies are of pivotal importance to community growth, and advocacy becomes significantly easier when libraries are already leading the way in their communities.

Libraries have always been important to me; my mother worked as a library assistant in branches near our home most of my childhood, and I saw that her love of serving those around her was a driving force in her life. I was fortunate enough to find that same drive as I’ve forged my career in libraries, and I look forward to making a difference in every community in which I serve while also coaching and training the next generation of decision-makers. With the tools presented to me at the University of Alabama SLIS, and the skills I learned doing so while also leading a library and community through a society-changing pandemic, I am more than ready to serve.

American Library Association. (2019). Core values of librarianship. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/corevalues

Lo, P., Allard, B., Wang, N., & Chiu, D. K. W. (2020). Servant leadership theory in practice: North America’s leading public libraries. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 52(1), 249-270. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000618792387

Scott, R. (2011). The role of public libraries in community building. Public Library Quarterly, 30(3), 191-227. https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2011.599283

Get in touch at c.bryantidwell@gmail.com