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Your next library leaders are right under your nose, but they may not be professional librarians or ever plan to get their MLS. So, how do you develop the future leaders and decision makers for your organization? How will your organization deal with succession planning? How do you keep paraprofessional staff and new librarians motivated to stay and grow with your organization? In this webinar, libraries will learn how to think outside of the box with professional development and training in order to retain great staff members.

Hall County (GA) Library System (HCLS) developed the L.E.A.D (Lead, Excel, and Develop) year-long training program that has had twenty successful graduates the last few years. The candidates for this program were paraprofessionals with no college education, staff in roles outside of library and information science, and new MLS graduates who showed leadership abilities outside of a management position. Over the course of a year, the class of eight to ten staff members were taught a variety of topics, from human resources laws, basics in leadership, to crisis management communication; with all the sessions led by experts in their community or by fellow librarians. Staff in the program learned all that is not taught in library school and the practical day-to-day management of public libraries and services. Thanks to this program, HCLS has a ”ready-to-go“ staff who can fill crucial management and leadership roles regardless of their education background.