The Library of Congress Leadership Development Program and ARL/OMS Partnership by Kathryn J. Deiss, ARL/OMS Program Officer for Training ARL/OMS Training and Organizational Development staff and the Diversity and Minority Recruitment Program Officer are working with the Library of Congress (LC) Leadership Development Program (LDP) to provide the first class of ten LDP Fellows with expanded leadership skills. The Leadership Development Program offers future library, archive, and preservation leaders with an intensive 15 month developmental opportunity. As participants in this program, the Fellows complete a number of rigorous developmental exercises, seminars, and presentations in addition to working for 15 months in a responsible LC position. The Library of Congress received a generous gift from John Kluge, President of Metromedia Co. and Chairman of the Library of Congress Madison Council, to support the LDP. The Advisory Committee for the LC LDP, chaired by the Hon. Major Owens, includes Dr. Charles Churchwell, Dr. Hardy Franklin, Mr. Martin Gomez, Dr. E. J. Josey, Dr. Susan Lee, Dr. Jessie Carney Smith, and Dr. John Tyson. Fern Underdue, Leadership Development Program Manager, manages the program out of the LC Office of Diversity, headed by Jo Ann Jenkins, Senior Advisor for Diversity. In the first year of the program, 186 people applied for the ten available fellowships. The ten Fellows chosen are: Rose Rodriguez Apter, Lavonda K. Broadnax, Adrienne A. Cannon, Marieta L. Harper, Arlyne A. Jackson, Judy Shuet-Heung Kestell, Charlynn Spencer Pyne, James E. Scott, Amparo de Torres, and Lester Vogel. Five of the Fellows were selected from LC staff applicants, and five were selected from outside applicants. In addition to the first six months of seminars and learning opportunities, the Fellows attended the National Leadership Institute at the University of Maryland, where they were participants in the Center for Creative Leadership's week-long Leadership Development Program). Kathryn Deiss of ARL/OMS accompanied them for most of that experience. Maureen Sullivan, ARL/OMS Organizational Development Consultant, and Kathryn Deiss, ARL/OMS Program Officer for Training, worked with LC staff to further develop the remaining portion of the program that related to management skills and abilities. Kriza Jennings, ARL Diversity and Minority Recruitment Program Officer, met with the Fellows to discuss future career options and strategies. Maureen Sullivan will direct the sessions on topics such as: financial management, strategic planning, interpersonal relationships and communication, leading during change, research in librarianship, and creative problem solving. During the final months of the program, the Fellows will also attend sessions on library technology which will be directed by LC staff and the Special Libraries Association. Joan Chambers, Director of Libraries, Colorado State University Libraries and chair of the ARL Minority Recruitment and Retention Committee, and Kriza Jennings, Program Officer, invited the Fellows to attend the Committee's meeting at the ARL October Membership Meeting, where some ARL directors had the privilege of hearing the LDP Fellows describe their program thus far. The first class of the LC Leadership Development Program will conclude their fellowship in March 1996 with a very strong set of intellectual and practical leadership skills. The Fellows, through writing, public presentations, seminar involvement, as well as through their everyday work, will be prepared to take leadership roles in the library world. ARL libraries with position openings should take note of this very sharp and well-rounded group of potential candidates. Interested libraries can contact the Fellows directly, or secure further information from Fern Underdue in the Library of Congress Office of Diversity, (202) 707-6433, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue, SE, Room LM 623, Washington DC 20540. ------- ARL 183 A Bimonthly Newsletter of Research Library Issues and Actions Association of Research Libraries December 1995