There may have been a time, a long time ago, when all librarians had to worry about was “technical competency.” If they had good skills, knew their sources, work would come their way because, well, they were the librarian, the keeper of knowledge and the passkey to the sources of wisdom.

Those days may have existed at one time, but in modern librarianship, technical skills are only one side of the coin. Now, librarians are being asked to look at what they do with the eyes of business professionals. That means additional skills are needed, skills that transcend the library and get to the heart of the modern library. Namely,  what does it mean for a library or a librarian to deliver value?

The 2015 AALL Business Skills Clinic is one way for librarians to start to develop the necessary skills that will aid them in thinking not only as a librarian but as a business professional. This year’s Clinic was held in Chicago on October 16 – 17 and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend with a grant from CALL. The intent of this article is to offer for your consideration some of my key takeaways from each session.

Continue reading 2015 AALL Business Skills Clinic Attendee Report →