As Chair of the Library Board, you are a leader in your community. Other Board members, the Library Manager and staff, and the community look to you for guidance.
You can demonstrate your leadership in the community by:
- Establishing and maintaining positive relationships with members of the library community, community partners, municipal councillors and other elected officials such as your MP, MLA and School Board Trustees, government and city officials, your Friends group and volunteers
- Speaking on behalf of your Board. You are the official spokesperson and sometimes the only one authorized to speak on behalf of your Board
- Positioning your library as an essential community resource that benefits the whole community
- Welcoming the opportunity to interact with community leaders and representatives to tell the library’s story and to connect political and social agendas.
To be successful in your community relations role, you need to be:
- Well informed about the work of libraries and library service issues
- Passionate, articulate, committed, and accountable
- Comfortable and willing to engage with diverse groups of people from parents to the Chamber of Commerce
- Well versed in communications, public relations, media and dealing with controversial or negative situations.