Observing Change in the Present Moment: Lessons from Zen Leaders and Teachers

Zen philosophy concerns the nature of reality, which is constant change. Yet, no research exists concerning the application of Zen to leadership in a modern, secular organization. In this exploratory study, seven sources authored by Zen leaders were analyzed for content related to leadership and change. The leadership findings were framed in terms of Bass and Riggio’s transformational leadership model. While the approach of Zen leaders largely aligns with transformational leadership, several discrepancies were revealed. References to change most commonly involved the concepts Self/No-Self, Perception, Permanence/Impermanence, Attachment/Non-Attachment, Time, Knowledge, Calmness/Excitement, Concentration/Observation, Independence/Interdependence, Leadership, and Movement. Future research is recommended to examine Zen in the context of servant and spiritual leadership models, and to interview Zen leaders concerning application of Zen philosophy in their practice of leadership

Google Books

Google Books’ (GB) full-text search of more than 40 million books offers significant value for libraries and their patrons. However, Google’s refusal to disclose information about the coverage of GB, as well as observed gaps and inaccuracies in the collection and its metadata, makes it difficult to recommend with confidence for a given research need. While most search and retrieval functions work well, glitches aren’t hard to find, which suggests GB development is focused on user experiences that relate to monetization. Privacy and equity concerns surrounding GB mirror those of other big technology platforms. Still, every librarian should familiarize themselves with GB’s utility for their work because of the tool’s visibility and because it can fill several otherwise unmet needs. Searching within such a large corpus of full-text is a boon for most topics, and the high quality of some of GB’s primary source and public domain images may be a goldmine for historical and genealogy researchers

“To study the self is to forget the self”: Zen lessons on ego and leadership in higher education

Theories of charismatic leadership present leadership as an influence process where part of the leader’s role is to attract followers through individual example and vision. Charismatic leadership acknowledges the potential dangers of narcissism in the leader and leader-obsession among their followers. Meanwhile, central tenets of Zen philosophy include that of non-attachment to self, interdependence of all beings, and impermanence. Interviews with four American Zen practitioner-leaders were analyzed for themes related to the influence of ego on leadership. This paper presents findings from the interviews, and discusses these along with observations from other Zen scholars and practitioners. The discussion is complemented by the author’s experiences in applying these principles to leadership practice in a higher education setting. The interviews illuminate several possible ways Zen philosophy and practice could inform leadership theory and practice, and vice versa. Readers are encouraged to consider their own sense of self and how it may influence their roles as leaders and followers. The author has written a response to this paper, titled Reflections on To study the self is to forget the self\u27: Zen lessons on ego and leadership in higher education

The Dimensions of Library Service Quality: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the LibQUAL+ Instrument

The LibQUAL + instrument has been widely adopted by libraries to evaluate user perceptions of library service quality. Studies combining groups (e.g., Lane et al., 2012) have shown high correlations between two factors, suggesting the possibility that a two-factor model may fit as well as the three-factor model theorized by the developers. Also, previous studies have not closely examined residuals to analyze local misfit in the context of theory but instead have often correlated error terms to improve model fit. This study uses LibQUAL + responses from undergraduates at a public, comprehensive university to test three-factor, two-factor, and one-factor models of user perceptions of library service quality. Global fit indices indicated that both two-factor and three-factor models were empirically supported, but the three-factor model had better theoretical support. Furthermore, this article adds to the literature the unique perspective of residual analysis and builds theoretical arguments in the interpretation of the final model. Areas of local misfit suggest the need for independent studies to examine residuals. If areas of misfit repeat across institutional populations, that could suggest the potential for further instrument development, while if areas of misfit are unique to institutional populations, this could target areas for institutions to investigate more closely

Lived Experiences of Academic Librarians of Color: A Bibliography

The scholarship in this bibliography offers wisdom for all academic library workers about the experiences of academic librarians of color. My initial purpose in exploring the literature was to combat my own ignorance and to help me be a better colleague to non-white librarians in predominantly white academic institutions. These works also inform diversity, equity, and inclusion programming in academic libraries, especially when primarily theory-based approaches might fall flat for a given audience. I have tried to provide links to open access full-text where possible. Where a book chapter has no open access online, I provide a link to the WorldCat record. While the list is not intended to be comprehensive, I welcome any suggestions for additional sources or open access channels

Transgender and gender non-conforming leaders and leadership: A foundational and integrative review

Gender and leadership research has traditionally employed a binary framework, overlooking the experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) leaders and forcing leaders of all genders and intersectional identities into a dichotomous frame. This paper reviewed interdisciplinary literature using a robust search strategy in three academic databases and Google Scholar, as well as across eight leadership studies journals. Sixteen sources involving 440 leaders’ experiences were found. The author conducted a thematic analysis to explore how TGNC leaders’ experiences challenge and advance leadership theories, deepen understanding of discrimination, and offer ways to support their emergence and success. TGNC leaders’ experiences bring new perspectives to the areas of identity development, leader emergence, leadership style, and workplace discrimination. By exploring these areas with a more inclusive conception of gender and from the vantage point of an exceptionally marginalized group, this work proposes ways to increase the validity of future research questions and bolster ongoing efforts toward greater diversity, equity, and inclusion for all people

Reflections on “To study the self is to forget the self’: Zen lessons on ego and leadership in higher education”

Stuart Lachs kindly wrote a response to my conference paper, “To study the self is to forget the self’: Zen lessons on ego and leadership in higher education” (Fagan, 2020), which led to a highly fruitful correspondence and an expansion on my thinking related to Zen, ego, and Zen practice in America today. Conversations with fellow practitioners and follow-up readings have also continued to shape my thinking. This response paper summarizes my reflections

Revealing the Hidden Humanities: Strategies for Academic Libraries to Improve Access and Awareness

While research in the sciences and social sciences has become increasingly visible to search engines, research in the humanities has remained relatively hidden. There are discipline-specific challenges to scholarly communication in the humanities. Visualizations from two studies illustrate how humanities scholarship currently has limited discoverability and access. These results suggest that academic libraries are well-positioned to increase the visibility of humanities scholarship if they can leverage relationships. This poster presents opportunities for collaboration across library areas and strategies for revealing research in the humanities. Ideas for further exploration are identified and attendees will be invited to share their insights

The Visibility of Authority Records, Researcher Identifiers, Academic Social Networking Profiles, and Related Faculty Publications in Search Engine Results

Information about faculty and their publications can be found in library databases such as the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, WorldCat, and institutional repositories; in identifier registries like ORCID and ISNI; and on academic social networking sites like Academia, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate, but the way search engines use such identifiers and profiles is unclear. Therefore, researchers at a large comprehensive university conducted several rounds of web searching before and after the creation and modification of faculty authority records. The sample consisted of 24 faculty and the 35 publications associated with their authorities. The researchers searched for the faculty and their publications on the social networking and identity websites directly, then used Google, Bing, and Google Scholar to record which of the faculty members\u27 profiles and publications were found within the top 50 results. Faculty with more profiles were more visible in search engine results, and faculty with authority records ranked more highly in Google. Results related to publication discovery and ranking were more inconclusive, but revealed clear differences between search tools. The implications of this exploratory research can support educational efforts about academic identities and scholarly profiles, begin a research agenda, and inform methodological development surrounding the influence of identity records and academic social networking profiles on web visibility