This was a keynote talk to the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) QLD 'Reimagine' conference. https://aliaqld.wordpress.com/2022/10/04/alia-qld-mini-conference-2022-reimagine/ The focus of the talk was on the need for people working in libraries to 'let go' from the minutiae to allow space to focus on the bigger picture.

1. Thinking Strategically
ALIA Qld Mini Conference
2 November 2022
Dr Danny Kingsley
Director Library Services
University of the Sunshine Coast
@dannykay68 0000-0002-3636-5939

2. Today we will be going
on something of a
journey of how I got to
here
Image:
Danny Kingsley

3. Seeing the world from a different perspective
https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2001/11/13/41004
8.htm?site=science&topic=latest
https://openresearch-
repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/10440/1023/1/Kingsley_HonsThesis1995.pdf

4. ‘Unlearning’ bad habits
https://cpas.anu.edu.au/workshop-science-communication-
anu-staff-students https://www.booktopia.com.au/learn-to-write-badly-michael-
billig/book/9781107676985.html

5. 2009 - 2019
PhD from ANU 2009
2009-2012 Manager Scholarly
Communication & ePublishing, ANU
2013-2014 Executive Officer,
Australian Open Access Support Group
July – Dec 2014 Travel around Oz 2015–2019 Deputy Director
Cambridge University Libraries

6. Being right in the thick of it
in Cambridge opened my
eyes to a major problem
Image by Wolfgang Eckert from Pixabay
Image:
Danny Kingsley

7. Became clear that publishers were shifting
http://www.slideshare.net/DannyKingsley/watch
-out-its-behind-you-publishers-tactics-and-the-
challenge-they-pose-for-librarians?related=1

8. Publishers? Data cartels?
https://twitter.com/Infoventurer/status/1586880
836431130624
Vertical integration resulting from Elsevier’s acquisitions, from Alejandro Posada and George Chen, (2017)
Rent Seeking and Financialization strategies of the Academic Publishing Industry - Publishers are
increasingly in control of scholarly infrastructure and why we should care- A Case Study of Elsevier
http://knowledgegap.org/index.php/sub-projects/rent-seeking-and-financialization-of-the-academic-
publishing-industry/preliminary-findings/

9. We needed to change
Keynote - "Emerging from
the Chrysalis -
Transforming Libraries
for the Future"
CONUL 2017, Athlone,
Ireland, 31 May 2017
https://www.repository.cam.
ac.uk/handle/1810/264492
VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=kplRbU2ZE-
U&list=PLp6Pui4M5LhElDR2
ERl9_5D5nJoksYw3e&index
=2&t=1349s

10. Lots of work into library skills - presentations

11. Recent study (2020-2021)
Openly accessible material related to paper:
• Authors’ Accepted Manuscript: https://dx.doi.org/10.25911/45BB-
9Y24
• Supporting datasets https://dx.doi.org/10.25911/45BB-9Y24
• Survey instrument
• The raw responses to the survey
• Analysis of number of responses for each question
• File detailing how charts and tables in the paper were
generated
• Comparison of competencies: https://dx.doi.org/10.25911/5BPD-
6X95
• Presentation slides
https://www.slideshare.net/DannyKingsley/scholarly-
communication-competencies-an-analysis-of-confidence-among-
australasian-library-staff
• Presentation Video
https://charlessturt.zoom.us/rec/share/6vm5lenPCZTxDP1tM6wuJ
0DMSfTxnkPC8gjl8mhjIDhxW69iR1mwCChnVV1TnKO3.7SibzIupuqg
sa5fP?startTime=1642554056000
Paper accepted to be published in College & Research
Libraries November 2022
https://cpas.anu.edu.au/research/research-
projects/scholarly-communication-knowledge-
and-skills-australasian-research

12. Which competencies?
Multiple & misaligned
https://www.coar-
repositories.org/files/Competencies-for-
ScholComm-and-OA_June-2016.pdf
https://www.nasig.org/Competencies-
Scholarly-Communication
https://www.alia.org.au/foundation-knowledge-skills-and-
attributes-relevant-information-professionals-working-
archives
ALIA : 2014-2020
https://read.alia.org.au/foundatio
n-knowledge-entry-level-library-
and-information-professionals
ALIA : Dec 2020 onward

13. Comparison &
analysis of
competencies
https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/251609

14. Making the case
https://popjournal.ca/issue03/kingsley
• It’s hard to get published on this topic – I
had to justify my experience and knowledge
to the reviewers of this paper
• All three authors were queried on our
Competencies paper along the same lines
• This argument straddles disciplines, is a
mixture of research and practice and is met
with suspicion by people on each side of
that divide
• A classic example of the Third Space
problem

15. The role of formal
education
Image:
Danny Kingsley
So, what have I
observed over this
time?

16. Leadership can be shown by everyone
Reference: Buchanan, A., & Kern,
M. L., (2017). The benefit mindset:
The psychology of contribution and
everyday leadership.
International Journal of Wellbeing
https://internationaljournalofwellbeing.org/index.php/ijow/article/view/538

17. Let’s self reflect
• www.menti.com
• 7899 2765

18. Universities have Visions, Missions, Values
and Goals
https://www.curtin.edu.au/about/val
ues-vision-strategy/curtin-values/
https://www.adelaide.edu.au/hr/organisational-
development/university-values

19. Excellence is a common one
https://www.griffith.edu.au/about-griffith/vision-
and-values
https://www.flinders.edu.au/about/strategy/values-ethos

20. “Excellence”
https://www.nature.com/articles/palcomms2016105
How does the ‘value’ of
excellence resonate with
staff?
What does it even mean?

21. Here’s a suggestion
• I think of librarians as ‘100% people’
• Details are important, but if you spend
your whole time worrying about where
the comma goes you might miss seeing
the big picture
• I suggest aiming to be an 80% person
• It’s not easy, but having a different
perspective can help
Image:
Danny Kingsley

22. Shifting perspectives
Restricting Allowing space
Transactional Strategic
Anecdotal Data
Just in case Just in time
Perfect Good enough
Sweat the small stuff Big picture

23. Good initiative – ALIA Professional Pathways
• We need diversity in our
libraries
• Diversity of people
• Diversity of experience
• Diversity of skills
https://professionalpathways.alia.org.au/

24. What does leadership
look like?
Image:
Danny Kingsley

25. Sometimes it just takes one person
https://twitter.com/Hohoyanna/status/1522508819514937346

26. Now seen as a leader
https://www.glos.ac.uk/content/ebooks-webinar/
https://blogs.ifla.org/lpa/2020/04/30/2147/

27. This is the work of people who saw a problem
https://academicebookinvestigation.org/author/hohojanna/
https://www.researchinformation.info/news/librarians-head-
dfe-headquarters-protest-ebook-pricing

28. Good resources
● Online course from the FORCE11 Scholarly
Communication Institute (FSCI)
● All videos and slides available
https://osf.io/7whxe/

29. Good resources
https://caul.libguides.com/oer-advocacy-toolkit

30. Transferable information

31. Thanks & Questions
• Let’s continue the conversation:
• @dannykay68
• dkingsley@usc.edu.au
Image:
Danny Kingsley