Simmons College

Kathleen De Long has worked at the University of Alberta Libraries for most of her career; moving from a public service position to later becoming Head of the Education Library. During these years she began to look for professional development and experience outside of her particular job responsibilities. Earning a Masters of Public Management (MPM) was part of this quest. Currently, Kathleen works as the Associate Director for Finance and Human Resources at the University of Alberta. Most recently, her professional research has been focused on the 8Rs Research Study. This is a nation-wide study of 8 variables involved in human resources planning—recruitment, retention, retirement, and rejuvenation, among others. The study was prompted when Kathleen heard Stanley Wilder speak about his data on the demographics of ARL libraries. Surprisingly, the data suggests that Canadian ARL librarians are even older than their American counterparts. Needless to say she can see major problems with human resource planning and leadership in Canadian libraries.