Interpersonal Skills, Theory and Practice

In her brief but insightful resource, Sheldon encourages library professionals to consider the importance of interpersonal skills in leadership. The book is organized around true stories of individuals being passed over for jobs in the library community. The author's mission is to promote self-reflection in those who imagine themselves in leadership roles in the future or are currently frustrated by missed opportunities for advancement. Within the text are a variety of exercises: listening-skills assessments, personality-type inventories, and personal leadership-development activities. Anecdotes and significant quotations make the text feel more conversational than didactic. This volume may not offer groundbreaking information, but it does gather a lot of relevant material in one place. Even more importantly, it emerges from Sheldon's obvious love of the field and long professional history as a library professional, making her interest and advice genuine and meaningful.—Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA