College and Research Libraries


Guest Editorial 
Defining Success 

In the library profession success is 
usually measured in terms of status-
the position one holds, the honors 
achieved, the offices held. There are many 
who manifest these levels of achieve-
ment-library directors, ALA presidents 
and other officers, the winners of awards. 
These are the people whose names we rec-
ognize, whose pictures are familiar, and 
whose words often appear in the litera-
ture. These individuals represent visible 
success; i.e., achieving recognition through 
position. We would expect a high correla-
tion between successful library directors 
and those who achieve success in pro-
fessional organizations. There should also 
be a high correlation between library 
directors and award winners. Neither is 
apparent, though I have not done a scien-
tific study. For example, the last time a 
director of a large academic library 
served as ALA president was in 1978/79. 
And if someone did a correlation study 
of directors of large libraries, academic 
or public, and award winners, the out-
come would probably be disappointing. 

If success in the professional context is 
the attainment of status, power, and 
fame, only a very few of our profession 
could be termed successful. There is, 
however, another type of success which 
is not tied to position or status but is 
based on a different kind of accomplish-
ment. The individuals who make a 
difference because of the way they do 
their jobs do not often receive public ac-
claim, yet they are successful because 
they represent the fulfillment of the 
goals of the library profession. 

Success can be achieved without pub-
lic recognition. Each of us can think of 
individuals who have influenced our 

careers, and in many instances, these 
were people who have not been recog-
nized successes in the profession. They 
are the people who have served as men-
tors for generations of good reference 
librarians or catalogers. They are people 
who care about people. These individu-
als have bequeathed us a legacy-a 
standard by which successful activities 
are judged over time. 

Perhaps for too long the profession · 
has reserved the term success for the vis-
ible successes attached to status. In the 
last few years, there have been some ef-
forts to provide visible recognition for 
some of the individuals who are making 
a difference. Both American Libraries and 
Library Journal annually recognize in-
dividuals who have made a difference in 
a way that is not usually visible within 
the profession, but is obvious to the users 
of libraries. Library Journal also regularly 
features a variety of individuals on its 
covers, many of whom are not recog-
nized library leaders. A journal cover 
does provide recognition, but it will not 
necessarily increase status. 

Success most often implies a level of 
achievement whether by position or by 
accomplishment. For some, attaining the 
goal of status is most important. 
However, what should be important is 
what a person does after that status is 
achieved. Many library directors never 
make an impact on the libraries they 
direct or on the profession. They come, 
they carry on the regular routines, they 
make a few changes, perhaps introduce a 
new service, but they do not really inspire 
the organization or leave any legacy. 
They do not make the library a more vital 
organization. 

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100 College & Research Libraries 

Unfortunately, it appears that there 
are not nearly enough people ·building 
on their successes. There are many op-
portunities to make a difference, but too 
few people who are willing to take the 
necessary risks. Why are so few willing 
to make an impact on the profession? 
How can this be changed? These are 
questions that the profession needs to 
address. 

There is a third definition of success 
which is often overlooked. Success by 
status or by accomplishment is deter-
mined by external measures. Others de-
termine if individuals are successes by 
electing them to office or appointing 
them to positions. External success can 
also be self-defined. Who is more 
successful......,.an individual who wants to 
be a superior reference librarian and 
achieves that or the person who wants to 
be president of ALA but who never quite 
makes it? What about the person who 
aims too high, whose vision outpaces 
reality? Are such people failures or 
successes? In reality, success is really a 
continuum rather than a constant state. 
It includes both successes and failures 
because true success is not possible 
without some trial and error, without 
some stretching of boundaries. Success 
is a process which needs to be nourished, 
expanded, and diversified to be realized. 

These are conventional definitions of 
success which have reigned unchal-
lenged by the profession. Maybe it is 
time to reexamine the real meaning of 
success. Success can continue to mean 
position, prestige, and accomplishment, 

March 1994 

but it should also mean vision, dignity, 
quality, and values. Success should be a 
multidimensional term rather than a 
narrow concept. There should be room 
for the risk takers, the visionaries, and 
those whose independence and creativ-
ity tend to set them apart. There must 
also be a place for those individuals who 
uphold the values that should be basic to 
all librarians. · 

A long time ago at a management sem-
inar, an individual commented that she 
thought the worst thing that could happen 
to a person was to pass through life unno-
ticed. Millions of people do pass through 
life unnoticed, but millions also look for 
their fifteen minutes of fame. Librarian-
shipfollows a similar pattern-many pass 
through our . professional world unno-
ticed, and many have their fifteen minutes 
of recognition. If our profession is to be 
successful, we need more individuals 
who are making a difference on a long-
term basis-not for fifteen minutes and 
not simply by occupying a position-be-
cause the successes of individuals are 
what creates professional success. 

It is time that librarianship increase its 
recognition of those individuals who 
make a difference by what they do and 
what they think, not merely by virtue of 
the position they hold. The room at the 
top has always been small, and perhaps 
it should remain small, but if that is so 
we. need to create new entrance criteria 
so that the profession will be enhanced 
rather than simply maintained. 

IRENE B. HOADLEY 
Texas A&M University