As librarians move into the middle of their careers, they are more ready than ever to take on new leadership opportunities. Literature on leadership is expanding in the field of library and information sciences, and more and more seminars and workshops are being offered for new and seasoned leaders. This book asks the questions: 'What about us?' and, 'Where is the leadership advice and training for those who are no longer new librarians, but are also not yet seasoned leaders?' The title illustrates how to work the middle, from being in the sophomore slump progressing to the next leaders in the field, to look for perspectives from others who are in the middle of their career, and how they have developed into leaders, ways to develop one's own style of leadership and grow one's career and future as a librarian and information professional.

Saying yes, again: An introduction to leadership for mid-career librarians; What to do when you can't do it all; Empowering the reluctant new library manager; Stuck in the middle and loving it! Why middle managers have the ability to lead from the heart and the power to persuade; Making it work: Leading without a pedestal; Leading without authority: Maintaining balance and relationships; Career progression: Mentoring to the rescue; When life and leadership collide; Avoiding the Peter Principle: 'Every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence'; Work envy, workhorses and the mid-career librarian; Don't get stuck in a rut!; Out of bounds: Developing a library outreach program using the 'Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership' model; Technologically indispensable: Leading when you're technically competent but seen merely as a useful tool to get other folks' ideas implemented; Same song, different verse: critical followership as an act of resilience for second-career librarians; New in town: Leadership betwixt and between; Making your mark: Scholarship, 'niche-building,' and other ways of defining and marketing your expertise; Exercise your leadership potential.