The ACRL Fostering Change program is recruiting a cohort of 5-7 facilitators to help our current team create and offer new professional development and engagement opportunities.
Fostering Change began in 2020 with the publication of Fostering Change: A Team-Based Guide. In 2021 and 2022, ACRL offered 12-week cohorts for institutional teams undergoing a change process. In 2024, cohorts returned as a 9-week, individual professional development program offered every summer, Fostering Change for Academic Library Leaders.
Fostering Change is dedicated to giving academic librarians the tools needed to spark, lead, and sustain change. We are seeking new facilitators to create professional development programs that offer the strategies and ethos of the program and supplement the annual summer cohort. Two or more of the new facilitators will assume running the cohort in summer 2028.
Desired Skills, Experience, and Knowledge
We are looking for program facilitators who can help to design and implement learning programs that supplement the annual Fostering Change cohort. Applicants with different experiences and backgrounds and at different stages of their career are welcome. We are particularly interested in applicants who have:
- Experience with or knowledge of change management strategies.
- Facilitation experience.
- Experience with or knowledge of equity-centered design or participatory design.
- Experience with or knowledge of inclusive and/or anti-racist change strategies.
- Experience or interest in change management among diverse groups of library workers.
- Collaborative project planning experience.
Expectations of Fostering Change Program Facilitators
- Active engagement and collaboration in creating new professional development programs under the Fostering Change program, to potentially include vehicles like webcasts, courses, and ACRL RoadShows. This requires active commitment throughout the year to participate in online meetings and meet timelines established by your colleagues and ACRL.
- Participate in assessment of the programs and incorporate feedback into the design of subsequent learning experiences.
- Shadow the 2027 Fostering Change for Academic Library Leaders cohort and select 2-3 facilitators to present the 2028 cohort.
- Facilitators receive an honorarium for developing and presenting programs.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted electronically as a single PDF document. Please reach out if you need to submit in an alternative format. To apply, please prepare the following materials:
- A 1-3 page cover letter that introduces yourself and your change management philosophy. It should describe why you would like to be a Fostering Change Facilitator and what experience you bring that would further the development of the program as described above. Feel free to share successful change management stories.
- Your resume or CV.
The single PDF application must be submitted via email by 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday, October 30, 2026, to ACRL Senior Acquisitions Editor Erin Nevius at enevius@ala.org. Finalists will be interviewed virtually by members of ACRL’s New Roles and Changing Landscapes Committee and ACRL staff.
Questions can be directed to Erin Nevius at enevius@ala.org.