Eight hundred years ago, Thomas Aquinas said, ‘If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever’. No that long ago, Steve Jobs mentioned that ‘Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower’.

A true library leader takes risks, is innovative, and has a vision of the future of their domain. This encompasses a complex infrastructure, distribution of substantial resources, and above all the well-being of library personnel.

Effective library leadership entails a high level of responsibility, and requires both expertise and emotional intelligence. I believe the best way to develop and sustain these qualities is in interaction with colleagues and friends who share similar challenges.

The International Association of University Libraries has always stood for innovation and global networking of library services, and since its inception in 1955 has had the pleasure and honour to welcome many thousands of library directors and senior managers to 36 Annual Conferences, and a variety of workshops and seminars at major cities around the world.

The topic of the 37^th Annual IATUL Conference in Halifax goes to the core of IATUL’s mission by directly and unswervingly addressing the primary mandate of our association – interchange at decision level, again providing an ‘international forum for the exchange of ideas relevant to librarianship in universities throughout the world’.

Library Leadership is indeed in a Sea of Change, at times a very stormy sea. This is a challenge for all stakeholders: service providers, clients, and our commercial partners, all strongly represented in Halifax this year. We will be sharing ideas and initiatives to help us all achieve the best results possible.

I look forward to meeting you personally, and discussing approaches to your challenges in information management at Dalhousie University campus.

Best wishes,

Reiner Kallenborn
IATUL President