SPECIAL LIBRARIANS - THE ORIGINS OF POWER AND THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES TOPOWERLESSNESS

Special librarians largely derive organizational power from their expe rtise Pt accessing and organizing critical information. Dye to the nat ure of the positions they fill, however, special librarians are highly susceptible to organizational powerlessness, This is because the natu re of work that librarians perform is often adjunct to the primary day -to-day tasks of the organization; contributions are difficult to meas ure; expertise is often underutilized; reporting relationships are far from managerial elite; and staff sizes are small. Library managers ca n counter powerlessness through awareness, planning, and orchestrated management strategies designed to enhance power.