Balancing the books: the challenges of chairing a library charity
There are no easy solutions to balancing the needs of stakeholders, but having a board where tough issues are raised and debated is crucial to success.
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I have been chair of the board for the past 18 months at Libraries Unlimited, which is a charity representing more than 50 libraries across Devon. During this time I have found myself navigating five particular challenges which are applicable to anyone in the role of board chair.
Many of these challenges emerged from a recent board, chair and CEO evaluation process that we have completed internally. We asked all board members to complete a short online survey, followed-up with individual discussions conducted by the chair and deputy chair. The process helped to generate quantitative and qualitative data, raise important issues, provide two
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