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Interim Pastoral Skills as a 
Resource for Library Leadership 
Transition
Carisse Mickey Berryhill, Abilene Christian University
David E. Cox, New Mexico Tech

ABSTR AC T David E. Cox, a veteran pastoral minister specializing 
in interim ministry, and who is now a library leader, and Carisse 
M. Berryhill, a library science professor, explore how skills used by 
interim pastors can be applied by interim leaders or new directors 
to successfully lead libraries making the transition to new leader-
ship. Cox recommends using a system-based strategy that moves 
through five steps: coming to terms with history, discovering a 
new identity, allowing for needed leadership change, reaffirming 
community with stakeholders, and commitment to new directions 
in programs and services.

This conversation came about because, before becoming director 
at New Mexico Tech, Dr. Cox had many years of experience as an 
interim pastor. Dr. Berryhill wondered how he might see the skills 
of interim pastors as useful to interim or new leaders in libraries, 
drawing on his experience as a new library director with a back-
ground in professional interim pastoral work. She also had recently 
interviewed a presently serving interim library director. Questions 
below were posed by Dr. Berryhill; responses came from Dr. Cox.

Thinking about systems is a useful strategy. Because a system 
seeks its own balance to perpetuate itself, people in community 
tend to learn to support the system they are a part of, even if they 
disagree with it. From this systems perspective, new library leaders 
can benefit from the process skills routinely used by interim pastors.

How long do interim pastors usually serve?

Interim pastors usually serve a year or two, though I have heard of 
interim pastorates as short as six months or as long as 48 months.



Listen and Learn Sessions  205

I’d like for us to take up your five processes one by one: coming to 
terms with history, discovering a new identity, allowing for needed 
leadership change, reaffirming community with stakeholders, and 
commitment to new directions in programs and services. How 
have you used these five processes from your previous career in 
your new setting? Let’s begin with coming to terms with history.

COMING TO TERMS WITH HISTORY

Gaining perspective on its past helps the library prepare for the 
future, especially when there has been a long tenure, an involuntary 
departure, and/or conflict with senior leadership.

You need to know the history of the organization, not just by reading 
reports but by leading the staff at a retreat to create a “history-gram,” 
circulating an outline of the library’s history and inviting staff to fill 
in what they recall.

The interim director I interviewed commented that the new leader 
would need to listen to everyone but “weed through” the various 
narratives. Sometimes there is baggage.

Yes, there are always those willing to provide “color commentary,” 
but you need to hear from everyone because these are the people 
you will be leading.

The second step you listed is carrying out a self-study. How long 
did this take in your new library, and how did you go about it?

DISCOVERING A NEW IDENTITY

A library self-study and environmental audit begins the journey by 
focusing on the library’s present reality and future role, leadership, 
community, collections, programs, and staff.

It took about six months to let the history we had gathered simmer, 
to dovetail with the mission in the past and let that build up to create 
new items. It is important to identify your assets and not dwell on 
your deficits.



206  AT L A 2020 PROCEEDINGS

How many people were in the conversation? Did you do this all at 
the history-gathering retreat, or in a series of meetings?

My library had twelve staff in the conversation. We had a series of 
discussions building on each other because we were developing that 
new identity. As a team, we decided we wanted to up our public and 
circulation service game, to participate in the dialogue of inquiry, 
which would be a new emphasis and evolving role. At each meeting 
the team would discuss how they were sensing the change. We met 
at least every two weeks, and sometimes more often. 

How did you measure your success? 

After about a year, a routine annual campus survey affirmed 
improvement in patrons’ perception of the library’s quality of 
personal service. 

So your staff had input as to what the change would be and oppor-
tunity to report on how they were experiencing it?

Yes, and that led to some people taking on new roles, which is the 
third process I listed.

ALLOWING FOR NEEDED LEADERSHIP CHANGE:

A change in the directorship may precipitate changes in internal 
leadership. Old leaders may take a less active role while new persons 
become more involved.

People get used to their positions under a previous directorship, 
especially if it is a lengthy one. How do you transform that? After you 
have completed the history and environmental scan, you eventu-
ally say, “You have great strengths in this area, let’s use you more in 
this area.” Some people are better with systems, others with people, 
others with communication on the website. You allow yourself to 
have leadership change that is organic, which allows for camarade-
rie, and people get rid of their fiefdoms.

Did you have some hardline resisters who couldn’t let go of a previ-
ous identity?



Listen and Learn Sessions  207

Yes, but we allowed people to opt in at their own speed. One thing I 
learned in interim ministry is you can only go as fast as the slowest 
person adapting to change. Patience is really important.

You don’t walk up to a mobile and whack it, or the system flies 
to pieces. You must take incremental, iterative steps. The person 
I interviewed told her VPAA that she didn’t want to make any 
changes as an interim. And yet, there were a couple of resigna-
tions during her service as the result of staff members’ personal 
needs. And, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has added a layer of 
management stress that no one expected. For example, she had a 
hiring freeze in place.

This year I’ve had two retirements, one resignation for personal 
reasons, and three experienced people who took a different job. So 
newer leaders have to step in. One of my paradigm rules is, “Always 
listen to the outsider, the new person, because they are going to see 
it differently than you do.”

Maybe this is not a cog railway but an iterative process. I want to 
ask you about identifying significant relationships and strengthen-
ing the sense of ownership, your fourth process point.

REAFFIRMING COMMUNITY WITH STAKEHOLDERS

Rather than leading from scarcity, the new leader identifies and 
empowers relationships with people and organizations who are 
stakeholders to give new life, interaction, and ownership of the 
library in its community.

Yes, I want all our constituents to feel they have entry into the process.  
How do we affirm that we are part of a community? I did this by 
initiating asset-based planning and management. Although it is 
tempting to focus on your obvious deficits, it is more important to 
build on your assets, whether those are personalities, positions, or 
interactivity in the community. When people are talking with you, 
they are sensing you really do want their opinion, ownership, and 
empowerment.



208  AT L A 2020 PROCEEDINGS

Besides your own staff, whom do you think you spent the most time 
with?

I created an advisory board with a faculty member from every 
department, some deans, an associate vice president for academic 
affairs, and the dean of students. They could say, “When we are 
interacting with the library, this is our experience.” As we imple-
mented changes, we had these people who really wanted it to be 
better. Instead of saying, “I couldn’t get past this point,” they would 
say, “With your help, I got past this and this is where I went!” It totally 
refocused the conversation.

Is it in your role to talk to donors?

I can. The Advancement Department knows they can ask me to go 
talk to community members. For example, our school is in Socorro, 
NM, thirty miles from Ground Zero from the Trinity blast—the first 
atomic explosion on July 16, 1945. Many of the scientists here remem-
ber the event and that no one knew what to expect about the fallout 
from the explosion. We are collecting oral histories so people can use 
them to interact with our written material for research.

All right, let’s just touch on this last point quickly. 

COMMITMENT TO NEW DIRECTIONS IN PROGRAMS AND SER-
VICES OFFERED

Furthering the mission and vision developed through its self-study 
and environmental audit, the library emerges with a new under-
standing of new or renewed opportunities for access and service.

The hoped-for result of this process encourages the library to 
embrace new initiatives in partnership with its newly found lead-
ership and programs.

AUDIENCE QUESTIONS

How should a former director think about stepping down into a 
part-time role under a new director after having run the library 
for a significant period of time?



Listen and Learn Sessions  209

My interim dean friend says that her next task is to step back into 
her previous role in her library without hanging around as a left-
over dean.

The former leader needs to have great personal skills. They have to 
be watchful for opportunities to empower the new director. They 
should be willing to provide insights as asked. An interim minis-
ter, when handing things off, always has to think about, “What will 
I say? What will help?” in an intentional and compassionate spirit. 
So a previous leader who is going to remain in a part-time role now 
needs to say, “I have confidence that you are going to take things 
forward in ways I never dreamed of. How can I help you succeed?” 
When I was working in ministry, the interim was required to leave 
entirely for at least two years. But when a former leader remains in 
some role, the new leader needs to consider that person as an asset. 
The new leader needs the confidence to feel comfortable and not 
compromised. A previous director can be a great stakeholder.

We have a question about carrying out environmental scans.

The environmental scan is not just gathering statistics; it’s watching 
people who are in your library, watching what they do, taking notes, 
and reviewing those notes to understand the patterns of strength 
and opportunities for capitalizing on them.


