ABSTRACT
Searching for a key university administrator is inherently chal lenging. Hiring the wrong person can easily cost an institution a quarter of a million dollars before the mistake is rectified; hiring a marginally successful person can cost much more. The time of the search committee, the direct costs of the search, the opportunity costs of hiring a less-than-ideal candidate, and the personal and professional costs to the unsuccessful candidate all come in addi tion. In several fields, certainly including libraries and information technologies, the work, context, and possibilities are changing so quickly that candidates with sufficient administrative seasoning for senior positions must have developed interests, knowledge, and skills that go far beyond what the leaders in their fields had 20 years ago. When a position is newly created, or significantly changed from the post held by the prior incumbent, the challenge is in creased. Yet hiring the “right person”-or more realistically a right person-can easily be worth the work and the risk. Particularly so when, as with libraries, the field is changing rapidly, and the right hire can help the institution meet the coming challenges.
