ABSTRACT
Organizations such as Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly, Sonoco, and Dell Computer are anticipating changes in leadership, assessing the skills and knowledge of their employees, identifying those that possess the potential to be effective leaders, and providing training, mentoring, and experience so that when the moment happens the plan is in place. In the past the profession has solved similar shortages by promoting mid-career librarians and filling their positions with new graduates. The retirement of the boomers coupled with the shortage of new librarians will complicate the already tight recruiting market, but there is yet another phenomenon occurring that is blackening the outlook even more. In a large academic or public library this would mean figuring out the age of people's current directors, assistant or associate directors, department heads, and any other key positions, such as the main computer technician or business manager.
