Empowering Your Leadership & Maximizing Your ULC Membership

Written by Brooks Rainwater , President & CEO, Urban Libraries Council

At ULC, one of our top strategic priorities is to?Support the Urban Library Leader—and that means equipping you with robust professional development opportunities, advocacy tools, and peer-to-peer networks that drive measurable impact. The ULC network cultivates deeper learning and broadens your team’s exposure across diverse issues. As you and your teams navigate a rapidly evolving environment, we are here to ensure you gain the highest return on investment from your membership.

Below are several key ULC offerings that can strengthen your leadership and the capacity of your teams:

Business Value Calculator (BVC) Relaunch

• ULC recently relaunched?its data-driven advocacy tool,?the BVC, designed to quantify your library’s contributions to the business community. New features—such as inflation-adjusted calculations, makerspace valuation, and AI-generated insights—make it easier than ever to showcase your library’s role in economic development and secure greater support. Learn more and add your input here.?

Branch Managers Community

• This newly launched Member Community?was created to support current and aspiring branch managers in strengthening leadership skills, sharing best practices, and fostering innovation at the branch level. Please share and encourage your system’s branch managers to?join this new community?and tap into a network of peers across North America.

CEO Roundtable in Toronto

• 40 national library leaders?have already registered and will gather this spring to learn from Toronto Public Library and Tommi Laitio about communicating the library’s social impact effectively. The CEO Roundtable is an essential opportunity, created intentionally for you to hone the narrative around your library’s role in building stronger, more equitable communities.?Join us and register!

Finally, we remain committed to championing libraries at all levels of government. This week, we are very excited to be working with COSLA and ARSL leaders on the?Voices for Libraries event, reinforcing our unified federal advocacy efforts on behalf of the entire field.

Thank you for your continued leadership and partnership. We’re here to support you—whether it’s through professional development, advocacy resources, or peer learning opportunities.