Section 2 provides case studies and examples of best practice where libraries are being visionary and innovative in the transformation of their services and in meeting the ever-changing needs and expectations of their stakeholders, users and funding bodies. Awareness and engagement with organisational culture is again a key area for attention as the authors discuss how strategic leadership of library services is required in order to adapt and change.

There is a ‘survival of the fittest’ feel to the three chapters in this section, in which library leaders from across the globe discuss their experiences and case studies of strategic transformation and share their success stories of library partnership, joined-up leadership approaches and libraries driving cultural change. The wisdom of the three sets of authors stands out in this section and key messages around library leaders being aware, pro-active and engaged permeate throughout. In today's economic environment there is no place for complacency, ambivalence and ignorance, and library leaders should be aware of standing still. Instead, library leaders need to be spotting trends, engaging strategically and driving innovation and change in keeping with their stakeholders ever-shifting demands and expectations.

Throughout this section is the counter narrative for provocations such as ‘libraries and librarians are stuck in the past’, or ‘librarians cannot lead anything but libraries’. Read on and you will see that this certainly is not the case.