To my colleagues in Public Leadership,

I founded Directors & Co. because I recognized a critical gap in our field. When a Director faces a significant leadership transition, a budgetary crisis, or the need for rapid technological advancement, they are often left to navigate those “unprecedented times” alone. My approach is grounded in the reality of the practitioner—I am not a consultant who speaks in abstract theories; I am a practicing Director managing the same pressures you face daily.

Josh Johnson, MLS

Founder, Principal Consultant & Practicing Library Director

Operational Briefings

A practitioner’s record of balancing public stewardship with strategic organizational growth.

Capital & Facility Planning

Building for Sustainability: The Staffing-to-Layout Analysis

Navigated a $10M facility decision between a new-site construction and a comprehensive remodel of a legacy asset. The primary administrative objective was to maximize community square footage without triggering long-term “staffing creep.”

Administrative Outcome: Conducted a “Staff-per-Shift” impact study proving that a multi-story model would require 2 additional FTEs per shift to maintain safe sightlines. Secured Board approval for a remodel that maximized square footage and preserved mature site assets while stabilizing the permanent personnel budget.

Fiscal Stewardship

Per-Capita Efficiency in High-Scrutiny Environments

Successfully defended a dedicated library tax levy during periods of regional fiscal volatility by framing library expenditures through the lens of taxpayer ROI and operational leaness.

Administrative Outcome: Leveraged comparative data to demonstrate a per-capita operating cost of $24.93—approximately 50% of the cost of neighboring metropolitan systems. This data-driven approach allowed for the protection of restricted funds and the successful funding of major capital aesthetic improvements.

Digital Infrastructure

Optimizing the Patron Lifecycle via Integrated Tech-Stacks

Orchestrated a system-wide digital transformation to eliminate “manual friction” in patron communications and staff development.

Administrative Outcome: Executed a simultaneous deployment of marketing automation, SMS engagement platforms, and on-demand digital training. This realignment updated the organization from a reactive service model to a proactive, patron-responsive communication system.

Operational Modernization

Institutionalizing Flexibility: The Permanent Curbside Model

Analyzed pandemic-era service adjustments to identify high-value, permanent workflow improvements in patron material delivery. [cite: 23]

Administrative Outcome: Successfully transitioned “emergency-only” curbside pickup into a core, permanent service offering. [cite: 23] By codifying this as a standard operating procedure, the system achieved a higher “User-Experience (UX) Score” while reducing interior foot traffic and associated facility wear-and-tear during peak hours. [cite: 23]

Collaborative Economics

Economies of Scale via Regional Consortia

Strategically rejoined regional resource-sharing networks to expand patron access to digital and physical collections without capital investment in new materials. [cite: 21]

Administrative Outcome: Executed an ROI analysis on the “Beehive Consortium” and media streaming platforms, resulting in the integration of high-demand digital stacks. [cite: 21] This move increased the system’s “Total Accessible Titles” by over 40% while maintaining a flat collection budget. [cite: 21]

Strategic Real Estate

Fiduciary Site Analysis & Municipal Land Swaps

Evaluated multi-jurisdictional real estate proposals to optimize the library’s geographic service footprint in high-growth corridors. [cite: 16, 20]

Administrative Outcome: Managed the evaluation of formal city proposals for new branch locations and analyzed the fiscal utility of a potential land swap for legacy assets. [cite: 16, 20] This proactive asset management ensures that new capital construction is aligned with both demographic growth and municipal infrastructure synergy. [cite: 16, 20]

Strategic Resource Alignment

The Referral-First Model: Public Health Without Mission Creep

Successfully addressed a high-scrutiny public health crisis by positioning the library as a “low-friction” distribution conduit for the County Health Department, rather than an independent service provider.

Administrative Outcome: Formalized an Inter-Departmental Partnership for Naloxone distribution across all branches. By leveraging existing infrastructure for material delivery, the system met a critical community need while strictly maintaining professional boundaries. This ensured zero expansion of the library’s personnel budget and zero requirement for staff to perform duties outside their core professional training.