Week 8 Readings

Staffing Shifts Roil Orlando Public Library

This article looks at staffing issues at the Orange County Library System, caused when some librarians felt the new director was replacing their positions with clerks in order to save money.

It was a little worrisome to read this article, since I would like to be able to make use of my degrees in my professional life. However, it was hard to tell what was an actual issue over staffing and what was a reaction against change. The quotes from the director didn't seem to address the staffing concerns, just what she wanted to do with the money (wider assortment of programs, library redesign, and what sounded like more self-service options for patrons), which all sound like good ideas.

Assessing Staff on the Competencies

This article talks about ways to more accurately assess staff competencies, using a variety of methods (surveys, tests, self- and peer-evaluation), and how to use those assessments in the future (training, time lines, baseline for future assessments).

I always worry about self assessments, because I have a tendency to be really harsh on myself. Also, I think people might have a tendency to say what they think is expected of them, instead of what their actual competencies are. I personally liked the testing idea, but I can see why that might be difficult to implement, especially since I'm guessing most people don't get excited about tests like I do.

One Model for Creating a Career Ladder for Library Support Staff

This article explains one library's way of supporting and promoting employees, by providing a more concrete, objective way of evaluating employees.

I feel bad for admitting this, but even with all the talk in class about what librarians are doing to stay current, I didn't really think about the rest of the people who work in the library. I liked the LSL's decision to redesign their standards for evaluation and promotion, so that everyone could be judged more fairly. At first, I was surprised that previous work experience wasn't taken into account when evaluating people, but it made more sense after I thought about it. The skills and competencies the employees are being evaluated on are probably somewhat specific to that library and its patron base, and this way, employees for whom this is their first job would still have a fair chance at receiving promotions.

Working Knowledge

This article discusses ways to communicate with and manage one's boss.

I don't usually think about management as a two-way street, so it was interesting to read this and see that a manager wanted her employees to "manage" her as well. A lot of the tips she gave seemed to be focused on clear, frequent communication between manager and employee, and at first, that seemed really obvious as something that should go both ways, but then I remembered that I tend to just completely immerse myself in whatever project my boss gives me and not check in with her until it's finished. Clearly I do not practice what I think I should preach. (That doesn't have quite the same ring to it. Oh well.)

Personally, I am always intimidated by the idea of speaking with my supervisors, especially if I have a question or criticism about something, because I think it might make me seem less capable at my job and that will, in turn, result in losing my job and living out of a cardboard box or, even worse, living with my parents. I do realize that communicating better with my supervisors will make everyone's job a lot easier, it's just really hard to get the image of living with my mother out of my head.