Week 8 Readings

Perspectives on One Model for Creating a Career Ladder for Library Support Staff by Joane Fama and Elaine Martin

The article discusses the role of support staff within the library. The emphasis is placed on the more versatility that support staff have, as the traditional librarian becomes more specialized.

The part of the article I felt that really resonated with me was the discussion about the different evaluations that could be used to gauge the performance of the staff. I felt the description placed on the portfolio was especially interesting. During my undergraduate schooling, we had to create tests that were much like what was described here and one the forms was the portfolio. I think out of all of the forms of assessment, this is an accurate form. It allows a diversity to be seen in what has been achieved by the person the evaluation pertains to, and is original. While working with students, the portfolio was also great to use because the students could pick what was included. The only major downfall with using this form of evaluation is that it can be tedious and time consuming when trying to figure out what should be included within the project. However, I do think it would be an excellent form of evaluation if one had to understand where the support staff stand within the “career ladder” of the library setting.

Working Knowledge What are you Waiting For? By Mary Pergander

Mary Pergander discusses the importance of being a part of the library staff and sharing ideas to improve and benefit those within the library. The emphasis is that sharing will not only benefit you in the long run, but the library as well by having open communication.

I would have to agree with the assessment; however, it surprises me that not many people would share. Ideas that are shared can be debated and refined to become even better and with more people involved, the higher the likelihood of positive results. I think that it is such a basic concept that it can sometimes be forgotten or misconstrued depending on what is being said or how it is being conveyed. In essence, I feel the most stress is basically on the concept of communication. By communicating with those around you, ideas can be better understood so that if there are problems they may be taken care of should the need arise. Therefore, I think  

Staffing Shifts Roil Orlando Public Library by G.F.

The article discusses the contention in a Florida library with the evaluation of staff and the “replacement” that is occurring within the library system.

I think the article does bring up an interesting issue of what is being presented, but I feel that this ties back into the previous article about the importance of communication. There are two sides presented within the article, between the administrator and the staff. Although there seemed to have been a bit of communication that occurred between the two sides, there was a misunderstanding thus causing a huge reaction and in essence the article to be written. I couldn’t help but relate this to something that would happen in middle or high school between friends. One person says something that is taken the wrong way and a fight breaks out for three months making everybody, not just the “ex-friends” miserable. I don’t believe there is a right side to this particular article because I think both sides erred and it could have been avoidable if there was a discussion with all those involved, just like with friends and a misunderstanding. If it’s talked out, it will more or less solve itself.

Assessing Staff on the Competencies by Jan Houghtan

The article discusses multiple ways to evaluate and assess the competencies of the staff within a library system. The article discusses major methods like surveys, Likert scales, and self assessments.

I think the most interesting and accurate part of the article was the discussion of how people will approach questions they do not know. People in general want to please, I think it’s naturally ingrained for some reason. The ability to include multiple choices like, yes, no, maybe allows there to be ambiguity and get a more accurate response to a question. From personal experience, when I have to answer questions, I always prefer something along the lines of a maybe or a don’t know because I may be acquainted with the concept, but not overly familiar with it. Therefore, it’s not a yes, but it’s not a no either. It would be somewhere in between that I would prefer to expand my knowledge on. I think it’s also a matter of pride, we don’t want to admit we aren’t familiar with a concept and therefore try to answer it, even if we don’t know the answer. Thus, I think it would be a good idea if we did have the different forms and included the maybes or even N/A because that is just as good an indicator as a yes/no choice.

Readings Journal 2/28

Staffing Shifts Roil Orlando Public Library by G, F.F.

This article discusses differences in opinion on staffing changes between librarians and their director at the Orange County Library system in Orlando.  Librarians claim that the director is trying to save money by reducing the number of professionals in the library system.

While reading this article, I couldn’t help but side with Church.  Especially when I read that only 33% of the professional staff have an MLS degree.  How can the director expect to run a good library system when more than half the staff have never been trained as librarians?  The director talks about offering a wider range of programs and classes, but who will run these programs if she keeps cutting professional librarians?  I would understand if the director had to cut the librarians because of budget issues, but since she is doing a major renovation at the Main Library, this doesn’t seem to be the case.  I have a hard time understanding why the director feels that this is a good idea.

Assessing Staff on the Competencies by S. Houghton-Jan

This article discusses various ways to assess library employee’s skills such as tests, surveys, self-assessment, and peer assessment.

I found it interesting that this article stated that most libraries opt for self-assessment for their staff members.  This seems like a bad idea to me.  Self-assessment can be subject to response bias, where people answer the way they think they should instead of how they actually feel.  In a job assessment, people may feel like they should know how to do things that they don’t and feel pressured to answer a certain way to show they are a good employee.  I feel like peer assessment or surveys would be a better option.

Working Knowledge by Mary Pergander

This article discusses the importance of speaking up and telling your boss what you want.

The idea of speaking up to your boss is a very important one, especially for women.  In undergrad I read an article stating that women are less likely to ask for pay raises then men (Bylsma & Major, 1992).  This is part of the reason for the wage gap.  Men are more likely go to their bosses and ask for a pay raise, and as a result, are more likely to get a raise.  This is the same situation as discussed in the Pergander article.  Your boss can’t read your mind, so if you want a pay raise or want a specific job you have to ask for it.

Bylsma, W. H., & Major, B. (1992). Two routes to eliminating gender differences in

personal entitlement: Social comparisons and performance evaluations. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 16(2).

One Model for Creating a Career Ladder for Library Support Staff by Jane Fama and Elaine Martin

This article explains a career ladder system for support staff that was implemented at the Larner Soutter Library.

It was interesting to read about the changing roles of support staff in this article.  I have read many articles about the changing roles of librarians, but I never thought about how this affects the support staff.  I also thought it was interesting that the LSL library requires all staff to be cross-trained.  This seems like a very good idea, especially with the changing times.  One thing this article didn’t mention is if LSL has a standardized training procedure for all support staff.  I think it is extremely important to have standardized procedures as I have been trained in jobs that don’t and, as a result, have missed important information.  This is also something that has been brought up in the pub lib listserv recently, the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library was looking for standardized procedures for training circulation clerks.

Brewer, Articles Post for 2/28/12

Assessing Staff on the Competencies, by Houghton-Jan

This article addressed ways to determine individual skill levels via testing, survey, self- assessment or peer assessment.  The article provides formats to use such as paper/online suggesting online to be the better method …using free or fee based tools.  Next you are given 5 tips along with suggestions of how to use the results in providing training and setting timelines.

Working Knowledge, by Pergander

This article which I could relate to suggested managing your boss and positive ways to do this avoiding timely and informative ideas that meet deadlines allowing for no surprises.  Communication was important in this approach arriving at the end result of your benefits and better ability to manage your expectations. 

Staffing Shifts Roil Orlando Public Library, by G, F. F.

Addressed Orlando County Library system in Florida and how their new Director, Hodel replaced professional staff with clerks.  Many of her actions were so drastic, and some reasons provided by Hodel I could relate to with current business actions in my job….but not sure she utilized or reasoned for the long term?  It could be she seen as best financial decision not knowing the staff such as budget assignment we recently completed.  Hodel put emphasis news hires would have MLS….and I wonder if she not so much financed on backs of professionsal as quoted by Church/Reference Librarian but instead set out to “clean house” and his comment of modeling Walmart and big box retailers I know via Labor Studies classes has an unbelievable impact on community and what is considered acceptable business practice.  Sound like she has a corporate stand with her library duties.

Perspectives on…One Model for Creating Career Ladder for Library Support Staff, by Fama and Martin

This was based on current employees and programs for growth and employee promotion using Vanderbilt and Auborn models in comparison.  Quickly moves on to University of Connecticut and how they later developed a career ladder program differing by providing objective evaluation criteria to determine staff progress.

All of these articles were interesting for me…knowing what we at my work have been through for many years and many new leaders in correlation to a changed university president and CFO and their different views.  Our group has been through so many versions and motives that trust is a great issue…and in many of the cases rightly so.  There is a need to understand what staff offers and is capable of…leading to development to meet the demands of the client/business, but doing with sneaky motives is dangerous.  If used correctly it can strengthen your organization.  The thing that many forget is today…not only are things changing quickly, but everywhere staff is carrying the load of their evolving job along with massive increases due to jobs vacated and not filled along with the additional factors to their job caused by mergers and changed business models/plans practice.  Many people are struggling to survive and putting in a lot of “off the clock” hours to meet the job requirements.  Staff would be thrilled to receive training in most cases….but there is only so much of that person.  And unfortunately, minds clicking while trying to absorb training will hold staff back from achieving the high level of benefit from the training….not always their resistance or their fault…..but the business/supervisor or higher management not truly understanding what has been put on staff these days.  They can be busy planning and implementing, but not paying attention or listening…which are great attributes in helping staff reach their goals.  In my job…I listen….very closely and it helps me determine what is needed that folks don’t come out and ask for or often don’t realize they need.  I really supported the article by Fama/Martin because I know in my early years at the university seniority mattered…and is a treasure that has been forgotten and not recognized well at all.  Their approach for promotion identifies a good amount of criteria that addresses seniority the same as a new employee.  I also understand the need for a few years required in the business…to learn first of all how it operates, but to understand where the plan is going and how they should progress and grow to meet demand in their development opportunities.  Promotion should not be given due to their incoming experience…as it was addressed when the job was given to them (or should have been)…and should not hang over the heads/be a cost of current employees.

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.

Weekly Readings 2/28

Staffing Shifts Roil Orlando Public Library

This article highlights the battle in the Orange County Library System between library staff and the new director, Mary Anne Hodel, whom they accused of using clerks to replace professionals.

What a "he said, she said" situation. The numbers seem to point toward the staff being justified, but I wish there were more clarification about what the shift was that made the professional staff go from 81 to 66 even though 3 additional librarians were hired. In Youth Services, we discussed how little more than a decade ago, many libraries had incredibly bloated staffs, to the point that some people were doing nothing because they had gotten so lost in all the folds. Is that fair to the tax payers if there is a more efficient way to run the library? In light of MCPL's former director resigning over her differences with the staff, it's interesting that Hodel is still in her position 10 years later (http://www.ocls.info/About/OnlinePress/biosLeaders.asp), plus they are boasting about all their accomplishments. More broadly, I think it's important for a director to listen to his/her staff and the community. Did the community feel that the services were lower quality since the changes? Regardless, Hodel ended up with a PR nightmare. It might not solve everything, but making every practical effort to meet with staff (especially those most upset) will leave most employees feeling like at least their concerns are being heard. It's also probably a good idea not to negatively discuss your staff ("staff didn't come to us... they went to the newspaper") in AL!


Assessing Staff on the Competencies by S. Houghton-Jan

Houghton-Jan discusses various methods of assessment, in both paper and online forms, before mentioning various ways to use the results.

It was interesting to consider assessment of skills, outside the typical performance reviews. Tests can be so unreliable because many people do not test well, can guess well, or have the knowledge to answer the questions but cannot put them into practice. Being a librarian is about more than just your knowledge. It's about how you use that knowledge to actually help people, in a way that makes them want to come back. Similarly, face-to-face peer assessments can be difficult for some people who feel put on the spot. We discussed the "360 degree" feedback in Library Management also, and while I do think it's fair for employees to have a chance to voice their opinions about how the manager is doing, they cannot hold the same weight for the sake of order. Plus it doesn't seem effective for the purpose of determining competencies. The other method discussed, self-assessment, can create problems with self-awareness. Someone may think that their search methods are great or that they do a certain action more than they actually do, but maybe that is not the case. I think this issue comes down to knowing what works best for your library and your staff and being willing to try different methods to find the right one. Even informally asking staff what training they would like to have may be just as effective as elaborate assessments, especially in a smaller system.


One Model for Creating a Career Ladder by Jane Fama and Elaine Martin

Fama and Martin detail the process of developing a new employment ladder for support staff at the Lamar Soutter Library, University of Massachusetts Medical School.

I think this is a good model for support staff, but got vibes from the article that it is ultimately being used to replace MLS/degreed staff. Perhaps this came from the second paragraph where the authors discuss doing away with standard library features (the reference desk is gone??), or maybe I am totally off base. It's smart to require your staff to be training in as many areas as possible (478), and I like that only the time at their library counts toward the promotion. Nearly every class I have taken at SLIS has referenced the fact that the things we are learning will be different, sometimes vastly, depending on where we end up working. I would have been interested in them expanding on the objections raised during the approval process, partially because it would help with anyone attempting to implement a similar program. But it also seems like this would be a very labor intensive program to maintain. Training and evaluations must take place, and depending on the number of staff, that could be a fairly regular occurrence.


Working Knowledge by Mary Pergander

The author gives pointers about how to effectively "manage" your boss by promoting clear and effective communication.

This definitely goes hand-in-hand with libraries adopting a more businesslike model in their approach to the work environment. In Library Management, we read an article by John Gabarro and John Kotter, who were the first to really promote this concept back in the late 1970s, and it really expands on all of Pergander's great suggestions (I highly recommend it). I remember being struck by their repeated emphasis that "at a minimum, you need to appreciate your boss's goals and pressures, his or her strengths and weaknesses" in order to make both your work and your boss' as efficient as possible (95). This is especially true in libraries, I think, because most problems affect a majority of (if not all) departments in some way. The best part of this approach is that it is practicable, even if your boss isn't keen on it, because a lot of it has to do with your own attitude and actions.

Gabarro, John J., and John P. Kotter. "Managing your boss." Harvard Business Review 83.1 Jan. (2005): 92-99. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.

February 21st 2012 Post

Community Leadership through Public Library E-Government Services
Gibson, McClure, Bertot, McGilvary and Andrade
The authors discuss their views on the library’s role in e-government services.

This article makes me question what the authors are really getting at. They seem to be pushing librarians to provide advice and assistance to patrons who are dealing with personal information. I immediately thought of tax season. Public Libraries are not allowed to give tax advice. They know the risks it entails giving a false sense of trust that they know what they are talking about. This goes with a reading from a few weeks ago that discussed how much the average person trusts a librarian to tell them factual information. Librarians are not trained to be social workers so they really shouldn’t be actively providing those services. Assisting a patron access a site is completely different than assisting them with filling out the information. At least that’s my two cents.

Public Libraries, Values, Trust and E-Government
Jaeger and Fleischmann
Discussed the value of trust citizens have in public libraries and how that relates to e-government.

While I don’t disagree in theory for librarians to offer assistance to their patrons when filling out e-government forms, I fear the what ifs. What if the librarian gives faulty information? And what if the patron then sues the library?  Their suggestion that changing LIS programs to suit this need is not going to be enough to alleviate this worry. Nor is it even that likely since the majority of LIS programs (at least here at IU) are geared towards academic libraries not public.

This article did have one really good point and that was the fact that public libraries need to seek more funding if they are to provide these services. One of the best ways they could do this would be to inform those involved in government of the services they are asked to provide by their public.


Responsibility Rolls Down: Public Libraries and the Social and Policy Obligations of Ensuring Access to E-government and Government Information
Jaeger and Bertot
Discussed the history and evolution as well as the relationship of government information and public libraries.

I believe this article had a valid point when it referred to “the focus has typically been on making the interactions easier for the agency, not the citizen.” I am sure many classmates have brought it up, but I immediately thought of the digital divide (it’s like once you are made aware of it, you can’t help but think of it every time something offered solely online comes up.) It also brought up last year when the government decided not to mail out print tax forms. I couldn’t tell you how many people came up to the library desk asking if we had paper copies or could print them out for them.

In the Public Trust
Overview of what the duties and responsibilities are of public library boards.

This happens to be my favorite reading this week. I don’t know why I find information like this interesting, but I do. Just another sign that I am meant to be involved in public library management I guess!

02/21 Readings

"Public Libraries, Values, Trust, and E-Government"

Paul Jaeger’s and Kenneth Fleischmann’s “Public Libraries, Values, Trust, and E-Government” discusses the ethical implications of e-government access through public libraries. While Jaeger and Fleischmann state that e-government access in a communally trusted space such as a public library would make the government itself appear more trustworthy, they disregard the negative impact e-government access could have on the community-library relationship (Jaeger and Fleischmann 34).  Rather than making the government appear more trustworthy, e-government access could make public libraries look like yet another extension of the government. If current or potential users perceive their public library as being infiltrated by the government, they might be wary of using the library in general. 

"Community Leadership Through Public Library E-Government Services" 

Trust between libraries/librarians and users is an issue also broached in “Community Leadership Through Public Library E-Government Services.” The authors mention that assisting users with e-government processes, applications, etc, gives librarians more access to patrons’ personal information (Gibson, McClure, Bertot, McGilvray, and Andrade 5). Once again, e-government threatens to upset the trust between public libraries and communities. If a librarian were assisting a patron with an e-government application and the processing went awry, that patron might blame the librarian helping him/her and the public library at large for subsequent complications. That person then probably wouldn’t return to the library, would tell all of their friends how ineffective and untrustworthy the public library was, and a rift would gradually grow between the public library and the community it served. 

"Responsibility Rolls Down" 

Paul Jaeger’s and John Bertot’s “Responsibility Rolls Down” is largely concerned with the burden e-government places on public libraries, and how despite public libraries’ growing importance to their communities, their funding keeps getting cut. This article reminded me of another article from a few weeks ago, “Across the Digital Divide.” First, rather than making government materials more accessible, the transfer of all government materials and processes to the internet makes them more restricted. Second, cut backs in public library funding restrict the services public libraries can offer, limiting access to some electronic government materials. These two issues together contradict the idea that democratic government is open to all people and should therefore be easily accessible. For the portion of the population that needs the library in order to access the internet, e-government makes applying for unemployment, Medicare, and other aid more difficult. If libraries can’t afford the staff or other technology necessary to support e-government, then this demographic is out of luck. The government and the public library would both fail in their purposes. 

Jaeger and Bertot also mention in their article that individuals are forced to turn to public libraries rather than law libraries for government information because law libraries no longer allow public access. This undermines the democratic idea underlying libraries, especially law libraries. Law libraries exist so that there a place people can go in order to access government materials and assistance from qualified individuals. By limiting their services to a restricted group of lawyers, law libraries fail in their mission to make legal information accessible to all. This not only negatively impacts individuals at a technological disadvantage, but also has consequences for their more fortunate counter-parts needing access to government information.  Information, especially government information, should not be limited to the privileged few in a nation based on equality for all.