I spend a lot of time thinking about how to prepare my staff and community for change. I’m a big believer in trust, transparency, feedback, and letting the experts be the experts. As a trained librarian I wonder if we don’t give our profession enough credit for how intrepid we have been in the past and certainly can still be. For example, the MARC record would have never been introduced unless someone had realized that computing could greatly improve the way we locate and share resources. The Gates Foundation chose public libraries as early adopters of the personal computer because of their mission to equitable access to information.

I don’t believe library employees are any more reluctant to change than they ever have been before. I believe change-reluctance is human nature and as leaders we should always factor that reality into our plans. One way to address reluctance is to be clear that a new idea is not a judgment on past success or failure. An article by Rosabeth Moss Kanter from the Harvard Business Review states, “When change involves a big shift of strategic direction, the people responsible for the previous direction dread the perception that they must have been wrong. Leaders can help people maintain dignity by celebrating those elements of the past that are worth honoring, and making it clear that the world has changed. That makes it easier to let go and move on.”²

Change is simply an evolution of our current situation, whatever that may be. When we take good past practice and combine it with current technology and opportunities, we make something even better. This is something libraries have been doing well for a long time, and isn’t any different now. It’s time we brand ourselves as the innovators we have always been. Let’s reclaim this narrative and tell our story of transformation. We’ve done it before.

References

1. “From Change Management to Change-Ready Leadership,” Leading From the Library, Library Journal, Leading from the Library, Steven Bell, March 1, 2018, accessed 5/7/2018.

2. “Ten Reasons People Resist Change,” Harvard Business Review, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, September 25, 2012.

The post We Are Never Not Changing first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Much like enthusiasm, pessimism is also incredibly contagious. To turn the tide, it’s important to surround yourself with colleagues and employees who are eager to seek solutions rather than point out problems.[1] “Seek out positive and competent individuals who also recognize their top talents and passions. Agree to give each other candid, concrete feedback – and a boost. Then enthusiasm is more likely to erupt, endure and be contagious.”[2] Another thing to keep in mind is that enthusiasm builds when even greater challenges are tackled. Momentum is key to maintaining a culture that eagerly tackles new challenges and opportunities.[3]

Often when we come across an idea we’re excited about, it reminds us that enthusiasm is regenerative and restorative. Being constantly bogged down in the daily grind distracts us from the North Star that is the why behind our chosen profession. Luckily enthusiasm has a way of reorienting that focus. The word itself derives from enthousiasmos, the Greek expression meaning divine inspiration.[4] This etymology speaks to that feeling of surprise and realization that this capacity is inside us all the time, we just need to access it. We also need libraries and supervisors that recognize the value and will support our effort in pursuing new and exciting ideas.

A few years ago, I came across a recommendation that library staff set a few hours aside every week to work on something new. The work didn’t have to fit into an overall plan or complement current programs, and it didn’t even have to pertain to their department. Allowing that free time to explore gives us the capacity to think differently and seek new avenues for collaboration. Another recommendation I read about recently was from Salt Lake County Library who created a, “What if we…” board. Staff can submit ideas to a management team to break through the real or perceived barriers to program and service proposals.[5]

Gaining access to the magic enthusiasm fosters is a key strategy to building effective teams and sustainable libraries. The good news is that its not hard to replicate once you’ve found it. I encourage you to go and do just that.

References

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/kareanderson/2015/05/11/cultivate-productive-enthusiasm-in-yourself-and-with-others/3/#64bcdef23307

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/kareanderson/2015/05/11/cultivate-productive-enthusiasm-in-yourself-and-with-others/3/#64bcdef23307

[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/kareanderson/2015/05/11/cultivate-productive-enthusiasm-in-yourself-and-with-others/3/#64bcdef23307

[4] https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00318/full

[5] http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2017/11/library-services/straight-source-innovation/#_

The post Our North Star: Finding Our Way Back To What We Love first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Despite the staff shake-up, I proactively encouraged my coworkers to be excited about the changes. “This is a good thing,” I would positively say to them. “Change is good. It’s always nice to shake things up a bit.” I honestly believe these sentiment. Then, why do I have butterflies in my stomach? Why have I started chewing my nails again (ew, gross, I know)? I decided to look into it.

At the most basic, change produces anxiety; that’s the emotion that causes all of the nail-biting, butterfly-inducing, icky energy in our bodies and minds. The scientific definition of anxiety is “a multisystem response to a perceived threat or danger”[1]. It is the culmination of biochemical changes in the body, recollection of personal history and memory, and the social situation at hand.

Now for the biology part: that sense of dread I have been experiencing? Yeah, that’s from my hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is where our “fight or flight” response is located and it’s an emergency reaction regulated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The coolest part of the ANS is that every animal has it. From Usain Bolt to a slug on a leaf, “fight or flight” is hard-wired into our brains, an evolutionary byproduct of evading predators. This is a comforting discovery, because it means no matter how much I consciously choose to be invigorated by change, subconsciously, I can’t help it. My hypothalamus will hijack my response every time.

If I know that I can’t control my subconscious response to change, how much can I control my conscious reaction? Surprisingly, quite a bit, though that doesn’t make it easy; much of how we internalize change is affected by how we construct our identity of self.

What does that even mean?

Here’s the psychological bit: the self is how an individual perceives himself or herself. It is a mental construct, and for everyone it is different. It’s the answer to the old question, “Who am I?” Our response to change is directly affected by our perception of self. Moreover, the self can be defined by different levels of inclusiveness, that is, through the different relationships we have with the people in our lives. Essentially, if you define much of your “self” as it pertains to others: mother, brother, coworker, friend, and if any of those relationships is affected by change, then your concept of self must be redefined. And for some people that is terrifying, which is why there can be so much resistance to change. In order to better cope with stress, you have to revise your perception of self to also include intrinsic aspects, like self-enhancement and personal growth, which are less affected by change[2].

The workplace is the environment that many people find to be the most stressful. I’ve worked in a university, in retail and finally, my dream job, in a library. There’s been a joke used in every breakroom in which I’ve spent time; you’ve probably heard it before or something similar. “Can’t take a vacation around here; everything changes while you’re gone.” Usually relayed with sarcasm, the sentence is also a passive-aggressive complaint. Change is so commonplace in the workplace that it’s as unifying a concept as an angry customer, hard-headed boss or lunch-stealing coworker. And yet, we still fear change. There are endless manuals for organizations for implementing occupational change, without causing the staff any undue stress. But the recommendations for coping with organizational change all seem to follow a few basic principles:

1. Expect change.
2. Accept and make the best of change.
3. Learn from the change.

Knowing what I know now, I feel better about my anxiety. I know that I can’t help the butterflies or the nail-biting (mostly). But at least I don’t have to let it get in the way of how I learn from the change. I’m choosing to be positive about change.

References

1. Mitchell, Mark A. The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health, 3^rd Edition. (2013) Cengage Learning.

2. Wisse, Barbara and Sleebos, Ed. When Change Causes Stress: Effects of Self-Construal and Change Consequences. (2016) J Bus Psychology 31:249-264

Resources

Cross, Kay L. Coping with Change. (2006) IDEA Fitness Journal 5: 104-5

The post I Love Change: So Why Does It Still Scare Me? first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Let’s start with a gross generalization: Libraries as an institution seem to prefer conformity within our organizations; but librarians as a profession also strive to counter conformity. We cater our services to various nonconformists, and provide service to those who want to learn something new on taboo topics, or to have access to materials they may have been denied elsewhere. We will fight to the death for the rights we all have to express ourselves, and privacy is very important to us. But as a profession, we shy away from change. Even the most forward thinking librarians can be afraid to rock the boat. Let’s face it, we embrace the rules.

According to the article, humans feel better when we stick with what we know. That makes sense, right? We believe the potential loss associated with a change is greater than the gain that may result from the change. We ignore information that challenges long held beliefs. But this has a downside in that we do not create environments where feedback is welcome, or new ideas are celebrated. Yes, a new idea here and there may be praised, but the overall environment is stagnant. When I visit libraries, I often encounter bored staff members. They share the glazed-over look that comes from repeating the same tasks; frustration with disengaged managers; and a general feeling of disconnect from the work they are doing. How can nonconformity help these staff members re-engage? By encouraging them to break rules? Of course, we know that not all conformity is bad. But to be capable of cutting-edge library service, perhaps we need to look at striking a balance between the necessary structure that comes with any organization and the freedom to be creative in their jobs that can inspire and excite employees.

I once asked a staff member to create a flyer for a display. I needed something quick and dirty. This person was usually assigned to assisting with checking out books. He reacted with fear, then disbelief in his own skills, then acceptance, and the final outcome turned out great. We later talked and I said something along the lines of, “Hey, it’s fun to be creative and engaged at work.” He actually thanked me for the opportunity. Something so simple was a big deal to him. So, in the interest of shaking things up here are 7 ways to promote nonconformity in your library:

1. Ask staff members – What makes you unique? When do you feel at your best? Use the information you glean from these questions.
2. Don’t tell them how to do it, tell them what the end goal is.  For example do not say “You need to take the following steps to increase programming attendance (insert steps).” Do say “We need you to find ways to increase attendance at programming. Please think of a few ways to accomplish this goal and present them at the next meeting.”
3. Have staff members define their own mission. An example: I will advance the library system by actively seeking out opportunities to share our online resources with every customer I encounter.
4. Give staff members the freedom to choose their responsibilities. I prefer to give a list of initiatives and have them choose one to work on.
5. Lead the way by asking why. Why are we doing things this way, why is that policy in place? Keep staff thinking about updating, changing, moving forward.
6. Variety keeps people motivated. Remember the bit about asking someone to create a flyer? Yeah, those moments are pretty important. The benefit of having people switch up their tasks is that now you have people cross-trained on different jobs.
7. Get out of your own library. Go to other libraries or shops and look around at their displays, read blogs, send out ideas to your staff. Make it your goal to send out one great idea from another library system each week.  Implement these ideas. And here’s a bonus suggestion – read this article, you’ll gain awesome insights on this theory!

Resources

Gino, Francesca. “Let your Workers Rebel.” Harvard Business Review. October 24, 2016. Accessed October 25, 2016.

The post Shaking Things Up at Your Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

PART 1: INTIMACY
“Distance is a disease that cripples true conversation.” The first sentence of the book. Whoa. I agree, and I feel the pains of working in a twelve-location system. It is hard to have a true conversation without intimacy. Leaders must share thoughts about strategy and operations, while also giving away intimate pieces of their own history. This is not easy! This takes practice, but it truly sets the stage for the rest of the working relationship. The value of listening to someone in a face-to-face interaction is incredible. As I read this book, I adjusted our probation guidelines – we should be rating managers on their ability to listen. Listen. We tend to focus on formal modes of conversation to push information to employees—if you do that, they start to fill in the gaps themselves; they start to create scenarios that probably never happened. This is why we must be diligent to create an open forum to converse with each other. But how?

ICS
Treat employees with respect by setting up an Internal Customer Service structure. Use a work ticket system to show that their requests are just as important as external customer requests. This is two-way communication.

Intranet
Use your library intranet wisely. Post about staff success, community engagement, and clear up policies when necessary.

Listen
When a new idea is presented, sit back and listen. If I give my opinion, it may influence others. So, I try to listen before giving immediate feedback. This allows me to hear the full idea, and others to form an opinion without my influence.

PART 2: INTERACTIVITY
Getting close to employees can’t happen without interactivity. Pushing info at them is one thing, but providing a place where they can interact is another. Social media’s success relies on back-and-forth conversation, and it can be mimicked in the workplace. How do you create opportunities for interactivity?

Blog
Leaders can blog once a week with a question, a statement, a fun fact, whatever! This allows employees to understand what people in administration are up to, and it provides an opportunity for employees to engage. They can leave comments, talk with each other about it, and even set up a blog themselves.

Online Options
Bank of America created an online water cooler where employees can engage across departments and locations, and according to Groysberg and Slind, it is extremely successful. I find that just asking “What are you reading?” can lead to a lengthy discussion that allows employees to connect with and understand each other.

PART 3: INCLUSION
“An inclusive approach to communication transforms employees from receivers of corporate messaging into messengers in their own right.” Inclusion happens when an organization treats employees as official communicators and asks them to be a part of the conversation AND a creator of the conversation. Obviously, the employee must participate in order for this to be successful. How do you encourage them to participate?

Product Reviewers
Review new materials, databases, resources, etc. and share those reviews internally and externally.

Event Reporters
Report on events ranging from staff meetings to public events.

Ask Questions
Ask staff pointed questions: “How can we reduce costs?” “How can we be better?” “Where do we excel?”

Opportunity
Set up a small grant structure where any employee can write a one-page grant.

Day in the Life
Have one day where all employees take pictures and share on the intranet, celebrate each other!

The basic point of inclusion is to show the employee that they, too, are a customer. They, too, should be happy and they too are a community within themselves. We always want to serve our community, and the employees bring a rich and diverse opportunity to do just that.

PART 4: INTENTIONALITY
Intentionality centers on using conversation as a means to move the organization forward. The authors describe the first three elements as the fuel to energize the company and intentionality as the guide to a certain point. What is your destination? Fuel, and guide the conversation to get there.

It is the leader’s responsibility to guide the organizational conversation to improve its internal and external performance. This means that when you speak with an employee he/she should be able to tell you the mission, strategy, and goals of the library and be able to talk about their role within the organization. Surely you’ve heard the story of the NASA janitor who said his job was to “send people to the moon.” Everyone has a role, and the intentionality of a conversation can lead to real breakthroughs. How can we be intentional in our conversations at work?

Visioning Exercise
Imagine your library is receiving an award: what is it for? Start your conversations by stating goals of the organization, and ask employees for feedback.

Communicate the Why
When writing memos or speaking to staff, start with the What and follow up with the Why. Humans love to know why…even when they don’t agree with you.

Cross Talk
Create opportunities for conversations across departments and branches so that people can understand each other.

Sources

Groysberg, Boris and Michael Slind. Talk, Inc.: How Trusted Leaders Use Conversation to Power their Organizations. Harvard Business Review, 2012.

The post Talk the Talk first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

According to the Pew Research Center, these Millennials “are relatively unattached to organized politics and religion, linked by social media, burdened by debt, distrustful of people, in no rush to marry”—yet optimistic about the future. They have placed themselves in the center of self-created social networks, and over 55% have posted a “selfie.” Ironically, they express a lower level of social trust in spite of their social networking and have detached themselves from traditional institutions. However, as in any generational group, they insist they are not all alike, and hold a wide variety of opinions on political and social issues. As for their educational status, over a third of them have a four-year-degree or higher. The Pew Research Center concludes that they are the most racially diverse generation in American history, with 43% of them non-white (i.e., Hispanic, Asian, African-American). In addition, the 2014 Millennial Impact Report reveals that approximately 80 million Millennials live in the U.S., and by the year 2020 they will comprise 50% of the work force.

Frankly, I didn’t pay too much attention to the Millennials’ impending arrival. Many decades ago I burst shouting out of the “Silent” or “Seniors” Generation—a part of the Greatest Generation—and have been working alongside members of other generations ever since: the Traditionalists (1900-1945), the Baby Boomers, (1946-1964), and the Generation Xers (1965-1980). We have shared a great deal of collegiality in both the educational and the library world, along with a deep passion for the mission of libraries in general. I assumed I would relate in the same way with this Next Generation (1980-2000).

However, my curiosity about them was piqued when I spoke recently with a “newbie,” a part-time clerk who had stopped by Technical Services to deliver something to me. I asked her how she liked her first-time public library position. Her response was almost bombastic.

“I have talent and capabilities that aren’t being acknowledged! No one understands how to work with me.”

“And how is that?” I inquired.

“Give me something to do that’s not busy work, work that means something that can do some good, and then let me do it!”

She told me she expected to be approached as an equal, no matter what title or position that she or anyone else held, and to work on projects that allowed her to move beyond the status quo. I reassured her that several collaborative projects are strongly in motion and that she could easily become a member of those committees already making a difference in patron programming.

“But, I can see so much that needs to be completed that I could do myself. I’m a Millennial!”

I hadn’t encountered too many individuals who identified themselves so strongly with their generation. She used the word Millennial as though it were the only key to understanding her, a password that would open doors just for her. She made me wonder if our other staff Millennials held the same view about themselves. In our library system we have seven professional librarians who definitely belong to the Millennial Generation, and another three who fall on the cusp between the GenXers and the Millennials. In addition, there are six young Millennial staff members who are either full or part-time. Determined to know more about what they feel about technology and their attitudes about how they are perceived, I asked them if they would be willing to participate in a survey, and that I would use their responses in this blog. Fourteen of the sixteen responded in the affirmative.

I used the free template at www.surveymonkey.com, which meant I was limited as to the size of the survey. I asked them to respond to ten statements, paraphrased from several sources and relating to either librarianship or technology, by either agreeing or disagreeing with the statement, or to select “no opinion.” If they were not degreed librarians, I asked them to consider the statements in view of what they did in their library job. I also provided a text box for their comments. All survey results would be anonymous. I followed this survey with two additional questions, to be answered “yes” or “no,” with opportunity to provide additional responses.

I admit that my survey is flawed. I provided no way to compare them in light of their ages and length of library experience. I did not provide a distinction between those who are classed as professional librarians and those who are not, thus risking skewed results. I should have refined the third statement, as it deals with two concepts. The survey statements, the follow-up questions, and the results with their comments, are as follows:

Survey statement #1: Technology was a major factor for a Millennial when deciding to become a librarian.

Results: 64% disagree

Technology itself is not why I chose this field. It’s like saying “Oxygen is part of the atmosphere, [but] is that part of the reason you became an air-breather?” Technology is available and present everywhere, in all job fields, and [in] all aspects of life.

Survey statement #2: Millennials have more interest in libraries because of the way information is accessed, stored, and applied.

Results: 77% agree

I became a librarian because I like books, I like learning things, I wanted a job where I could do many different tasks, and where I could help people. Technology is a tool to accomplish that.

Survey statement #3: Millennials believe that they can quickly learn any new technologies, but they are not used to creating it or understanding its infrastructure.

Results: 43% agree

…people my age are tenacious and dogged in learning new skills.

…a lot of new technologies are created by Millennials.

Survey statement #4: Millennials want to transform libraries into technology-enhanced spaces.

Results: 86% agree

(No comments on this statement. I think it spoke to the obvious.)

Survey statement #5: Millennials are not “wedded” to particular technologies because something newer and better will always come along.

Results: 64% agree

Comments:

“Millennials are more wedded to a brand, not a type of technology (example: Apple vs. Android). Technology updates are making devices outdated and unusable within 2 or so years.”

“…every generation is going to have a technology paradigm that they are most comfortable with. Ours just happens to be a very morphable and accepting paradigm. If there is a fundamental shift in tech provision or access, I think a lot of Millennials who think themselves open to changing technologies are going to realize they are actually rather comfortable with the status quo.”

Survey statement #6: Millennials like to work in teams to accomplish goals that matter to them.

Results: 57% agree

Comments:

“Accomplishing goals that matter to me is important, regardless of whether or not I’m working on a team.”

“Millennials like to work individually on projects that matter to them, and to have those projects linked to other projects to create a larger whole. A small difference, but we’ve been “teamed up” all through school and life, and all of us are familiar with the strain of carrying someone else’s weight. Work life is a chance to stand on our own and be judged on ONLY our own work.”

“I enjoy working alone.”

Survey statement #7: Millennials rely on peer influence to attend events, participate in programs, volunteer.

Results: 62% agree

Comments:

“It’s so much a part of me to text, to facebook, to twitter, to instagram others…I get input, but basically I make up my own mind.”

“I am not influenced by peer pressure.”

Survey statement #8: Millennials don’t want to work in an environment that is not exciting or rewarding to them.

Results: 92% agree

Comments:

“Many of us are unemployed or underemployed in an economy that the older generations ruined. Studies say that we don’t live for our work, but want a job where we earn a fair wage, are happy, and then can leave at the end of the day so we can pursue our hobbies. We just don’t want to sacrifice our health and happiness for a job that pays us poorly and makes us miserable.”

“I would not thrive in a less rewarding and unstimulating work place.”

Survey statement #9: Millennials want immediate feedback on how they’re performing, not annual reviews.

Results: 92% agree

Comments:

“Tell me right away how I’m doing. Then I can fix anything that’s not right.”

Survey statement #10: Millennials use multiple methods of self-expression [social networking, getting tattoos; posting videos online], but most have protected their social media profiles.

Results: 77% agree

Comments:

“We use these tools because they’re there, and they’re useful for different purposes. If other generations were as familiar and comfortable with these platforms and with the relaxed culture of self-expression, they’d be all over it as well.”

“We don’t do these things to make other people look at us; we do them to make ourselves match our ideals of how we want to be. Our “self-expression” is more self-examination and self-inspection, rather than narcissism.”

Follow-up question #1: Have you ever referred to yourself as a Millennial or describe yourself in terms of the generation in which you were born?

Results: Yes: 55%   No: 45%

Comments:

“I sometimes refer to myself as a “Millennial” to be funny…as a joke.”

“I’m comfortable with who I am. I don’t need a generational label to define me.”

Follow-up question #2: Are generational classifications important or useful to you in your job or in your life

Results: Yes: 35%   No: 65%

Comments:

“I think individual differences in work styles play more of a role.”

“Yes, if only because understanding the different generations makes it easier to understand how/why some people treat me in certain ways.”

This is funny to me: so many times I hear older people complain that we are always on our phones or at the computer, but the second they can’t figure out their email suddenly we are the omniscient Tech Gods who can work wonders with their virus laden PCs running Windows XP and Internet Explorer.

“I have trouble sometimes with how other “generations” define me, but in my job, I deal with all age levels…they come to me to help them figure out how to use their tablets or cell phones. I like that age-gap interaction, and they see me in a different way when they get my help. I’m not such a mystery to them, then.”

The results of my humble survey about our Millennial colleagues seem to agree in large part with the most recent research. Technology is ubiquitous for our Millennials; therefore, technology was not the motivating force in choosing their library career. However, because technology is inherent in library work, they want to use their technological skills to improve the access and delivery of information. They want to enjoy their jobs and perform tasks that mean something.

I perceive all our Millennials to be intelligent individuals, collaborative and creative, who work well within the existing institution. Yet they are also able to apply their technological skills in new and exciting ways to provide service to patrons of all ages and to promote more innovative library services. They participate in both their social media world and in the community. They get a little annoyed at how they are portrayed in all the surveys and articles, and are irritated that they sometimes are put in the position of having to defend why they use technology. One respondent told me she doesn’t have to defend why she drinks water, so why does she have to defend her use of her smartphone! They did not abandon one information resource to replace it with newer digital formats. To them print materials are just one way that information is stored. They are not hesitant to use existing technology as another vital tool to help them succeed. They are relieved and happy to use what they know to help others. I have not heard them complain that they are not involved in doing something worthwhile in their library job.

Our Millennials take the steps through the digital environs that the rest of us don’t know how to. They do what the rest of us don’t dare to—or care to—do, and they do so with ease. One of our staff Millennials is our Digital Librarian, responsible for getting the word out about our programs on all possible social media venues and on our website. Another is active in digitally promoting Tween literature and is deeply involved in the Summer Reading program centered around superheroes. The Millennial Librarian in charge of Adult Programming, with the collaboration of our seasoned Community Services director, has obtained a substantial LSTA matching grant—I’ll tell you more about that excitement in a future blog! Three of our Millennials were instrumental in planning and organizing our August ComiCon. And all of them use devices—Apple or Android—at the service desks and carry them into the stacks to help our patrons navigate our system

I feel at this point that I need to mention the obvious: our Millennials thrive at our library because our director and assistant director are not threatened by innovation and creativity on the part of the staff. Millennials blossom under transparent leadership when the hierarchy is bendable.

The 2013 Millennial Impact Report states: “We don’t study Millennials because they’re a part of the culture. We study them because they’re defining the culture.” I firmly believe they are the reason why we should feel so optimistic about the future of public libraries. And I, for one, am going to have a blast having them help me redefine my corner of the library world.

Resources:

1. Anderson (SC) County Library System
2. Mind the gaps : the Deloitte Millennial Survey 2015.
3. Inspiring the Next Generation workforce : the 2014 Millennial Impact Report, Six-Month Research Update.
4. Inspiring the Next Generation workforce : The 2014 Millennial Impact Report.
5. Caraher, Lee. Millennials & management : the essential guide to making it work at work. Brookline, MA: Bibliomotion, Inc., 2015.
6. Cummings, Bethany. “How millennials are redefining the role of public libraries.” com. October 23, 2014.  (accessed July 21, 2015).
7. Emanual, Jenny. “Digital Native Librarians, Technology Skills, and Their Relationship with Technology.” Information Technology and Libraries, September 2013: 20-23.
8. Hais, Morley Winograd & Michael D. Millennial momentum : how a new generation is remaking America. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2011.
9. Henig, Robin Marantz Henig & Samantha. Twenty something : why do young adults seem stuck? New York: Hudson Street Press, 2012.
10. Huang, Belinda. “Why Millennials May Save Our Libraries.” Emertainment Monthly. Entertainment News from Emerson College. September 29, 2014.  (accessed July 21, 2015).
11. LePage, Evan. “Why Millenial [sic] is Meaningless for Social Media Targeting.” June 6, 2015.  (accessed July 21, 2015).
12. McClary, T. M. “Marketing the Public Library to Millennials.” NJ State Library. April 24, 2014.  (accessed July 21, 2015).
13. “Millennial Impact Research : The 2013 Millennial Impact Report.” 2013. http://casefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/MillennialImpactReport-2013.pdf.
14. Pew Research Center. “A Portrait of “Generation Next” : How Young People View Their Lives, Futures and Politics. Summary of Findings.” PewResearchCenter : U.S. Politics & Policy. January 09, 2007. (accessed July 21, 2015).
15. —. “A Snapshot of Reading in America in 2013.” PewResearchCenter: Internet, Science & Tech. January 16, 2014. (accessed July 21, 2015).
16. —. “Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change. Executive Summary.” PewResearchCenter: Social & Demographic Trends. February 24, 2010. (accessed July 21, 2015).
17. —. “Millennials in Adulthood: Detached from Institutions, Networked with Friends.” PewResearchCenter : Social & Demographic Trends. March 7, 2014. (accessed July 21, 2015).
18. —. “Younger Americans and Public Libraries.” PewResearchCenter: Internet, Science & Tech. September 10, 2014. (accessed July 21, 2015).
19. Pollak, Lindsey. Becoming the boss : new rules for the next generation of leaders. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2014.
20. Schawbel, Dan. Workplace Trends :The 2015 Millennial Majority Workforce Study. (accessed July 21, 2015).
21. Schawbel, Dan. “Talent management : 10 ways millennials are creating the future of work.” forbes.com. (accessed July 21,2015).

The post Millennials Among Us first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

For this first blog post I want to focus on the issue of building trust. Patrick Lencioni addresses this in his book The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business. According to Lencioni, before you can get healthy as an organization, you need to establish a strong team. To establish a strong team, you must establish trust.

Building Trust

What is trust? We aren’t talking about trust in the way you trust your partner to tell the truth, or you trust a friend to follow through on promises. Lencioni calls it vulnerability-based trust. Be vulnerable in front of your management team. Tell them when you screw up, tell them when you struggle, and tell them when you’re sorry. In general, be vulnerable. If everyone on the team does this you avoid a lot of issues. One, everyone is speaking freely which can lead to breakthroughs. Two, you get to the heart of issues much faster. Fear takes a back seat as you express your vulnerable side more often.

But!

Librarians like to know everything, and rarely admit to not knowing something or not having thought something out. It goes against our nature to admit we don’t know. This is why you have to be the example. Truly, it should begin with the leader, but it can begin with anyone at the table. Next time you find yourself feeling defensive, take a moment and explore what you are feeling, and say it! I’m feeling overwhelmed, I messed up, I need help. Start building the trust by being honest.

Practical Steps to Building the Trusting Team

Lencioni shares two steps that essentially do the same thing: force you to get to know yourself and your team members.

• Share Personal Stories – Talk about yourself, your personal history. He suggests answering the question: what was the most difficult or interesting challenge you overcame as a child? This allows you to get to know each other’s motivations. Someone may micromanage out of fear, and another might be tight with money because he/she grew up in a certain environment.
• Take a Personality Test – I love this! I prefer Myers-Briggs, but there are others (see below). Yes, they can feel awkward to take and share but, man, I have learned a lot about myself this way. Take the test, share with others, and see how it will help your organization in the long run.

But!

We have been a team forever, this seems a little late in the game. It’s never too late. Tell your team you want to try something new. Use a consultant as a catalyst. Many local consultants will come in for just a few hours to help with something like this and it won’t cost you much money at all! But please understand it is a culture change, and it won’t happen offsite in a day-long session. This is skimming the surface to deeper cultural behaviors.

The rest of the book is really great. I recommend you read and marinate on it, then go back and read the sections that stuck out the first time.

Take some time to explore these resources as you start to build your team:

• Team Building 101 http://www.manager-tools.com/2007/05/team-building-101
• Effective Managers Earn Trust Quickly By Doing 5 Things Well http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2012/07/10/effective-managers-earn-trust-quickly-by-doing-5-things-well/
• Titles from ALA http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=3717

Personality Tests:

• Enneagram https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/guide-to-all-riso-hudson-tests/
• Myers-Briggs http://www.mbtionline.com/

Reference

Lencioni, P. (2012). The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business. Wiley.

The post It Takes More Than a Trust Fall: Establishing a Great Management Team first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

A Change.org petition made the rounds on the Internet to make Commissioner Barbara J. Jordan aware of the number of supporters for keeping the libraries open. At one point in 2013 it appeared that 22 of the branches out of 49 would be closed. 169 library employees were also to lose their jobs under Mayor Carlos Gimenez’ proposed budget. At this time grass root efforts really kicked in and large protests arose. Unfortunately, even though the libraries were not shuttered at that point, the budget issues reappeared in 2014.

Undaunted and refusing to give up, the advocacy efforts to save Miami-Dade Public Libraries continued into 2014. President of the Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Library John Quick wrote an editorial in the Huffington Post as the situation gained national attention. Yale Professor Carlos Eire wrote a letter to the Miami Herald entitled Libraries Save Lives. In this letter, Eire states that one of the branches of the system was a refuge for him in the 1960s. Like many of us who loved libraries as kids, he still remembers details of the building vividly. Almost every effort improves when prominent people step forward to vouch for it and this editorial ultimately persuaded Mayor Gimenez and other County officials to rethink the library budget situation.

For now, the advocacy efforts for Miami-Dade Public Library have had a successful conclusion. The library is more important than ever in this community, as witnessed by this recent article wich shows that many kids need the library for homework since they lack Internet access at home. Many readers of this blog are already drinking the library Kool-Aid, but it is still important to bear in mind that not everyone gets why libraries matter. Utilizing advocacy efforts to your advantage can save your library, but ultimately it is more important to be on the offensive showing your community the importance of your institution at all times. Major brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, and Taco Bell know this and never stop repeating their consumer message. Now is the time to create your own catchy library jingle.

The post Miami-Dade Public Library Advocacy Efforts Succeed – Will Yours? first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

When the make-up of our Library Board changed, personalities shifted and perspectives clashed. Suddenly there were new situations in which it appeared that many of us, as well as the library itself, were vulnerable. It was then that I learned of Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance (often called D&O). This insurance, purchased by the organization, reimburses the organization’s leadership for losses or advancement of defense costs of legal actions coming about from alleged wrongful acts in their capacity as leadership of the institution. Policies vary by the amount of coverage, but are offered by almost all of the major insurance companies. Costs are based on not only the amount of coverage, but the size of the board and institution.

At the time that I began to look into this insurance, my library was facing two possible legal actions. One stemmed from a communication problem over a fundraising event. The other involved the personality clashes of two significant individuals involved with the management of the library. It was a situation that six months earlier would have been inconceivable for all of us.

For our institution the cost increased our insurance line by approximately five hundred dollars annually. It was not an easy sell. However, the cost of one lawsuit would be far greater.

In the end, our fundraising event went off, but not without some very problematic hitches. The human conflict was a bit rougher to deal with, but fortunately it also did not end up in litigation. We were lucky that the Library Board had purchased D&O insurance. For me, it was all a little too close for comfort.

The need for such insurance—as well as the coverage—varies, and must certainly be analyzed on a per library basis. Certainly, one’s needs can be greatly affected by circumstance. Municipal libraries may be covered under town insurance policies, but might not be. What I do know definitively, is that is far better to research and discuss the options before there is a potential need. Based on our experience, I’d advise this is one of those situations where it’s better to be prepared.

The post The Importance of Library Insurance: Investigate It Before You Need It first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Who is coming? For Thanksgiving dinner, you make a guest list and send out invitations. Then you wait to find out how many people are planning to come. Not to generalize, but there is always a guest who responds to one of the hosts, when it was the other host who was keeping track of who was coming. Of course, the one person forgets to tell the other. With our open house, we asked for an RSVP. Invitees ended up RSVP’ing to two different people, but each person didn’t realize that the other had a rather extensive list going. Both contact people thought the event would have about 20 guests. Together, the combined RSVP lists were close to 40 people. Fortunately in our case, we knew about the miscommunication the week before the event, not like Thanksgiving where the extra person shows up and there isn’t a place for them at the table!

Will you have enough food? It’s Thanksgiving. You must cook for an army whether or not you are actually feeding one! For library open houses, if you want people to come, you have to have food and assume librarians will be starving. In our case, they weren’t starving. There were a lot of left-overs! So the staff was thrilled!

Is the house clean? Before the Thanksgiving company arrives, the house must be cleaned top to bottom, until it’s spotless. For a library open house, it’s exactly the same. Are all the shelves straight?  Are our displays neat and organized? Just like you know that you should always keep your house picked up, you do your most thorough cleaning job right before there’s company. In a library, signage should always be clear and current. Unfortunately, we used our open house as an opportunity to finally update our signage to reflect some recent relocating of materials. Yes, we should have done it much earlier, but having “special visitors” coming made us finally take the time.

Who is stuck at the kids’ table? Sitting at the kids’ table you still get to eat all the Thanksgiving dinner, but the conversation topics and opportunities to talk are vastly different than at the adult table. It’s the same with a library open house, particularly if the event is while the building is open for business. Some staff members are directly involved in the open house, while other staff members have to keep the functions of the library going. They are all at the library at the same time, but that day their experiences are quite different. This happened with us. The administrative staff was split. Half were involved with the open house and half were involved with the current operations. A staff person who attended the open house said to a coworker who was working out on the library floor, “Oh, it was so good to finally meet Sally (names changed to protect the innocent) at the open house.” The other staff person replied, “I didn’t even know Sally was here. I would have loved to have met her.” Oops! It’s not that one activity was more important that the other. Both were, but one person was left feeling like he missed something. We will definitely be more careful about making all staff members feel included next time.

Who did you forget to invite? It always happens that you find out after Thanksgiving that some relative you were sure had plans spent the holiday alone eating a TV dinner. In our case, it wasn’t that we forgot to invite someone, it was that we forgot to tell some people on staff that there was a special event happening while they were working. That might possibly be worse than forgetting to invite a particular guest! Our library pages didn’t know we were having a big group of people here while they were working. They didn’t know why there were more people milling around the building than normal, and more importantly, the visitors were asking them a lot more questions than they would ordinarily expect. It looked like we didn’t value them enough to include them in the information sharing, but that’s not it at all! Another big oops. We won’t make that mistake again.

What is the take away from this entry besides convincing you to make a reservation at a restaurant for Thanksgiving instead of inviting people over? Be mindful throughout the planning and execution of your library open house event. Make sure that both guests and employees know that they are valued and important to you and that you are glad to see them in your library.

Melanie A. Lyttle is the Head of Public Services Madison Public Library. You can watch her YouTube channel, Crabby Librarian, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rv5GLWsUow. Shawn D. Walsh is the Emerging Services and Technologies Librarian at Madison Public Library.

The post How Is a Library Open House Like a Thanksgiving Dinner? first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Recently I came across a reference book in my library on American innovators called They Made America by Harold Evans. This book details the big idea people that truly changed the American way of life. Important inventors and innovators ranging from historical figures like Eli Whitney, Levi Strauss, Henry Ford, and Walt Disney to current innovators like Larry Page and Sergey Brin the founders of Google, are each given a chapter. What do all of these people have in common? An idea (or two) and the passion and energy to act on it! Librarianship is a field that is still seeing almost constant change and lends itself to people with ideas who are not afraid of challenging the way things have always been done.

When I worked at the Delray Beach Public Library, I sat across the room from an underutilized computer lab. Ten computers in a quiet and ideal environment just glaring at me, almost begging me to be used. These underutilized resources irked me, and I was even more frustrated when patrons pointed at the lab when all the public internet computers were being used and asked, “Why can’t we use the computers in there?”. I had no good answer besides the fact that we only ever used the lab for our computer classes. I was beyond fortunate to have the opportunity as a member of the Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute to use this lab as my culminating project and turn the space into the Empowerment Zone – a career, eGov, and education resource that in a year would allow over 100 patrons a month to use the space and computers.

Next year, I would like to challenge everyone in our profession to try to smash the status quo. As mentioned previously, giving up takes little effort, but trying to find a way around a road block can be an important challenge. On March 21^st, the anniversary of the founding of Twitter (facilitator of change throughout the world), I propose #SmashTheStatusQuoDay, where every library professional attempts to create or reimagine an idea, or just plain blow up the status quo in a way that is beneficial to their library and profession. You can tweet about it, or mention it on Facebook and other social media platforms. The challenge is positive change for you and your organization. Good luck and remember that there are plenty of resources out there, including Public Libraries Online, to help you formulate your plan of attack!

The post Smash the Status Quo! Rejuvenating Your Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

If I’ve written about this before, sorry, it needs to be stated again: materials don’t just magically appear on the shelves.  I have a staff of 9 people whose job is to buy, catalog, prepare and process materials for a library that circulates over a million items each year. At least 3 (sometimes 4) people have touched that book the patron pulls off the shelf. This doesn’t even address the many hands (and a truck) for items we don’t own and must acquire from a member of our resource-sharing consortium into the patron’s hands.

We are always looking for ways to make processing easier.  Whether it is standardizing and streamlining processing procedures, migrating to a new ILS, or floating items to a branch, the goal is to get the patron what they want as soon as possible, while still upholding discovering and accessibility standards in the catalog. Sometimes the changes are apparent, sometimes the public doesn’t even know.

Sometimes we need to break with the past, which I have learned isn’t as easy as I would hope. Often, my lets-see-what-happens-attitude is mitigated by one of my staff asking questions or a manager indicating a concern. Indeed, a colleague is fond of saying, “This is a big ship to turn.”  This concept has helped me be more thoughtful and deliberate, and it stops me from making hasty decisions.  There comes a time, however, when we need to pull the trigger on a change.  Staff may not be happy. Patrons may be confused, at least in the short term. With a little hand holding and clear communication, we help them through.

The mystery of the library world isn’t really a mystery. The mystery is that being a librarian and working in a library takes work. Our work may not be visible and you may not see us (you probably never see my staff), but we do work; we are the engine that drives us. Tax payers aren’t wasting their money because someone needs to get materials on the shelf.

So, when I heard the comment, “I had no ideas how much work you guys do,” I was proud.  We do work hard and everyone should know.

The post Librarians Work Hard and Everyone Should Know That first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Summer slump affects library morale. What can you do to improve morale? Is a themed potluck lunch in the staff room a possibility? Can you have funny clothes day? There’s never a bad time for pajama day, Hawaiian shirt day, hat day, or the favorite at our library “Fancy Friday” where you wear feather boas and tiaras all day. Can you get the staff together for a local minor league baseball game or all play miniature golf at the same time on a weekend evening?

Focus on the little things. Can your staff members remember to do one thing each day to move the library’s summer agenda forward? Are they asking people if they are signed up for your library’s summer reading program after they help them find a book or answer a reference question? Does your staff hand out a newsletter or flier that lists all the summer activities, or could they offer to answer people’s questions about the programs? Just because some members of the library staff have been making summer preparations since last December does not mean the patrons have any idea what’s going on at the library. And it may be “old news” to the staff, but it’s brand new and exciting to patrons. Help them out. One quick question and the staff could have a new program attendee or a potential summer reading super reader.

Use your social media presence effectively. One of the best things in the world is the ability to schedule posts on your library’s Facebook page. Once your programs are planned put in your posts. You can schedule them for every day if you want, and you don’t have to worry about them ever again. Your patrons are reminded about what is going on, but your staff doesn’t have to remember to post something every day. It’s best to increase the library’s social media presence now that more patrons are free to read the posts more often.

Leave yourself notes for the next year. There is nothing worse than dreading the physical and emotional fatigue of summer programming, but you can make things easier on your staff. What can you do earlier in the year that isn’t as time sensitive? What can you do at the end of this summer to make you better prepared for next year? It can be something as simple as packing up your supplies in a different way or deciding to order or purchase prizes earlier in the year. How can you spread out responsibilities to more staff so one person isn’t responsible for everything?

Everyone at the library gets tired during the summer because more activities are packed into a shorter amount of time with kids out of school and people on vacations. But with a little planning ahead, there is no reason to have a library staff that looks like zombies because they’ve succumbed to “summer slump.”

The post Summer Slump first appeared on Public Libraries Online.