Recognizing Burnout (and What to Do about it)

The recent American Libraries “Will’s World” column struck a chord with me.  “Your Mileage May Vary” deals, in a facetious way, with the topic he calls “library fatigue,” but more commonly known, I think, as burnout.  Especially among those of use “of a certain age.”

Do you find yourself thinking any of these, or the other feelings Manley lists?

• Library patrons are getting increasingly stupid.
• I’m sick of reading articles by the young technogeek librarians who say the library as we know it is obsolete. So why did they get their MLSes?
• I’m sick of young whippersnapper librarians just out of library school calling me a dinosaur or a Luddite.
• I’m sick of the library paying big bucks to a high-powered consultant to tell us which branches to close because we have no money.
• I’m sick of everything going wrong in the library profession. Why isn’t ALA doing anything about it?

I agree with Manley that the hypothetical 55 year old librarian who feels this way needs to retire.  What I love about Manley’s article is the point that another librarian, of the very same age, and new to the profession, may be able to say:

• I love adapting to new technology and introducing it to people who do not own a computer.
• I love children and I love dealing with their parents to develop lifelong library users
• I love taking on the challenge of finding win-win solutions for problems at the circulation desk.
• I love dealing with homeless people and turning their lives around.
• I love showing Tea Party people how productive their library tax dollars are.

And of course, the second librarian need not, and should not retire.

It’s not always this easy, of course, but I wish that the librarians with the former attitudes (and yes, they are out there) would recognize it, and make the right decision.  And I hope that those with the latter attitudes would stay and make their libraries and our profession shine.  (Of course, if you’re reading my blog, you’re not one of those with burnout, or library fatigues, right?)

Photo © 2011 Keith Williamson,  Flickr.   http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Strive to be a Good Leader

Are you a leader?  Are you good at it?  If not, you owe it to the people you are leading to become better.

We all know people who have become bosses or supervisors because they’ve worked their way up at a library or organization.  But longevity is not the reason to become the leader.  You must be good at it.

You must “Stand Up!” You must publicly take a stand even when it is unpopular, no matter what the consequences.  Don’t excuse things that are unacceptable in others.  Pay attention.

And you must be both “tough and tender.”  No, don’t be tough for the sake of being tough.  We all know of bosses who bark orders and fly off the handle.  But demand the best, push when results are less than you expect, and praise and thank lavishly when warranted.  Give employees the freedom to fail but expect them to learn from failures.  Practice “tough empathy.”

I always said I wanted a boss who wanted his or her staff to make him/her look good, and if we did, they’d make sure everyone knew it was because of the staff.

Strive to stand up, be both tough and tender, and let the world know your staff makes you look good.  You’ll be glad you did.

Photo © 2005 michael warren,  Flickr.   http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

How Successful are Your Meetings?

Meetings.  Who likes them?  Who hates them? Meetings, just for the sake of having meetings are useless, and “good” meetings that accomplish what they are supposed to are better, but many of us complain about having “too many meetings!”  (By the way, how many are too many?)

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But in most situations, you need to have meetings.  The key is to have good meetings that are well run, and at which attendees participate.  Six Tips for Getting People Involved at Meetings shares some good suggestions to help you manage the group dynamics at your meetings, especially if you’re the one in charge. If your meetings are becoming “snooze fests” you might want to check out these tips.

They’re not so hard.  My favorites are “Call people by their names” and “Respect their dignity.”  What’s yours?

Little Free Libraries

So much has been written about the Little Free Library project, there’s little I can add.

Started in 2009, the concept is simple:  little boxes that look like miniature buildings (originally 20” wide by 15” deep by 18” high), mounted on a post on private property, filled with books, that operate as libraries on an honor system (“take a book, leave a book.”)

Little Free Library (Photo credit: Lulu Hoeller)

There are now over 2000 of the little libraries in the U.S. and other countries, and the people who build them and buy them and stock them and use them and love them are quite an avid bunch.  I love the idea, but I confess that when I first started hearing and reading about them in the news, I was skeptical.  And when I heard a county library board member speak enthusiastically about the newest Little Library in her neighborhood, I would rather have heard her get that passionate about defending the county library budget request.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’d love one of these little things in my front yard.  I love miniature buildings, and believe me, no one would need to re-stock our little library; we could keep it stocked for years with titles from our own overcrowded bookshelves.  But I don’t ever want to hear that municipalities don’t need to appropriate tax money to support libraries because they could just be larger versions of a Little Free Library.   Yes, I know that public libraries are more than that—they are community gathering places, sources of information and programs for children and adults, and so much more.  But I worried that other people don’t, especially when we are besieged by the “tax cut mentality.”

Much smarter librarians and advocates than I have embraced the Little Free Library movement, and I can’t find any articles about anyone who has publicly pronounced them good enough to replace bricks and mortar libraries, so I’m going to consider my fears unfounded.  Please let me know what you think.

See also:

• Little Free Library on Facebook
• Barely Bigger Than a Breadbox, but Teeming With Literary Treasures in Brooklyn (New York Times)
• Little Free Libraries’ Hope For Lending Revolution (NPR)
• Madison to regulate Little Free Libraries
• Little Free Libraries Allow Neighbors to Share Books and a Bit of Themselves (Minneapolis Star/Tribune)

(And there are MANY more articles like the above online!)

Steven Covey, and 7 Habits (both Highly Effective and Highly Ineffective)

I’ve always aspired to be organized, a good worker and leader, and, upon occasion, impart advice to others on how to do the same.  Many times over the years, at workshops, presentations, and courses, the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey has been recommended to me.   I confess, I have tried to read the book at least 3 times, and never succeeded.  Most recently, it was suggested I read just bits and pieces of it—and I really do intend to, someday.

“Seven Habits” author Steven Covey passed away recently.  Serendipitously, a slide show exploring his seven habits as illustrated by seven successful leaders crossed my radar, as well as a post highlighting just the opposite—Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective people.  I still intend to read at least parts of his book. . . someday.  But now, armed with the Wikipedia article, the slide show, and the look at the ineffective habits, maybe I can put it off a little longer.

Which of the 7 habits do you make use of?  Are you guilty of any of the ineffective habits?

Stephen Covey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

Harry Potter, Pottermore, eBooks, and What Does It all Mean?

I’ve been sitting on writing this post for awhile, because I wanted to do some more research and understand it better.  I still don’t understand what it all means, but I decided to go ahead and put this out there anyway.

So here’s the deal:  Pottermore is a website that serves as the permanent home for the Harry Potter book series.  Explore Pottermore, or read about its many features—for the purposes of this post, I want to talk about the Harry Potter eBooks, which are exclusively available from Pottermore.

Pottermore Frustration (Photo credit: Shaun Case)

Even if you have a Kindle or NOOK, and buy your eBooks from Amazon (Kindle) or Barnes and Noble (NOOK), those sites will simply redirect you to Pottermore. It appears the eBooks, which are provided as EPUB files, are compatible with most devices.

Many, if not most, public libraries provide eBooks to their users via OverDrive.  While it appears there was an initial delay with OverDrive’s access to the Pottermore titles, when I search OverDrive for Harry Potter titles at my library, there are many available , so it seems that has been resolved.

My questions are: Is Pottermore a good thing for eBook users? For libraries?  Will other popular publishers follow suit?  Does it matter?  Or do we need to just wait and see?

A New Kind of Librarian

The term “embedded librarian” has been around for awhile now, but it is still relatively new, and not well understood. Embedded means rooted or planted within, and most of us became familiar with something akin to embedded librarianship when the term “embedded journalism” appeared during the 2003 invasion of Iran.

The concept of embedded librarianship seems to be more common in academic and special libraries, but I propose it is perhaps most needed in public libraries.  In the current economy, and when it is becoming increasingly popular to cut taxes, libraries all over the country are finding themselves in danger. Embedded librarianship positions libraries in the center of their communities.  A recent Library Journal article Community Reference: Making Libraries  Indispensable in a New Way states: “Librarians have the power to change lives and build community—but to do this, we have to leave our desks, leave our buildings, and show the community what a powerful tool we are.”  If you haven’t thought about or researched embedded librarianship, take a look at the article and challenge yourself to consider implementing this in your library.

For more about embedded librarianship see:

• Embedded Librarian
• The Embedded Librarian
• Public Libraries, Privatization, Collaboration … and Embedded Librarianship

Photo © 2009 kismihok,  Flickr.   http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

It’s Good to have Goals (and Vision too!)

Yes, your library needs a strategic plan.  I liken a plan to road map.  You need to have one so you know where you’re going, and be able to measure your progress toward getting there.  You also need one so you can demonstrate to your municipality that you are spending their tax dollars wisely.

You all probably know that plans typically include vision and mission statements, and goals and objectives.  Many of us have trouble writing and defining these, and many of us get them mixed up.  Recently I read the post “A Big Goal is Not the Same as a Vision” on Jesse Lyn Stoner’s blog, and I must say, I found it helpful, so I hope you do too.

goal (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

Vision is not about the path, it’s about the destination. As you take each step, the next step becomes clear as long as you stay focused on your vision.

Goals quantify and define the steps you must take. They are the signposts that let you know you are moving in the right direction. They are measurable and answer questions like When? and How much? (rather than Why? which is addressed by your vision).

A vision is enduring and provides clarity for the next step. A goal ends.

One way to distinguish between a vision and a goal is to ask, “What’s next?” A vision provides clear ongoing direction—it is clear what you should do next. As you take each step, the next one becomes clear. A vision continues to act as a beacon, guiding you in setting new goals once current ones have been achieved.

No matter how big a goal is, it is still a goal, not a vision.  Do read the post and the comments and let me know if you found them helpful!

Libraries are Hot Stuff!!

The big news this week is the heat—I mean, the HEAT—as a record-breaking heat wave continues to sweep much of the United States.   The cool thing for libraries (pardon the pun) is that the heat wave provides them another chance to demonstrate their importance to the community by serving as “cooling stations.”  (Just search for “public libraries cooling stations” and you’ll find countless articles about this.)

Probably as a result of the heat, resulting in over-taxed air conditioning systems, several libraries in southern Wisconsin had to close, but reopened the next day.  Just by keeping their doors open during this time, libraries are providing a much-needed service to their community.

Be Powerful–Be a Partner!

Crowd enjoying Lucas Miller’s program (Photo credit: taylor library)

I’ve written before about the importance of library partnerships—personally, I think partnering with other agencies, organizations, and your community strengthen your ties to your community, and also increases your standing among tax payers.

But you can’t just phone it in.  As the post Libraries are Powerful Partners from the Librarian By Day blog states so eloquently:  “Libraries are Powerful Partners. Now start acting like it.”

To “act like it” here are some of the things powerful partners do:

• contribute
• realize that there are many stakeholders
• offer support for initiatives and ideas they didn’t think of
• are not defensive or hostile
• are team players even when they can’t be leaders
• contribute to the success of others

Thanks for telling it like it is, Bobbi Newman.