Library Alchemy

Today’s sessions included:

ALA Recruitment Assembly

Some of the Emerging Leader projects, including my team’s initiative, are tied to the Assembly’s work, so I thought it would be good to show up and see how they operate.  We discussed the various team projects, and I gave a summary of our team’s initial efforts.  I really enjoyed hearing about one team’s work expanding the recruitment wiki, a tool ALA members can use in their own recruitment efforts or in conjunction with their community partnerships.

Do you recruit people to librarianship, or to ALA? It’s something I love doing, mostly because I believe in libraries and library workers, and all the things we can do. Things don’t look great in the short term, to be certain. If, however, you pull back and take the long view, a world where information keeps expanding exponentially is a world that’s going to need a lot of information professionals. And you can’t have professionals without the word “profess,” which would be my first pick for a word to replace “recruitment.”

At any rate, here’s a semi-hypothetical question for you: if you had five minutes to talk about libraries and librarianship, what would you say? Would you be willing to say it on video? In a podcast? Would you prefer to write a humanifesta? What’s the best way to get the word out about libraries and librarians?

Dialogue With Directors Discussion Group

Ever wonder what directors, managers and administrators are thinking?  This discussion group was an interesting peek into the minds and thoughts of upper management, and if you think you’re too far removed from those concerns, you’re underestimating the value in understanding how people at all levels of your organization think.

Most of the discussion centered around the job-hunting process, which makes sense.  It’s good to know just how the rules and politics change once you reach a certain level of achievement.  Public library directors, for example, are hired by boards, and are expected to do different things than, say, middle managers.  Still, being a director seems so far out of reach at the moment; I found the following general advice most useful and helpful for the here and now:

• Take on extra projects, especially when times are tough
• Seek out good mentors
• Make people your passion, because leadership/management are about supporting people
• Create a list of skills you want, then seek out projects/opportunities to build those skills
• Conduct informational interviews with people who have the kind of job you want
• Be able to say no to opportunities that aren’t right for you
• Be willing to pitch in and get your hands dirty, no matter what level job you have

SRRT Action Council

I thought this was going to be the membership meeting, but apparently that was a typo in the program – member meetings are only held at annual.  It worked out well, though, because I got to spend more time observing parliamentary meeting procedure and learned about a number of cool SRRT projects in process.

For example, there’s a resolution that went to Council Forum tonight suggesting that ALA start a “One Book, One Conference” project.  The resolution specifically indicated that a book devoted to Palestinian concerns (a few titles were suggested) would be a good selection, considering the current conflict in Gaza.  This is a controversial notion, but the point of SRRT is not to be popular:  it’s to raise questions and offer a dissenting view.  And without its dissenters and freethinkers, organizations become stagnant, stale, unable to change and grow. 

Another development I’m looking forward to is SRRT’s upcoming experimentation with OPAL for virtual meetings and task completion.  Social justice and technology – like chocolate and peanut butter, they’re just better together.  If you’re interested in alternative media; hunger, homelessness and poverty; GLBTQ issues; feminism; the environment, or a host of other social concerns, visit their page and see if this is the ALA slot that’s right for you.

We’ve covered a lot of territory over the last few days, in an attempt to shed some light on as many different parts of ALA as possible.  I remain amazed at how we’re all working toward the same goal – effective libraries – but use different skills, tools, and philosophies to achieve it.

What’s your role in your library?  Where do you feel like you’re doing the most good?  What tasks are you drawn to naturally?  Do see membership in a professional association as something that enhances your career, or your ability to serve?  Both?  Neither?  What roles and functions of library service are you happy to leave to others?  Your ever-curious alchemist wants to know!