The Director, The Staff, and Leadership in the Public Library

1
The Director, The Staff, and Leadership in the
Public Library

• Managing and Surviving in an Effective and
  Democracy-Enhancing Workplace
• LS 530 Dr. Weddle

2
Quality, Equity, and Access

• Privatization vs. Outsourcing
• Publics right to know trumps pure efficiency
  privatization issues
• Public Law vs. Private, Contract, Tort and
  Property Law
• First Amendment Freedom of Information
  Confidentiality
• Sunshine Laws
• Private sector business models dont translate
  well to public libraries, though skillful
  management is essential
• Profit shouldnt be an issue, though fiscal
  responsibility must be
• Good reads on library privatization
  http//www.cupe.ca/arp/09/7.asp
• http//www.privatization.org/database/policyissue
  s/libraries_local.html2

3
Challenges Pressures

• Change
• Conflict
• Inflation
• Anti-tax movement
• Others?

4
Information Flow

• Directives from Municipality community board ?
  Director ? Staff
• Messages from Staff ? Director ? Municipality
  community board
• Director is Lynchpin and so much more

5
Many Hats of the Director

• Visionary Leadership
• Institutional Value Setter
• Mentor
• Bearer exerciser of authority and
  responsibility for the library
• Focus on serving needs of library users

6
Career Patterns

• Probably a majority of public libraries are
  directed by women but
• The larger the library, the more likely it is to
  be directed by a man.

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Career Patterns

• More than half of directors of medium-size
  libraries are between ages 35-44.
• For larger libraries, average age is about 52
  years, with 16-28 years of experience.
• Women directors tend to be older than male
  counterparts, became directors later in life,
  remained single.

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Career Patterns

• Directors tend to find the work deeply
  satisfying, although
• Directors of small and medium size libraries are
  more likely to feel underpaid and overworked.

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Duties of the Public Library Director

• Deliver best possible library service, consistent
  with pre-established policies, that can be
  purchased with available funds
• The Board sets policy, not the director

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Duties of the Public Library Director

• Staff the library
• Plan and carry out programs
• Assess the librarys progress and success and
  report periodically to staff, board, and
  community
• Market library services and programs to the
  community

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Duties of the Public Library Director

• Gauge librarys funding needs and articulate them
  through a budget
• Assure adequate collection of materials to
  support community needs
• Provide professional library leadership to the
  staff and the community
• Manage and administer the operation of the library

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Duties of the Public Library Director

• External
• Figurehead
• Liaison
• Monitor
• Spokesperson
• Negotiator

• Internal
• Leader
• Disseminator
• Entrepreneur
• Disturbances Handler
• Resource Allocator

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Manager or Leader?

• Manager
• Vested with authority by organization
• The best managers are also good leaders

• Leader
• Willingly accorded authority by group members
• Leadership is integrity, courage, wise judgment,
  empathy, persuasion, planning, optimism, and
  flexibility

14
Values and Vision

• Values Core Principles personal (Family,
  religion, etc.) and professional (Library Bill of
  Rights Freedom to Read Statement)
• Beliefs flow from values
• Attitudes are situational and based upon values
  and beliefs

• Vision Clarity of Purpose derived from values,
  beliefs, attitudes, intelligence, imagination,
  knowledge and pragmatism
• Effective directors clearly articulate vision
  both internally and externally
• Vision helps directors stay focused on what is
  best for the library community both short-term
  and long-term

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Power and Delegation

• Authority is different from power
• Power is earned over time and conferred by
  library constituency
• Staff support of director and library policy is
  essential
• Successful delegation means the right person is
  chosen and is properly trained for the job
• Delegate those tasks which you are overpaid to do
• The delegated buck still stops with the director

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Work Patterns

• Directors tend to have poor time management skill
• The Public Service route to the directors chair
• Insecure and overwhelmed
• Too many meetings
• Library work is never done
• Procrastination

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Relations with the Board

• Performance Evaluation for the Director
• Administration
• Leadership
• Budget Finance
• Communication
• Decision-Making Problem-Solving
• Public Relations
• Development of Human Resources
• Professional Development

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Termination of a Director

• Consistent negative evaluation
• Written documentation, gathered over time
• Termination hearing
• Lack of due process can leave a library
  vulnerable to a lawsuit

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Recruitment of New Director

• Board must
• Establish a search schedule, including timeline
  and budget
• Clarify for itself what qualities are sought, in
  order to find best fit for library
• Decide who will participate in search, usually
  not including the former director
• Perhaps hire a consultant

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Recruitment of New Director

• Define the job and/or update the job description
• Develop the search strategy
• Conduct the search
• Narrow the field to 3-5 candidates
• Decide if the search will be local, regional or
  nationwide
• Decide on remuneration
• Decide on necessary qualifications (degrees and
  experience)

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Soliciting Applications

• Recruitment Ads in
• Nearest metropolitan newspaper
• One or two the following Library Journal,
  American Libraries, Wilson Library Bulletin,
  Library Hot Line
• Also National Conferences

22
Soliciting Applications

• Advertising for the position is also advertising
  the library
• Send candidates full information packets annual
  reports, long-range and master plans, other
  statistical and narrative in-house and external
  documents
• Narrow the list, check references, and conduct
  interviews

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The New Director

• Two most important objectives
• 1. Put the staff at ease
• 2. Learn everything about the organization and
  how it functions

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The First Year

• Hold periodic meetings with top and middle
  managers
• Meet both formally and informally with the board
• Get to know both elected and appointed local
  officials
• Establish a presence with schools, cultural, and
  social groups and institutions
• Get to know people in the media
• Make friends with the Friends

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The First Year

• Get to know other directors in the area and the
  state
• Become familiar with relevant data concerning
  your library and community
• Spend time in all library departments
• Take staff on retreat and work on team building

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The First Year

• Attend community events
• Evaluate library programming begin bragging to
  community about strengths
• Take your time and LISTEN before you make any
  changes which affect individuals and/or programs
• Plan a vacation and take it

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The First Year

• Thank people as you go
• Strengthen staff development programs
• Use library, board, and community colleagues as
  mentors, friends, resources, stimulators and
  sounding boards
• Use your honeymoon wisely

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Relations with Staff

• Challenge, encourage and reward
• Constructive criticism when needed
• Be the staffs voice to the Board (compensation
  and professional opportunities)
• Inform and encourage participation

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Recruiting New Librarians

• Make the library dynamic and exciting
• Assign professional responsibilitiesincluding
  planning evaluation to professional
  librarians
• Mentor

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Professional Librarians

• Professional Librarians hold MLS or equivalent,
  sometimes additional graduate degrees
• Serve in leadership positions, direct
  departments, plan and develop programs, oversee
  non-professional staff

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Professional Librarians

• Seek autonomy, variety, innovation and
  flexibility in a quality work environment
• The Compleat Librarian

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Support Staff

• Para-professionals, technical specialists,
  library assistants clerks
• Wide range of educational backgrounds High
  School to Graduate School
• Highly educated support staff can become
  frustrated doing clerical work

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Pages

• Shelve books and periodicals
• Traditionally high school students
• More recent Senior citizens

34
Successful Volunteer Program

• Well-organized
• Staff included in the organization of the program
• Volunteers assigned meaningful tasks
• Library expresses gratitude to volunteers
• Someone must be in charge staff member, board
  member, other volunteer

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Successful Volunteer Program

• Volunteers must have explicit work schedules,
  vacation times, and duties
• Volunteer contract arrangements can be used to
  keep things running smoothly
• Library may offer letter of recommendation in
  lieu of pay
• Heavy staff involvement is crucial
• Volunteer programs arent right for all libraries

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Potential Volunteer Problems

• Political hot potato
• May jeopardize funding and support
• May jeopardize publics perception of
  librarianship as a profession

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Conditions of Employment

• Salaries should be seen as being fair
• Internal Equity
• External Equity
• Systematic approach to salary administration
• Support staff wages based on local market

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Pay Equity and Comparable Worth

• Equal work for equal pay is required by law
• Librarianship is a feminized profession, but men
  tend to hold the higher paying jobs
• Low market value in general for public librarians

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Fringe Benefits

• Fringe benefits can be as much as 35 of a salary
  package
• Health Insurance
• Retirement
• Personal Days
• Sick Leave
• Life Insurance
• Disability
• Other (tuition remission leaves of absence)

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Working Conditions

• Hours 35-40 hours per week, including weekends
  and evenings for public service staff
• Flextime and job-sharing tend to increase staff
  morale, though neither is easy to implement
  uniformly
• Physical Facilities Lack of comfort equals
  unhappy employees, though the reverse of this is
  not necessarily true

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Staff Recruitment

• Excessive Turnover vs. Lack of Turnover
• Filling a vacancy is a complex activity
• Position analysis job description
• Recruitment from within and without (advertising,
  interviewing, checking references)
• Hiring, orienting and training the new employee

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Performance Appraisal

• Provides constructive assistance to staff
• Assists with decisions about promotions and
  salaries
• Creates a paper trail
• Is difficult, disliked and mistrusted
• Is complicated, time-consuming, sometimes
  confrontational, which may lead to inflated
  evaluations
• Is necessary

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Performance Appraisal

• Generally supervisor-generated using objective
  scales
• Self-Appraisal places most responsibility on
  employees
• Peer Appraisal is collegial review
• Subordinate Appraisals review supervisors

44
Grievance Procedures

• May be mandated by civil service law
• May be stipulated in union service contract
• May simply be suggested by need to comply fairly
  with state and federal labor law

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Termination of Employment

• Budget shortfall
• Soft money
• Inadequate job performance
• Periodic performance appraisals for staff
• Written summation of discussions regarding
  performance given to employee AND placed in
  his/her file shows good faith
• Handle termination with respect and care

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Burnout

• Begins with stress
• Overload
• Feelings of inadequacy
• Underload
• Unsatisfactory interpersonal relationships with
  co-workers, the public, etc.
• Lack of positive feedback
• Lack of effective supervision
• Career concerns

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Burnout

• Middle Managers very susceptible
• Vulnerable personality types
• Workaholics
• Impatient and competitive people
• Unassertive people who cant say no
• Perfectionists
• Young singles
• People with alternative lifestyles

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Prevention Strategies

• Job redesign
• Job rotation (e.g. CEO program in AZ)
• Good for plateaued staff
• Learning curve can temporarily lower productivity
• Requires detailed planning and preparation
• Improving inter-personal relations by more
  effective communication strategies
• Support and counseling

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Encouraging Staff

• Continuing Education Staff Development
• Supervision Mentoring
• Meetings Retreats
• Ethical Conduct in Personnel Matters

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Summary

• Visionary, ethical, supportive director
• Engaged, motivated, supported staff
• Satisfied municipality, community, board
• Democracy well-served