I want to be in the Spotlight!

Supervision Without Micromanagement

By Pat Wagner

What is the difference between constructive criticism and being a control freak? When and how is it appropriate to provide feedback and make suggestions? Listed below are three examples of micromanagement:

• The circulation supervisor requires shelvers to place books on the book cart in one specific order, even though only one shelver will be using each cart.
• The administrator demands that branch managers produce lengthy, daily, reports about, well, everything.
• The library trustee decides which pencils the director buys. MORE

Library looks at $1 million in cuts

By Joyce Chen, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington): November 9, 2009

To offset a $1 million budget cut, the Pierce County Library System plans to eliminate lay off 25 employees and reduce the responsibilities and pay of nearly 40 more. If the budget is cut by another $.5 million, the Board will reduce its staffing budget even further. MORE

Libraries Feel Budget Bite; Hours, Staff Cut; Lines Grow Longer

By Bernard Harris, Intelligencer Journal/New Era (Lancaster, Pennsylvania): November 6, 2009

A 20 percent cut in state funding has led the Lancaster Public Library to eliminate ten positions. MORE

Library project gets push

By John Appleton, The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts): November 5, 2009

In the face of potential layoffs and certain budget cuts, the head of the Clapp Memorial Library continues to support library expansion. But some in the Belchertown Finance Committee argue that the expansion is unsustainable in the current economic climate. MORE

I want to write about Career Advancement!

The Fixer-Upper

By Kelly Sattler

(revised December 4, 2009)

I am fortunate in these economic times to have students from a local community college intern at my work. For the price of college credits, the student gains knowledge and experience while I gain 160–200 hours of free labor towards improving our website. My selection of interns has been limited to one candidate per summer. If I had to pay the student for her work, our most recent candidate would not have been hired. MORE

Call For Certification, Publishing, Fundraising, and Better Salaries Committee Volunteers

American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) President-elect Roberta Stevens is seeking applications and nominations for appointments to 2010-2011 ALA Allied Professional Association committees. Appointments take effect at the conclusion of the 2010 Annual Conference. MORE

I want to write about Certification!

Seventeen Students Complete First Course in the Library Support Staff Certification Program

The Library Support Staff Certification project celebrates the completion of its first course, Supervision and Management, offered by the State Library of Louisiana (SLOL).

Instructor and administrator Michael Golrick was pleased by the “level of enthusiasm and interest” demonstrated by the seventeen students who completed the course. “We thought we would have to do a great deal of marketing in order to get people interested in both certification and in the course,” says Golrick, who also serves as SLOL’s Head of Reference and Library Consultant.MORE

I want to write about HR Practice!

10 Attributes for Leaders during Times of Crisis

By Michael A. Germano, J.D., M.A., M.S.

The current economic downturn has resulted in one of the most challenging job markets in more than half a century. Lay-offs, salary freezes, furloughs and restrictions on hiring have combined to create a climate of fear and anxiety for job seekers as well as those who remain employed in virtually all industries and work environments. Furthermore, company- and industry-wide budget cuts and resource reductions have combined to radically change the way people work and feel about their jobs. MORE

I want to write about Recruitment!

North Carolina State University Libraries Fellows, 2010–2012

The NCSU Libraries Fellows program offers a unique opportunity to a select group of M.L.S. or M.I.S. graduates who will receive the degree in November 2009 or later.  The NCSU Libraries is particularly well known for its digital library programs, its technological advances, and its commitment to defining the future of librarianship.  The NCSU Libraries offers Fellows the opportunity for rapid professional growth through assignment to an innovative project, combined with experience and mentoring in a department.  Fellows are appointed to the rank of librarian for a two-year term.  Search by position number C-60-0916. MORE

I want to write about Salaries!

Pay Equity: It’s More Than Loving Being a Librarian!

Lessons Learned from the North Carolina Library Association Pay Equity Study

Prepared by Dr. Paula M. Singer, Dr. Beverley Gass and Ms. Laura Francisco, PHR

During her term as president of NCLA, Pauletta Bracy organized a Task Force on Pay Equity to investigate issues of pay equity for library personnel in North Carolina. “Conventional wisdom,” she stated, “tells us that professions composed mainly of women have been compensated at a lower level than professions composed mainly of men.” MORE

I want to write about Statistics!

2008 LIS Grads Faced Longer Searches, Lower Salaries; Some Improvement in Minority Compensation

Data from Library Journal’s annual Placements and Salaries survey is in. The 2008 graduates’ experiences—unsurprisingly—reflect 2008’s economic slowdown, with fewer full-time jobs available to new grads, and the first decrease in average beginning salary in eighteen years. The survey attracted responses from nearly 32 percent of the year’s LIS graduates (2,098 respondents, of approximately 6,500), and collected data on those graduates (race, gender, alma mater) and their placement (library type, region, salary and full- vs. part-time employment). MORE

I want to write about Support Staff!

MPLA 2010 Leadership Institute Application Online

The application for the Mountain Plains Library Association 2010 Leadership Institute is now online. This 7th MPLA Institute will be held April 25-30 in Estes Park, Colorado. It will again be facilitated by nationally known organizational development consultant Maureen Sullivan. Applications must be postmarked November 30, 2009. MORE

I want to write about Work/Life!

Life’s Work

By Jill Markgraf

As I prepare to send my firstborn off to college, I am reflecting on the past 18 years as a parent and as a librarian. In assessing the progress of my life’s work from the vantage point of middle age and mid-career, it is easy to identify the very real role parenthood played in deterring or delaying professional goals. Decisions were made that necessarily place family above work. But how often do we acknowledge the ways in which being a parent has made us better librarians? The choice to become a parent may preclude some professional opportunities along the way, but it also develops valuable skills and perspectives that enrich one’s professional life and effectiveness. MORE

Library workers urged to participate in survey of workplace wellness in libraries

CHICAGO – The American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) and the Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment HRDR are encouraging library employees to participate in the 2009-2010 Library Workplace Wellness online survey. The survey provides an important opportunity for library employees to share information about the availability of, and employee participation in, work/life options in libraries around the nation. MORE

Editors: Jenifer Grady, Jamie Bragg

Index of all articles from volume 1, no. 1, though volume 6, no. 10.

Participate in the 2009-2010 Workplace Wellness online survey.