I want to be in the Spotlight!

From A Recovering Micromanager…Maybe

By Ceci Marlow Stuart

I have long contended in my library career that, on the whole, librarians are micromanagers. We are by nature controllers, and we are – often perversely – compelled to order the universe. Having worked for micromanagers, been called one and occasionally happily laying claim to the role, I think I might have some insight on the recovery process. MORE

University Won’t Budge in Librarian Salary Talks

By Sarah Smith, The University of California San Diego Guardian: March 12, 2009

A two-year salary negotiation reaches an impasse, as University of California librarians claim that the university has failed to take negotiations seriously. MORE

Find a Job @ Your Library

(CHICAGO) – The State Library of North Carolina realizes that in tough economic times, a key component to library service is helping users locate new job opportunities. To ensure that librarians and library staff have access to the most up to date resources, the state library has created the Job Search workshop – Getting your community back to work, a new job training workshop specifically for librarians. MORE

Eileen Muller, ASFSCME Local 1482 President, Profiled on AFL-CIO NOW Blog

The president of AFSCME Local 1482/Brooklyn Library Guild attributes a great deal of her personal and professional growth to union membership. Eileen Muller’s story, and those of other women who have benefited from union membership, are recounted by James Parks on the AFL-CIO NOW Blog; visit the March 8 posting. MORE

5-Year Pact Gives Librarians Small Raises

By Ann DeMatteo, New Haven Register (CT): March 12, 2009

A new union contract grants New Haven, CT, librarians small, retroactive raises. AFSCME Council 4 president Rose Massari and member Nancy Haig signed the contract with selectmen. MORE

Pratt Office Supervisor Honored with Annual Lidinsky Award

38 Year Pratt Employee receives City’s highest honor in public service

BALTIMORE – The Enoch Pratt Free Library is pleased to announce the recipient of Baltimore City’s 2008 Richard Lidinsky, Sr. Award of Excellence in Public Service is Patricia Williams, Office Supervisor of the Pennsylvania Avenue Branch. MORE

I want to write about Career Advancement!

How to Get Your Resume Critiqued without Getting Caught in a Never-ending Critique Cycle

By David M. Kupas

It is not surprising that the review of resumes by the employer has been described as “the most critical stage in the employment process for the job seeker” (Sullivan 2006). Your resume is after all your introduction to a potential employer, and the difference between being invited to an interview or receiving a generic rejection letter is making a good first impression. Therefore, you need to have a well-written resume which markets your strengths and downplays any weaknesses. MORE

Music Lessons at ALA Annual Conference?

Or How I Learned to Toot My Own Horn

By Lucy Bobeck

Lucy Bobeck shares her impressions of Donna Cardillo’s program “Toot Your Own Horn,” hosted by ALA-APA at ALA’s 2008 Annual Conference. Cardillo is returning to speak at the 2009 Annual Conference in Chicago; visit Programs for the People for more information on ALA-APA’s upcoming 2009 Conference programs. MORE

I want to write about HR Law!

White House Recovery Bill

ALA WASHINGTON OFFICE – Completing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was a long and arduous process for the Obama Administration and the new Congress. Now that President Obama has signed the bill into law, our nation can begin the journey of restoring our economic stability through the programs and initiatives this law will make possible. MORE

Fourth Edition of FMLA Handbook Now Available

Robert M. Schwartz's new book, The FMLA Handbook, is the definitive guide to the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act – and the fourth edition, published in early 2009, is now available. It explains how unions can protect workers who are absent from work for justifiable medical or family-care reasons; block compulsory “light-duty” work programs; force employers to allow part-time schedules; obtain attendance bonuses for workers absent for medical reasons; and much more. Order your copy today from a unionized online bookshop. MORE

I want to write about HR Practice!

Don’t Take it Personally…

By Danielle Colbert-Lewis

Personality differences between employees can spark innovation and constructive debate, but it may also lead to conflict in the workplace. By understanding your personality type, you increase self-awareness and enhance your communication skills. Kurt Lewin famously notes that the way people interact and react in the workplace has a direct bearing on the personality traits and conflict handling modes used. Knowing your personality type or preference, especially in a work environment, benefits you as such knowledge helps you understand how you relate and react to your surroundings. MORE

I want to write about Recruitment!

Employee Retention in a Down Economy

By Candace Fisher

Reprinted with permission from the Management Association of Illinois’s Web site, www.hrsource.org. The article was posted in March 2009.

In this economy, you don’t need to worry about retaining your employees, right? Unemployment is up (7.6% for Illinois in the latest figures available – the highest in over 15 years). You’re inundated with resumes for every position you post (and for many that you don’t). Employees are glad to have a job, aren’t they? Retention was a concern before this economic downturn. First, let’s address the unemployment/overabundance of resumes issue: More isn’t necessarily better. You may be finding yourself sifting through a pile of resumes of candidates who aren’t qualified for your position. They’re, quite literally, desperate to find a job. You may be no closer to finding the truly qualified candidate than in times of low unemployment. Another concern is that individuals may accept any job in order to have a paycheck, and will then, when the economy turns around, “jump ship” for a better opportunity. MORE

I want to write about Salaries!

Support Staff Salaries in CT, 1998-2008:

A Report Based on 3 CLASS Salary Surveys

By Sandy Smith Brooks, MLS

This report is based on a similar report by the same author and Tzou Min Hsiung, “Connecticut Library Association Support Staff (CLASS) Salary Survey Report, 2003,” published in Library Mosaics, (Jan / Feb 2004), vol.15, no.1, pp.10-13, which was in turn based on an initial report by the same author and Leon Shatkin of the CT State Library, “A Study of Library Assistant Positions in Connecticut Libraries,” published in Library Mosaics (May / June 1999), vol.10, no.3, p.13. MORE

I want to write about Support Staff!

Nova Scotia Association of Library Technicians:

First Annual Conference – The Dream

By Erica Smith

The Nova Scotia Association of Library Technicians (NSALT) was still in its infancy when I suggested it host a conference. Response was surprised, and even skeptical, but with the support of the Executive Board we set off to find a host. MORE

I want to write about Work/Life!

Work-life Balance

By Bonnie A. Osif

Author Bonnie Osif provides a thoughtful gloss of contemporary work/life balance literature. Reprinted with permission from the Winter 2009 issue of Library Administration and Management, a publication of the Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA). MORE

Editors: Jenifer Grady, Jamie Bragg

Index of all articles from volume 1, no. 1, though volume 6, no. 3.