Library Worklife

Support Staff

Highlights from the 37 th Annual COLT Conference in Orlando, Florida

The Council on Library/Media Technicians (COLT) held its 37th Annual Conference in Orlando, FL, at the Sheraton World Resort, June 23-26th. The theme was “Library Support Staff: Gaining Recognition in a Changing Time.” The session leaders and keynote speakers, Dr. Derrie Perez and Lorelle Swader, were well-versed in encouraging both new support staff and “old timers” to showcase the value they provide to their patrons and colleagues.

An evening at the Arabian Nights Dinner Theater, as well as the other attractions Orlando offers meant that the learning and reflection was interspersed with lots of fun. Participants also to take a virtual tour of the Disney libraries and received a pass to wander through the ALA Exhibit Hall.

Coverage

Session: What is going on in the Library World—Things You Should Know
Awards Banquet and Keynote Speech
Awards Presentation

Session: What is going on in the Library World—Things You Should Know

Did you know you work in a magic place? Linda Slusar, College of DuPage (IL), had a patron who said, “Libraries are magic—things are always in the same place from year to year.” She hosted a “Jeopardy”-like gameshow about how our magical workspaces are changing in ways that are not always visible to patrons or even visible to us. Linda used this engaging format to update the audience about changes in the profession. The color-coded teams chose questions from Technology, World of Work, Society, and the Future. Linda made the game even more entertaining with the video clips illustrating each category and canned “applause.” She used the 2003 OCLC Environmental Scan: Pattern Recognition as the basis for much of the content.

We had interesting discussions about each category. What are your answers to these? For Linda’s answers, send her an e-mail.

Technology

What does it mean to say that the modern library is based on scarcity of information?
Is “Blog” a noun or a verb?
Do electronic journals cost more or less?
What is RFID?

World of Work

What does it mean to a “currently unassigned” contractor?
What is the difference between accreditation and certification?

Society

What does “serving you better, serving you less” mean to you?
What is the “third space?”
What does the “collapse of Divine” mean in the library world?

Future

What is the answer to the “Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything"?
Spiritus Mundi?

Awards Banquet, featuring Lorelle Swader

The Awards Banquet honored the recipients of the Library Mosaics 2003 and 2004 Support Staff and Supporter of Support Staff Awards. After a welcome from Conference Chair Paula Greer, Lorelle Swader took the stage. After her remarks, Raymond Roney, founder of COLT and Library Mosaics magazine, presented the awards with heartfelt remarks about the accomplishments and impact of Sylvia Skene, Carolyn Tate, and Kent Slade.

Keynote Speaker: Lorelle Swader, Director, ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment

Lorelle began by telling us how her mother, a teacher, was responsible for her lifelong love of libraries. Lorelle’s mother took her to the library and got her first library card at age 5. Her father was in the Army so they moved around a lot and lived in several places. Lorelle patronized bookmobiles, which she liked because they were cool in the summer and they came to them in their neighborhoods. She recalled Miss Upshaw, a support staffer at her high school as an early positive library influence. She did not know that Miss Upshaw was not the “librarian” (although there was one) at the school, but Miss Upshaw was the helpful person she needed.

Lorelle was a library employee for all of her college years, both undergraduate and graduate, in the acquisitions department of the university Halls of Residence libraries. She reflected about how times had changed, since she worked with tapes and albums. She shared that one her of colleagues mentioned how his 5-year old son commented while viewing an album, “that’s an awfully big CD.” Steve Moffitt, a graduate student in the LIS program, was her supervisor. He convinced her to give library school a try and led her to the admissions director. She applied.

Support staff are the lifeblood of libraries, like nurses are for hospitals. Lorelle recounted the contributions support staff have made to the profession, starting in 1967 with the creation of COLT. COLT became an affiliate of ALA, preceding the creation of Library Support Staff Issue Round Table (LSSIRT) at ALA. Lorelle noted how ALA is recognizing support staff now. LSSIRT leaders were vocal about bringing support staff into discussions about the profession, from Council on Professional Education (COPE) I to the present. Dorothy Morgan, former president of LSSIRT, took the action to the ALA Executive Board on behalf of LSSIRT for there to be a third COPE and pushed for support staff to be the focus for COPE3. The delegates of COPE3 (and members of LSSIRT) have pushed for several recommendations including inclusive language and assistance with ALA conference attendance.

There’s room for both organizations at the table, Lorelle contends. LSSIRT is within ALA, benefiting from the “big arm” of a national organization behind it. Support staff needs COLT as a mirroring organization outside of ALA because it has autonomy. Lorelle said if it takes a village to raise a child, it will take more than one organization to represent support staff, especially since the two organizations represent less than 1% of all library support staff. Both must collaborate and rewrite the history of library support staff. COLT is partnering with LSSIRT, the ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment, Library Mosaics, and the ALA-Allied Professional Association and they are all here to support support staff.

Lorelle ended with these words, “If no one else says it—on behalf of librarians—thank you.”

Awards Presentation

Sylvia Skene received the 2003 Support Staff Award for her work coordinating the British Columbia Support Staff Conference. She is a library technician at the Advanced Education Media Acquisitions Centre, Langara College, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. She challenges herself and others to “go beyond known skills.” In her speech she encouraged the audience to “keep thinking, proposing, and trying.”

Carolyn Tate is the 2004 Support Staff Award winner. She was called a “true pioneer” by Raymond for her involvement and advocacy at state and national levels on behalf of support staff. She recently retired from her position as acquisition assistant at the Boatwright Library, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia. She called the award the nicest honor she received.along with retirement.

Kent Slade, 2004 Supporter of Support Staff Award winner, reminds people that librarians go to conferences, but it’s the support staff that keeps the library going while their gone. Kent is Electronic Services Librarian at the Logan Library, Logan Utah. He is inspired by support staff, and has been active in support staff organizations in Utah and ALA. He likened support staff to the “little hinges [that] swing big doors.”

At the end, Raymond asked for all VIPs to please stand. You’ll have to come to the next conference to be in the powerful presence of all of the VIPs who attend COLT conferences.