Public Libraries Seminar Discussion #6: People and Staffing
2 October 2024
We have chosen to focus our annotated bibliography on library leadership and administration. The resources we have chosen fall under four categories:
• Ethics & Values
• Inclusive Leadership
• Staff Well-Being
• Leadership Development / Future Leaders
For this discussion, pretend like you are in a management position at a public library. At your library, a 3D printer has been introduced and some of the staff have found the implementation of the new technology frustrating to work with. Staff members have been noticeably irritable because the 3D printer is too complex and creating more work for them. This problem has begun to compromise the overall efficiency of the library. Answer the following questions regarding how you would keep up staff morale at the library and engage with one another to solve the problem.
1. What leadership strategies would you adopt if you were in a management position at a public library?
2. Reflect on the resources in the annotated bibliography and your own experiences (they do not have to be exclusively library-related!)-- what strengths do you have that might assist you in this scenario?
I'm not one who would like to bill myself a leader in libraries, for various reasons, so any contribution I have to this discussion is quite theoretical. Nonetheless, the notion of adding a 3D printer to a library's services causing a kerfuffle is something I find a little humorous—not because of its implausibility, only because there are plenty more obvious and important issues more liable to cause trouble than a 3D printer, unless said library had a makerspace that drew heavy foot traffic. To me, this would have to be the proverbial service that breaks a branch's workload, which leads to the question: what in the world was the process of implementing this 3D printer service like?
One of the most common causes of burnout in library workers—and let's be honest, probably everywhere—is a lack of communication (MacAnulty, n.d; Lindén et al., 2018), especially in regards to delegating workloads. And during the planning/needs assessment process for that most foundational of foundational library documents, the strategic plan, I'd imagine most guidance would encourage administrators to get input from staff alongside the patrons asking for 3D printing services (Chadwick, et al., 2024). So that first question ends up as an inquiry that splinters into a lot more questions: who was consulted in the decision-making process? What avenues were provided for people to give feedback? Did administration or other major decision-makers actually take staff feedback into account in the process? Was there a timeframe given on when these printers would be put into branches? If these printers were intended to the domain of a specific department, was their current workload taken into consideration for this delegation? Were they given proper training or any devoted on how to use the printers? Was this effort done to address any specific goal in the strategic plan or another metric? And so on, and so forth. If the addition of the printers are causing a lot of trouble, signs point to there being either a "no" for an important question or lots of "nos" for lots of questions.
Obviously, the most basic step for any manager would be to establish proper communication between the branch staff and the decision-maker(s), even if there's a gulf between the two. If I were to serve as a mediator in this case, I would try to get in contact with all the affected staff, listen to what their complaints and concerns are, then gather them all into a single document or so, then meet with the decision-makers to directly discuss the major points and/or trends among staff, and how they would address each. This wouldn't necessarily solve the actual problem at hand, but it would at least show that someone is finally aware and listening, and would be an important first step towards improving things.
But, as other classmates have noted, what if the addition of these 3D printers were agreed upon and willingly allowed to happen by the majority? What if there's a problem with staff who find themselves with a responsibility they didn't really want? In a "perfect world," all staff would have some basic understanding of how the printers operate, but if some staff truly feel they lack the aptitude to properly handle them, then hours would have to be limited to only when staff who are ready and willing to assist with the printer are available. This is something that can be done informally, but would absolutely if it were a formally established program to prevent any misunderstanding or staff getting pressured into assistance. For example, many libraries offer free notary services through their adult research departments, which require staff to be trained as notary publics; so in a similar vein, staff who accept the responsibility can choose to be trained in operating and assisting with the printer, and the printer will only be accessible when these staff members are present.
References
Chadwick, K., Eberle, M., & Lanza-Galindo, O. (2024, September 18). Needs assessment- Strategic planning for libraries. Massachusetts Library System. Retrieved October 1, 2024, from: https://guides.masslibsystem.org/strategicplanning
Lindén, M., Salo, I., & Jansson, A. (2018). Organizational stressors and burnout in public librarians. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 50(2), 199–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000616666130
Macanulty, A. (n.d.). Burn-out in public libraries: A communication strategy for supporting library workers. British Columbia Library Association. https://bclaconnect.ca/perspectives/2023/05/05/burn-out-in-public-libraries-a-communication-strategy-for-supporting-library-workers/