ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 / 523 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s news Thirteen tips that can save you by Steven W. Sowards E very year, scores o f successful front-line librarians becom e supervisors for the first time. T hese n ew m iddle m anagers will fa situations for w hich their past experiences of­ fer limited guidance. Most will persevere and learn by the process o f trial and error, but few o f us enjoy learning from mistakes. The following observations from a new su­ pervisor com pleting his first lap a ro u n d the track may spare som eone else a few unneces­ sary missteps. Tips fo r new m iddle m anagers 1 Y o u s u p e r v is e t h e p e o p l e i n y o u r u n it. Y o u d o n ’t o w n th e m . Congratulations, now yo u ’re a supervisor! For the first time, you’ll get to tell other people in y o u r library w h at you w an t them to do. (D o n ’t forget to o so o n w h at it’s like to be on the receiving en d o f an order.) Before you commit som eone else’s time to a project, ask for their input; in som e cases, ask for in p u t from your unit as a w hole. G et advice; get volunteers. Your staff and colleagues are m uch m ore likely to d o w hat you ask o f them , if they kn o w w h at n eed s to b e d o n e an d w hy a n d are allow ed to act o n their ow n ideas. 2 E v e r y o n e i n y o u r u n it w i l l b e b e tte r at s o m e t h in g th a n y o u are. Many o f th e librarians an d su p p o rt staff you w o rk w ith will b e highly qualified an d c ex p erien ced at doing their jobs. Your job is to m anage them , not e to outdo them. Be grateful for their skills. W hy sho u ld y o u r limita­ tions act as a cap on w hat others can accom plish? W ould you take your car to mechanics w h o w o rk e d th a t way? W o u ld y o u ta k e y o u r child to a hospital run along those lines? 3 D o n ’t c o n fu s e y o u r g o a ls w i t h t h e p r o ­ c e s s o f a tta in in g th e m . If organizations could solve problem s sim­ ply by writing dow n answers, the world w ould be a happier place. Announcing what you hope to d o isn’t en o u g h to m ake it h ap p en . Y ou’ll n e e d to id en ­ tify the specific measures neces­ sary to re a c h y o u r goals, put those steps into lo g ic a l o r d e r , gather resources and support, and start at the b e ­ ginning. A g o o d m anager may sp e n d his or h e r w h o l e About the author Steven W. Sowards is head o f Social Sciences a n d H um anities Reference a t M ichigan State University Libraries in East Lansing, e-m ail: sowards@ pilot.m su.edu Observations of a first-year middle manager mailto:sowards@pilot.msu.edu 524 / C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 te n u re trying to re a c h final g o als th a t w e re id en tified th e first d ay o n th e job. 4 R em em b er that p ro ced u res e x is t to h e lp p e o p le b e effective. T he larger th e library, th e g reater the n e c e s­ sity for procedures to ensure consistency and id en tify th e o rg a n iz a tio n ’s s h a re d beliefs a b o u t th e b est w ays to get things d o n e . But p ro c e d u re s can also g e t in th e w ay in som e specific situations. W hen th e b u rd e n o f follow ing p rocedure is in terfe rin g w ith s o m e o n e ’s ability to g et th e job d o n e, consider setting th e p rocedure aside for a w hile. 5 I n v e r t t h e ta b le o f o r g a n iz a tio n : a c t a s i f e m p lo y e e s are b o sse s. This is hardly an original thought, bu t it will m ake m ore sense after you b eco m e a m iddle manager. Consider some stereotypical ideas about the ways in which w e have to deal with “the boss”: most o f us expect to report frequently o n w hat w e are doing; justify w h at w e have in mind; an d ask the boss w hat w e should d o to help w ith getting his o r h e r w ork done. You can help your staff by doing the sam e k in d s o f things: re p o rt to th em o f­ te n a b o u t w h a t you k n o w ; ask th em h o w yo u can h e lp th em s u c c e e d w i t h t h e i r assign­ m e n ts ; and go to b a t o n th e ir b e h a lf to g e t th e co m p u te rs, fa­ cilities, time, a n d o th e r resources they need. W ork fo r y o u r e m p lo y e e s, n o t o v e r them . At th e sam e time: 6 A ct a s i f b o s s e s are e m p lo y e e s . If y o u “w o rk fo r y o u r e m p lo y e e s ,” it m akes sense that your boss can w ork for you, to o . Tell y o u r su p erv iso r exactly w h a t y o u r goals an d plans are; spell out w hat you n eed from th e s u p e rv iso r to m ak e y o u r u n it su c ­ cessful; an d ask for frequent reports o n w hat is g o in g o n in o th e r units. Tell y o u r b oss w h at w o rk ed an d w h at d id n ’t, w h a t y o u sa w in his o r h e r a ctio n s th a t yo u liked, an d w h a t s h o u ld n ’t b e d o n e again. (Naturally, you will n e e d to strike the rig h t to n e w h e n yo u d o so .) W h e th e r yo u are com m unicating u p, d o w n , o r across the ta b le o f o rg a n iz a tio n , c o u rte sy is a w ise policy. 7 N ot e v er y p r o b le m n e e d s to b e so lv e d — at le a s t n o t r ig h t a w ay. M ore precisely, n o t every a p p a re n t p roblem pro v es to b e a real o n e after m ore light falls o n th e situ atio n . T h e real p ro b le m m ay r e ­ veal itself to b e sub stan tially d ifferen t from th e a p p a re n t p ro b le m as it first cam e in to view . Som e situ atio n s d o re q u ire an im m e­ diate response, but m ost perm it you the time to observe, to g ath er inform ation, a n d to re­ flect b e fo re y o u act—or decide th a t a ctio n is n o lo n g e r required. 8 S o m e tim e s d o i n g t h e s u p e r v is o r ’s jo b w e l l ju st m e a n s n o t d o in g it b ad ly. M aking a d ecision, e v e n if later it p ro v es to b e a m ed io cre re s p o n se , g en erally is b e tte r th a n n e g lec tin g to act all. R ead y o u r mail, su b m it y o u r p a p e rw o rk o n tim e, g o to th e c o m m itte e m e e tin g s y o u ’re a ss ig n e d to a tte n d , re tu rn y o u r te le ­ p hone calls an d e-mail messages (even if your b e st a n sw e r is som etim es, “I d o n ’t k n o w ”). O th e r p e o p le in th e o rg a n iz a tio n are rely ­ ing o n you, or at least w aiting for you. D o n ’t h o ld things up. 9 D o in g y o u r jo b w e ll is n o t e n o u g h —y o u m u s t a ls o a p p e a r to d o it w e ll. If yo u a n d y o u r u n it w a n t full c red it for th e w o rk you do, let p e o p le in o th er areas know w h a t y o u are d o in g . N o o n e can act o n th e basis o f y o u r accom plishm ents if y o u r w ork rem ains a secret. No o n e can learn from your exp erien ces if th ey hav e n e v e r b e e n shared. N or w ill y o u r staff h a v e a fair s h o t at reco g ­ n itio n a n d m erit, u n le s s th e ir id eas a n d achievem ents are know n. C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 / 525 10S a v e y o u r s u p e r v i s o r f r o m b e i n g su r p r ise d , e s p e c ia lly w h e n th e n e w s is b ad . T h ere are few things w o rse for a higher level adm inistrator th a n b e in g ask ed to com ­ o r telephone call from the media. T he pain you sp are y o u r boss in the short run is n o t en o u g h to justify the em barrassm ent and indecision that could occur in th e long run. Most bosses w o n ’t shoot the messenger, at least not fatally. O n the o 1 th 1 er hand: D o n ’t b e a s n it c h . Feel free to tell your boss about the busi­ ness o f y o u r unit. T hink tw ice before “telling” o n y o u r fellow m anagers. If th e situation in a n o th e r unit is affecting yours, talk to y o u r colleague an d try to resolve the problem . If the solution req u ires authority o u tsid e y o u r joint resources, go to your supervisor—together. No o n e trusts a snitch, an d w h en the flow o f infor­ m ation in yo u r direction vanishes, so will your foundation for m aking accurate decisions. 12 N e v e r p u t a n y t h in g i n w r i t i n g t h a t y o u c o u l d n ’t liv e w i t h i f y o u f o u n d it ta c k e d o n y o u r o f f ic e d o o r . This g o es d o u b le fo r e- m ail c o m m u n ic a tio n s . After a m em o, co m ­ m en t, o r re p o r t l e a v e s y o u r h a n d o r y o u r h a rd drive, it takes o n a life o f its ow n. If w h a t y o u a r e w r it in g h a s th e p o te n tia l to offend o r em ­ barrass so m e o n e in your orga­ n izatio n , s e n d a co p y to them ; if yo u find th at yo u w o u ld be em barrassed to d o so, revise your text until you could. If w h a t yo u hav e to say is to o sensitive to pass this test, han d le it verbally an d say it in private. 13 D o n ’t ta k e y o u r g o o d e m p l o y e e s f o r g ran ted . Much o f y o u r tim e w ill b e ta k e n u p w ith problem s: bu d g et problem s, patron problem s, p erso n n el problem s. As this is going on, d o n ’t fo rg et a b o u t th e m em b ers o f y o u r staff w h o a re n ’t problem s, o r th e y ’ll b e c o m e p roblem s while your attention is focused som ew here else. F ind o u t w h a t will k e e p y o u r b e s t w o rk ­ ers h a p p y , p ro d u ctiv e, a n d in y o u r unit. Ask th e m n o w w h a t it w o u ld ta k e to k e e p th e m o n b o ard — n o t later, w h e n th ey already have an o ffer in h a n d from s o m e o n e else. C o n c lu s io n O n e th in g d is tin g u is h e s s u p e rv is o rs , e s p e ­ cially n e w s u p e rv is o rs , fro m th e p e o p le a r o u n d th em : th e y a s k e d for, o r w e re w ill­ ing to a c c e p t, th e re sp o n sib ility th a t c o m e s w ith ta k in g o n n e w d u tie s . T h a t ta s k in ­ v o lv es lea rn in g n e w skills, a n d w h ile o n e is learn in g , m istak es are inevitable. N ot ev ery ­ th in g c o m e s o u t th e w a y w e m ig h t lik e it th e first tim e w e g iv e it a try. B e h in d e v e ry o n e o f th e s e o b s e rv a tio n s is a story, so m e tim e s w ith an u n h a p p y e n d ­ ing. If n e w su p erv iso rs can read , w atch , a n d learn fro m m istak es (th e ir o w n a n d o th e r s ’), m o s t w ill m a k e th e tr a n s itio n su c c e s sfu lly a n d e n jo y a b ly in th e lo n g -ru n . S o u rc e s W h ile th e r e is e x te n s iv e lite ra tu re a b o u t th e task o f th e n e w s u p e rv iso r in b u s in e s s , th e r e is re la tiv e ly little in p rin t dealing w ith n e w supervisors o r m iddle m anagers in th e library set­ ting. A few so u rc e s a re listed below . • Jo a n Giesecke, ed. P rac­ tic a l H elp f o r N ew Supervisors (C h icag o : A m erican L ibrary A ssociation, 1997). T h e th ird e d itio n o f th is title b rin g s to ­ g e th e r te n articles w ritte n e s­ p e c ia lly fo r lib ra ria n s. E ach s e c tio n h a s a b r ie f b ib lio g r a p h y p o in tin g o u t re le v a n t (continued on page 541) 526/C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 Annotated Bibliography for English Studies Now available online! abes ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY f or ENGLISH STUDIES Visit our free demo site at http://abes.swets.nl Swets & Zeitlinger Publishers are proud to announce the 1999 Subscription Prices* launch of ABES Online, formerly only available on CD- (CD-ROM/Online) ROM. In the past two years, the Annotated Bibliography for English Studies has established itself as one of the leading research tools in the field. Its unique peer-revie­ 1 sim ultaneous user wed annotations ensure that students, researchers and U S $ 7 7 0 / £ 4 9 8 I f l 3 3 3 teachers alike can easily find their way to the literature they really need. Libraries in over twenty countries have 2 -5 sim ultaneous users U S $ 1 1 5 4 / £ 7 4 7 I f 1 9 9 9 already subscribed to ABES on CD-ROM. 6- JO sim ultaneous users Responding to demands from libraries and researchers, Swets U S $ 1 5 4 0 / £ 9 9 7 / f 2 6 6 8 & Zeitlinger Publishers have developed an online interface 11-15 sim ultaneous users tha t retains the user-friendliness as well as the advanced U S $ 1 8 4 8 / £ 1 1 9 7 / f 3 2 0 1 search functionality o f the CD-ROM. A t no extra charge, ABES Online offers the added benefit o f monthly updates, allowing users to keep abreast o f the latest developments in their own * Subscriptions to ABES Online and ABES on CD- field o f interest. ROM are fo r a minimum o f one year. A CD-ROM subscription may be changed to a subscription to ABES Online at all times and at no extra cost. The free ABES Online demo database (containing a represen­ tative selection o f records from the fu ll database) may be accessed from our homepage at http://abes.swets.nl. Alternatively, free one-month trial access is available from the publishers. Send your request to odekkers@swets.nl. Quotes from recent reviews: Choice, February 1999 http://abes.swets.nl Swets & Z e itlinger Publishers ”The CD-ROM is easy to use a n d … highly recommended fo r a ll P.O. Box 825, 2160 SZ Lisse, The Netherlands academic libraries supporting English Studies.” Tel.(+31)252-435111, Fax (+31)252-415888 The European English Messenger, Autumn 1998 E-mail: edejong@swets.nl ”Sophisticated, yet user-friendly, ABES is certain to play a v ita l role in the d a ily work o f academics and students as an indispen­ sable tool o f research. There is good reason to believe th a t i t w ill take pride o f place among the bibliographies o f English Studies.” S W E T S & Z E IT L IN G E R • p u b l i s h e r s http://abes.swets.nl http://abes.swets.nl mailto:odekkers@swets.nl http://abes.swets.nl mailto:edejong@swets.nl C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 / 541 • J u s tific a tio n . It is pretty well established that the effectiveness of resources such as elec­ tronic indexes, databases, an d the Internet are best taught w ith a hands-on approach. W e m e n tio n e d this c o n c e p t in planning docum ents in 1994 an d 1996, a n d by the time w e advocated getting a share o f state funds for the facility, this w as a generally accepted con­ cept— ev en w ith th o se unfam iliar w ith o u r project o r th e w o rk o f th e library. Con clu sion O ne sem ester’s ex p erien ce o f using o u r n ew library lab /electronic classroom leads us to b e ­ lieve w e m ad e th e right decisions in building this com bination facility. T he fiscal problem s o f the past w ere overcome, an d w e have found that o u r in -h o u se solutions for this m odest, asymmetrical space have w o rk ed well. Librarians an d on-cam pus technical and fa­ cilities personnel all had more than enough ex­ p erien ce an d expertise to m ake this h a p p e n w ithout a vast expenditure o f monies. Notes 1. Anita Lowry. “T he Inform ation A rcade at the University o f Iow a,” Cause-Effect 17 (Fall 1994): 38-44. Jo h n Vasi a n d Cheryl LaGuardia. “Creat­ ing a Library Electronic Classroom,” O nline 18 (Septem ber-October 1994): 75-84. D avid N utty. “R en o v atin g fo r T e c h n o l­ ogy: P a rtn e rsh ip s P ro d u c e Q u ick R esu lts,” College & R esearch L ib ra ries N ew s (Ju n e 1998): 414-416. Royal Van H orn. “Electronic Classrooms: Design and Use,” Phi Delta Kappan 19 (Novem­ ber 1997): 254-255. Jam es Estrada. “Electronic C lassroom D e­ sign: A Case Study,” p a p e r p resen ted to the ACRL N ew E ngland C hapter/B ibliographic Instruction Section, W orkshop, Ju n e 12, 1998, Yale University. 2. C. William Day. “T echnology for O lder Schools,” A m erican School & University 69 (June 1997). 3. Ibid. The authors w ould like to thank RU’s Fa­ cilities m anagers an d staff, Media Services— especially Pete Gregg, Edward Corrado, and S h a ro n Y ang o f M o o re L ib rary fo r th e i r h e lp a n d in f o r m a tio n o n th is p r o je c t a n d p a p e r . ■ ( “Observations …” cont, fr o m p a g e525) s o u rc e s fro m th e w o rld o f m a n a g e m e n t at large. • T aeo ck Kim an d Frederick Isaac. “Key W ords for New M anagers” (ERIC ED304143). This p a p e r w as p resen ted at th e July 1988 m e e tin g o f th e Library A d m in istratio n a n d M a n a g e m e n t A sso c ia tio n (LAMA) a t th e ALA A n n u al C o n v en tio n . It in c lu d e s a b ib ­ lio g ra p h y o f re le v a n t articles. • LAMA M iddle M anagem ent D iscussion G roup. “Y o u ’ll M anage: B ecom e a B oss … B est T ip s” (C hicago: A m erican Library As­ sociation, 1980) (ERIC ED322904). This p u b ­ lic a tio n c o n ta in s c o m m e n ts a n d a n e c d o ta l m aterial from practicin g library ad m in istra­ tors. T he bibliography draw s chiefly o n n o n ­ library sources. • A n n e M cG reer. “R eflec tio n s o n My First Y ear as a Library M iddle M a n a g e r,” L ib ra ry A d m in is tr a tio n & M a n a g e m e n t 1/4 (S e p te m b e r 1987): 131-133- D iscu sses th e routines, hurdles, a n d accom plishm ents o f a n ew su pervisor in th e technical services unit o f a large acad em ic library. • Linda W ain sco tt. “I’m in h e a v e n n o w o r six m o n th s in hell: H o w to th riv e as a n ew departm ent head ,” U nabashed Librarian 101 (1996): 27-28. ■ Letter to the editor I r e a lly lik e C&RL N ew s, r e a d it fro m c o v e r to c o v e r, a n d o fte n th in k th a t I n e e d to le t in d iv id u a l a u th o r s k n o w th a t th e y a re p r o v id in g a g r e a t s e r v ic e b y s h a r in g th e i r id e a s . S o m e ­ tim e s I a c tu a lly r e la y th o s e th o u g h ts . I t h i n k m y n o te to G re g o ry A n d e r­ so n , a u th o r o f “C y b e rp la g ia rism ” in th e M ay 1999 is s u e , w a s p r e t ty c o n c is e , “E x c e lle n t a rtic le in C&RL N e w s!” It w a s a v e ry w e ll w ritte n a rtic le o n a tim e ly su b je c t. I tru ly a p p r e c i a te th e tim e a n d e n e rg y m y c o lle a g u e s c o n trib ­ u te in o r d e r to s h a r e th e s e p r a c tic a l id e a s w ith r e a d e r s lik e m e .— K a th y K aldenberg, K a ska skia College, k a th y k @ kc.cc.il.us