ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries November 1989 / 899 Career and staff development: A convergence By Thomas L. Wilding Senior Associate D irector Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology Libraries Career enhancement fro m an organizational perspective. M anaging library careers has traditionally b ee n seen as th e responsibility o f in d i­ vidual librarians. I w ant to challenge this tradition, or at least to p u t it in perspective, since I feel not only th a t it is a responsibility o f libraries to be concerned about th e careers o f th e ir staff m em ­ bers, b u t also th a t it makes good com m on sense organizationally for libraries to foster th a t develop­ m ent and to provide as m any opportunities as possible for staff m em bers to en h an ce th e ir c re ­ dentials. To provide a context for th ese rem arks, I will use career developm ent to refer to th e acquisition o f know ledge and skills th a t eventually leads to th e accrual o f additional o r different responsibilities and ultim ately leads to th e achievem ent o f an individual’s personal goals as a librarian. I will use s ta ff developm ent to refer to organizationally ta r­ g eted program s in te n d ed to ensure th a t staff will have appropriate knowledge and skills to p erm it a library to accom plish its goals effectively. Profes­ sional developm ent— m aintaining and improving skills to keep up with th e changing w orld around us— is no t the topic o f this paper, b u t is closely related to both career o r staff developm ent. W hile career developm ent and staff develop­ m en t have different goals (the prep aratio n o f an in ­ dividual for th e fu tu re an d th e preparation o f an o r­ ganization for th e future), they obviously share th e m eans for th e ir individual achievem ent— th e ac­ quisition o f know ledge and skills. I t is through the m utuality o f th e m eans th a t staff and career devel­ op m en t b en efit from each other. Why should a library promote careers? O rganizational effectiveness. T h ere are a n u m ­ b e r o f ways a library can b en efit from the ca reer d e­ velopm ent o f its staff. As already noted, th e m eans for achieving career developm ent are similar to those for achieving staff developm ent. I f a library is to en su re th a t its staff will have th e knowledge and abilities to perform effectively, b oth now and in the future, it will n ee d to provide a variety o f o p p o rtu ­ nities for staff m em bers to grow an d learn. In so far as th ese opportunities affect individual staff m em ­ bers, career developm ent is beingserved. Libraries n e e d to try to m atch these opportunities with the interests and goals o f staff m em bers as m uch as possible. Flexibility. W h en a libraiy takes inventory o f its resources, it needs to m easure th e abilities and skills o f its staff as a major asset. An effective staff developm ent program will broaden the talen t and 900 / C &R L News skills b ase o f th e staff, p ro v id in g th e library w ith g re a te r p o te n tia l fo r th e acco m p lish m e n t o f its goals. This b ro a d e r b ase o f ta le n t a n d skills also greatly in creases th e lib rary ’s flexibility— as n ew n eed s arise, o r n ew o p p o rtu n itie s occur, this b ro a d e r b ase will e n a b le it to tak e o n n ew p ro g ram s an d re sp o n d m o re quickly an d effectively to its u se r com m unity. S ta ff m orale a n d loyalty. W hile few librarians expect th e ir lib raries to m an ag e th e ir ca reers, th e y do a p p re cia te b ein g seen as m o re th a n a reso u rce o r a com m odity. A library can usually raise staff m orale levels by p ro viding an en v iro n m e n t in w hich its sta ff can grow a n d develop a n d by b ein g c o n c e rn e d ab o u t sta ff m e m b e rs as individuals. Such a lib rary also en g e n d e rs a h igh level o f o rg an ­ izational loyalty in its sta ff m em b ers. R ecru itm en t. M any sta ff d e v e lo p m e n t activities re q u ire staff m e m b ers to a tte n d ev en ts o u tsid e th e ir h b raries— w orkshops, sem inars, co n fe re n ces and o th e r m eetings. By en c o u rag in g an d s u p p o rt­ ing sta ff m e m b ers in th e s e activities, h b raries can m o u n t th e ir ow n advertising cam paigns. S taff ta lk ­ ing ab o u t in te restin g an d exciting things going on at h o m e are th e envy o f th e ir colleagues, an d th a t may in d irectly aid in re c ru itm e n t efforts in th e fu tu re . T h e ir p re s e n c e a t th e se events says “m y library sup p o rts d e v e lo p m e n ta l o p p o rtu n itie s.” P rom otion tracks a n d turnover. Finally, staff d e v e lo p m e n t p re p a re s sta ff m e m b ers for g re a te r responsibilities. W h e n positions o p e n u p w ith in a library, a good sta ff d e v e lo p m e n t p ro g ra m will m ake it m o re likely th a t in te rn a l ca n d id a tes will be ready to m ove u p . Som etim es, how ever, th e re will be n o th in g available w h en sta ff m e m b ers are read y for p ro m o tio n , an d th e y will n e e d to look o u tsid e for th e se n ew challenges. W hile I w o u ld c ertain ly n o t w an t to b e o n re c o rd as saying th a t sta ff d ev el­ o p m e n t p ro m o te s tu rn o v er, realistically I rec o g ­ nize th a t a ce rta in level o f tu rn o v e r is g ood for a library, since it pro v id es an o p p o rtu n ity to b rin g new p eo p le in w ith n ew ideas an d talents. What should librarians expect from their libraries? L eadership. L ibrarians, p articu larly n ew p ro fe s­ sional librarians, sh o u ld b e able to ex p ect ce rtain kinds o f su p p o rt fro m th e ir h braries. A m ong th e first o f th e s e is lead ersh ip . F re q u e n tly d irecto rs and se n io r sta ff m e m b e rs in acad em ic h b raries are leaders in th e lib rary co m m unity. C lose association with th e se lib rary le ad e rs is invaluable to n ew professionals w h o are trying to in te g ra te th e ir li­ brary e d u c atio n ex p erien ces w ith th e ir experiences on th e job. As lead ers, ad m in istra to rs an d se n io r staff have an obligation to sh a re th e ir know ledge and ex p erien ces w ith n e w e r p ro fessio n als. T oo few librarians tak e full advantage o f th e se o p p o rtu n i­ ties, a n d to o few ad m in istra to rs cre a te th e s e o p p o r­ tu n ities. S taff m e m b e rs sh o u ld tak e ev ery o p p o rtu ­ n ity to le a rn fro m th e se p e o p le — ask questions, en g ag e th e m in dialogues. T h e s e a re th e sam e p e o p le th a t o th e r librarians pay to hear. C a reer counselling a n d guidance. F o r ad m in is­ trato rs, a n o th e r obligation is to p ro v id e counselling an d g u id an ce to n ew p ro fessio n als. T h ey sh o u ld b e asking n e w professionals w h at th e ir goals are, giv­ in g th e m fee d b ack o n p erfo rm an ce , g u iding th e m in estab lish in g th em selv es in th e p rofession, an d s te erin g th e m to w ard o th e r areas for fu rth e r d ev el­ o p m e n t. A d m in istrato rs sh o u ld b e h e lp in g th e m p lo t co u rses— ste e rin g th e m to w ard th e m o st re le ­ v an t lite ra tu re , suggesting m eetin g s th e y should a tte n d an d h elp in g th e m w rite a d ev e lo p m e n ta l p lan th a t focuses p rim arily o n th e ir c a re e r goals an d only seco n d arily o rganizational n eed s. T ravel support. L ib raries have a fu rth e r obliga­ tio n to p ro v id e su p p o rt— a n d n o t ju s t m o ral s u p ­ p o rt— for th e ir s ta ffs d ev e lo p m e n t. F re q u e n tly sta ff m e m b ers w ho m o st n e e d financial su p p o rt for p rofessional d ev e lo p m e n t are th o se w ho are s ta rt­ in g o u t— w ho have th e low est incom es a n d th e h ig h e st s tu d e n t loans. T h e old ru le o f th u m b , still p ra c tic e d by m any libraries, is to su p p o rt c o n fe r­ en c e atte n d a n c e , o r to su p p o rt it m o re fully, for th o se w ho a re o n c o m m ittee s o r a re giving p apers. T h e se are n o t usually th e ju n io r m e m b ers o f th e staff. L ib raries th a t en c o u rag e staff m e m b ers to b e professionally active n e e d to b e p r e p a re d to allo­ c a te funds to su p p o rt th e m . O p p o rtu n ities to practice. Finally, lib raries have an obligation to p ro v id e o p p o rtu n ities fo r staff m e m b ers to p ra c tic e th e skills an d abilities th e y acq u ire th ro u g h d e v e lo p m e n ta l o p p o rtu n ities. It m akes little sen se fo r a library to s p e n d m o n ey to tra in sta ff m e m b ers in u sing a c o m p u te r o r a p a r ­ tic u la r softw are package if th e y n e ith e r ow n a c o m p u te r n o r in te n d to ow n one. Yet m an y libraries sp e n d reso u rce s o n w orkshops an d co n fe re n ces w ith o u t p ro v id in g th e ex p erien tial learn in g to c o m p le m e n t th e training. U n u se d skills an d abili­ ties gradually d eclin e an d th e w hole effo rt b eco m es a w aste o f tim e for th e lib rary an d a fru stra tio n for th e staff m e m b er. L ib rary ad m in istra to rs n e e d to p ro v id e an e n v iro n m e n t w h e re sta ff m e m b ers feel co m fo rtab le trying o u t n ew ideas an d new' skills know ing th a t th e y can m ake m istakes a n d still find th e su p p o rt n ecessary to try again. What should your library expect from you? C a re e r an d sta ff d e v e lo p m e n t are tw o sides o f th e sam e coin. As lib rarian s sh o u ld ex p ect som e things from th e ir libraries, th e lib raries sh o u ld be able to expect som e things in re tu rn . S om e o f th e se are corollaries to th e obligations o f libraries. November 1989 / 901 C o m m itm en t to personal growth. Libraries have a right to expect th e ir librarians to be co m m itted to m aintaining an d expanding th e ir own know ledge and abilities. Libraries can provide opportunities, b u t librarians n e e d to take advantage o f them . This may m ean a co m m itm en t o f tim e and money. Staff m em bers will nee d to keep u p w ith inform ation in th e ir own and related fields. T he jo u rn al literature in library an d inform ation sciences is growing, as it is in all o th e r disciplines, and it takes tim e to keep u p w ith it. D ues for professional associations are n o t inconsiderable, y et it is h ard to stay ab reast o f w h at’s going on w ithout belonging to one o r m ore o f them . Flexibility. Librarians n e e d to stay as flexible as possible. T h e environm ents in w hich libraries exist are changing rapidly, and libraries m ust change as well. All indications are th a t libraries will n ee d staff w ith different talents in th e n e a r fu tu re and librari­ ans will n e e d to change th e ir arsenal o f tricks to m e et fu tu re req u irem en ts. Flexibility— an d the ability to live w ith ambiguity— will ensure a place in th e future. O penness to feedback. O rganizations have an obligation to give th e ir staff feedback on th e ir p e r­ form ance and on areas for fu rth e r growth. L ibrari­ ans n e e d to b e able to listen to th a t feedback, to process it, and to be o p en to constructive feedback an d guidance. How can we enhance our own career development? As I p o in te d o u t at th e beginning, career devel­ o p m en t is still prim arily th e responsibility o f each and every librarian— even if we should be able to expect some su p p o rt from o u r libraries. W hat th en can we as librarians do to en h an ce o u r own careers? Take advantage o f opportunities. O pportunities for learning new things abound, b u t they req u ire th a t we b o th look for and recognize them , and th at w e take advantage o f th em . V olunteering for proj­ ects in o u r libraries o r in professional organizations allows us to leam new skills and to work w ith and leam from people we ordinarily w ould n o t m eet. O nce w e acquire th ese skills, w e n e e d to find ways to use th e m so th a t they b ecom e p a rt o f o u r re p e r­ toire and so th a t others recognize o u rn e w abilities. Keep up. M ost librarians k eep u p w ith develop­ m ents in th e ir own areas o f expertise and interest. Many, however, fail to stay ab reast o f bro ad er issues an d c u rren t developm ents in o th e r areas. Prom otions and o th e r opportunities for advance­ m en t frequently entail taking on b ro ad er responsi­ bilities o r m anaging functions w ith w hich we are less familiar. Staying on to p o f b ro ad e r issues can help to p rep a re for fu tu re prom otional o p p o rtu n i­ ties. B udget f o r development. I have indicated th at libraries should take some responsibility for sup­ p orting th e dev elo p m en t o f staff m em bers, b u t at b est this will be a shared responsibility. F ew organi­ zations can afford to sup p o rt career d evelopm ent fully. I t is im p o rtan t th e n for librarians to develop b udgets for continuing education and develop­ m en t m uch like th e ir b udgets for re n t and food. This b u d g et should include professional associa­ tion dues, an occasional course o r workshop, jo u r­ nal subscriptions, an d a t least partial expenses for conference attendance. Take some risks. I t is easy to becom e too con­ c e rn ed w ith security. A fter a certain length o f tim e in one library, we becom e d ep e n d en t on benefits— we build up investm ents in re tire m en t funds, vaca­ tion accruals, etc. M any librarians have family r e ­ sponsibilities th a t p rev en t them from moving o u t o f a geographic region. It is im portant, however, to take risks to m anage o n e ’s career creatively. W e n e e d to recognize w hen w e have b egun to plateau and b e willing to give up som e security to move to new libraries w hich m ight p re se n t new challenges an d stim ulate o u r careers further. M aintain high visibility. T h ere are tens o f th o u ­ sands o f librarians in this country. H ow can one distinguish him o r h erse lf from th e rest? It is im por­ ta n t to gain and m aintain som e level o f visibility in th e profession. At m eetings, ask questions. Make th e co m m itm en t to w rite an article o r give a p ap e r o r w rite a le tte r to th e ed ito r expressing a viewpoint. Mentoring. R ecently th e re have b ee n quite a n u m b e r o f articles w ritten about m entoring p ro ­ grams. M entoring can bring to g e th er experience and inexperience in a process w hich provides the “m en tees” w ith an irreplaceable source o f inform a­ tion and feedback, and at th e same tim e provides m entors no t only w ith a sense o f professional fulfill­ m ent, b u t frequently with th e stim ulus to re-q u es­ tion an d rethink m any truism s in th e ir own think­ ing. M any organizations, b o th libraries and profes­ sional organizations, have b eg u n form al m entoring program s, bringing to g e th er new librarians with som e senior librarians and adm inistrators. F inding a suitable m e n to r can play an im portant role in career developm ent. Check o u t the environm ent. I t is im p o rtan t th at b oth librarians an d adm inistrators recognize th e u n iq u e n eed s an d req u irem en ts th a t each organi­ zation an d staff m em b er h as. W e do n o t all react to th e sam e stimuli in th e sam e way. Two o f th e m ost critical career choices librarians m ake are, first, in w hich kind o f library to w ork and, secondly, in w hich specific library to work. D uring interviews, librarians n e e d to tiy to assess th e environm ent o f p otential em ploying libraries and decide w h eth e r o r n o t th a t en vironm ent is one w h ere personal accom plishm ent an d excellence is possible. Al­ though it may seem idealistic, it is a mistake to 902 / C&RL News accept appointment in a library where one aspires only to “acceptability.” Conclusion Career and staff development are complemen­ tary programs , sharing the means to different ends. Managers and administrators need to accept the development of their staffs’ knowledge and skills as a major responsibility so that staff members will be able to perform at a high level of excellence. Through this process, an individual’s career devel­ opment needs will be addressed, even if not di­ rectly. Individual staff members have a major re­ sponsibility as well— a strong commitment to their own development and a willingness to leam and to change. ■ ■ Promoting professional development: A local approach By Ilene F. Rockman Coordinator o f Reference Services California Polytechnic State University Continuing your education without leaving your campus. T he professional development o f librarians is increasing in importance as librarians once hired for their bibliographic competencies are now expected to engage in scholarly pursuits to gain reappointment, tenure, and/or promotion. Libraries have interpreted professional develop­ ment activities broadly to include active involve- mentin professional association work; presentation of papers; publication of books, articles, reviews, abstracts, and bibliographies; grant writing; con­ sulting; research and study leaves; staff exchanges; and other contributions which enable one to p er­ form at a higher level of proficiency.1 1Professional Development in A RL Libraries, Spec Kit #86 (Washington, D.C.: Office o f Man­ agement Services, Association of Research Librar­ ies, 1982). As library budgets face increased competition for funds to support these activities, and evaluation criteria do not diminish their importance, library faculty members may wish to take greater respon­ sibility for mounting local programs which foster a collegial approach to professional development. This is especially critical in the small or medium­ sized academic library2. The programs developed by Cal Poly’s Kennedy Library over the past three years may serve to inspire other libraries in their attempts to encour­ age, promote, and support the continuing educa­ tion needs o f their library faculties. 2Susan A. Stussy, “A Need for the Professional Development of Academic Libraries,” Catholic Li­ brary World 59 (September/October 1987): 82-84.