Group Project

Working on our group project for PLMI yesterday and today proved to be a very rewarding experience in that we didn't know that our section would be "Administration" or that our three sub-categories would be employee evaluations, dress code policy, and event planning, until we "drew them" from a mix, giving us the opportunity to quickly choose our tasks based on our individual areas of expertise.  Our group was able to divide each section evenly, create a plan for each of our choices, and then put all the pieces together in an orderly and professional presentation.  The best part of all - we all learned valuable information from one another and it was fun!

Winning Friends

In Tuesday's session, when Mary talked about winning friends and using it as a leadership philosophy, I was very impressed by this method.  It makes complete and total sense in the library line of work because everything that we do falls under such a broad umbrella, and always involves people.  If we can't build positive relationships in the services we provide, then we wouldn't be able to provide the quality of service that our job as librarians requires.

Librarians must develop relationships with a wide range of groups as well as individuals including our customers, library stakeholders, governing bodies on local and state levels, schools, and community partners.

PLMI 2015 Team Aspect and Projects

At this, PLMI 2015, our final year before graduation, we have been afforded a new methodology to our training.  That methodology is working together as I team.  Personally, I have observed as well as experienced more enthusiasm among my classmates and for myself as well.  When working together as a team, you tend to learn and create at the same time, with each member of the team having something special to offer to the project.

I believe that all of the projects involved as part of this year's curriculum will prove beneficial to each of us, as we will gain a wealth of new knowledge, skills, methods, and best practices, that we can each bring home with us to our libraries.  I am looking forward to taking the culmination of everything I have learned in the program these last three years, especially from this year's team projects, and putting them into action at my library.  I am also looking forward to graduation!!

Where are we? Where are we going?

As of now at our library, we are in a period of major transition.  Sudden change, some expected, and some not, is at the forefront of where we are at this moment.  Changes are present in our organization due to a sudden reduction in staff.  In the library world, there is always room to grow, learn, and explore; that is what we do, and we must encourage these things.  People have hopes, dreams, and aspirations, and none are less valuable than the other, for we are all different.  Now is when we are pulling together, carrying the extra weight, and relying upon one another to keep things going as we seek out the best-suited individuals to continue with our commitment to provide outstanding services to the members of our community.  Current economic conditions create an extremely competitive environment and make it difficult for smaller, lower budget libraries to retain staff that have such immense passion for this institution.

Where do we want to be?  We want to be officially designated at the level our library should be according to State Standards based on our service area population, ever-increasing statistical factors, and ongoing needs of our community.  We want the ability to offer competitive wages, benefits, and reallocation of already existing library and historical space that was taken from us before we had a chance to grow.  We have grown!  By leaps and bounds!  The time has come to take action, and advance to where we want to be.

How will we accomplish our goals?  Library advocacy, additional staff trainings at all levels, morale boosting and team building activities for staff, outreach to stakeholders and county administrators, and an aggressive campaign to increase funding, technological resources, and support for our organization which our community relies so heavily upon.  We are a necessary, neutral, and diverse safety net loaded with literacy based programming, educational, and community resources.  The best way for us to be able to supply for the demand will be an aggressive campaign of awareness so that our legislative and funding bodies will understand and support the need to maintain and retain qualified staff.

Managing Performance

We currently have quarterly staff meetings and quarterly staff/team building days at our library.  With what I have learned at this session, there are a few changes I would like to make to the staff days.  One of the main changes would be instead of just a typical staff day/team building, to have "team building activities day".  The idea would be be to have these staff days be more interactive and rewarding for my staff.  The idea of adding team building exercises, fun activities, and even prizes would be great incentive for staff and help to build morale.

Staff Development

     After attending PLMI last year, I realized that based on what I had learned, there were many tools I now had to bring back to my library.  I decided to take a step back and look at my library and my staff from a different perspective - a perspective other than that of the library director.  How did other people see our facility?  How do they view our staff?  Do patrons and visitors of our library feel that they are being treated as they should and in a professional manner?  Are library staff giving them the correct information when an inquiry is made, and do they know where to look?

     Indeed no library is perfect and mine is no exception!  Staff development workshops or staff days, were not a regularly scheduled occurrence when i first took over as library director two and a half years ago - so it was obvious to me that needed to change.  My experience with staff development is that they count on me to take the lead and provide them with the tools that they need to be of better service, not only to our library but to themselves.  Since staff development has become a regular occurrence, the response from staff has been mostly positive, and they seem to come out with more confidence, pride in their work, and have become more eager to gain further knowledge.   

Day 4 Blog Post: Organizational Planning Teaching Topic Evaluation

     Today our group did a power point presentation on the topic of Organizational Planning which is one of four essential types of planning and consists of teams, tasks, projects and people.  The other groups were responsible for creating presentations for the other three types which were direction, action, control, and financial.

     I learned that through our combined efforts, were easily able to take on the required roles of the team based on our skills and strengths, and chose a captain, a researcher, a time-keeper, a recorder, and a spokesperson.  Once our roles had been determined, under our captain's leadership and direction, we were able to research, compile, record and adjust our presentation in a reasonable and practical time frame, which allowed for our spokesperson to demonstrate our presentation to the audience with ease and confidence.  I also learned that organizational planning is the starting point of the four types of planning that lead to the final product.

     From watching the other three presentations, I learned that there were many common factors that overlapped in the planning and development of each of the four types of organizational planning.  It showed me that each team shared in common that they incorporated many similar skill types and techniques in the planning and development of their research.