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All It Takes Is A Team Approach
by Sally Gibson
Each workday, my inbox fills with list messages, and library-related journals land on my desk. My first priority, though, is to work the reference desk, then to manage the reference print collection, supervise student workers, perform literature searches for faculty, and update subject guides. My job title, Reference/Support Services Librarian, translates into having responsibility for all the tasks that no one else is working on!
During spare moments, I open e-mail and glance at journal articles, which provide clues to the direction reference service is taking. Staying on top of the latest developments, trends, and issues in library services can easily eat up an entire twenty-four hour day, but I'm not interested in spending all of my leisure time reading journal articles and e-mail messages. (It is college basketball season, after all.)
Thus, I only read about the topics that interest me and that directly relate to my current job. I also know that, if I am not interested in the subject matter, I will not retain any of the information. Why should I read an article if I forget the concept five minutes after reading about it?
Unfortunately, by taking this approach, I stand a good chance of being uninformed about topics and ideas which could be mainstream practices in a few years -- or even months. This could easily affect my job performance and ability to advance to another position. To combat this, I use a "team" approach to staying current. As my contribution to the team, I read the articles and subscribe to the mailing lists that interest me. Then my team of coworkers, colleagues, and friends keep me up to date on their areas of interest. This way I know what is happening without having to read every article in every library-related journal or subscribe to all of the lists.
Starting With Coworkers
Coworkers form the core of my team. Everyone at work has an area of expertise, and, in an effort to do a good job, is aware of trends and ideas in that specific area. There are six of us in the Reference Department, and we share information on a need-to-know basis. "Divide and conquer" is the motto. For example, the Electronic Resources Librarian e-mails us information about database updates or new interfaces. I do not always remember all of the details, but it is nice to have a "heads up" on the changes. What is even nicer is the fact that I do not have to monitor the e-mail lists for information about changes to our databases, because another member of my team is taking care of that.
Moving Outside
Now, I will be the first to admit that I am not always aware of the cutting-edge developments in my area of support services. It is important that I talk to colleagues at conferences and local libraries. By talking with people in similar positions at other institutions, it is easier for me to decide what direction I should explore or which ideas I should implement. It also ensures that I have a handle on how other institutions are managing their reference collections. I cannot expect my co-workers to be cutting-edge in every aspect of their areas, either. Like me, they lean towards favorite topics and could easily have only a basic knowledge about a given trend.
So, my team must expand to include colleagues from other libraries. I tend to run into the same people at conference programs, because we are interested in the same topics. Through committee work at the state and national level, I have been introduced to librarians with similar backgrounds from all types of libraries. I have also stayed in touch with former coworkers.
After working in libraries for a few years, I have discovered that I know people throughout the country -- because most of us do not stay in our first job for 40 years. If no one in the library where I work has a handle on a hot topic, there is a strong chance that I know someone who does, and I can call on her for more information. Colleagues are always willing to share what is happening at their libraries, as well as what is in development. In some cases, they tend to be more open than coworkers because they do not hoard information in an effort to appear indispensable to the organization.
Going Beyond
Finally, it is necessary to be conscious of current trends in other library departments. I work in an academic library with a staff of twenty, and I talk to everyone on the staff at least once during the week. It is easy to find out what individuals are working on -- because I ask. If I am looking for clarification about our library's position on cataloging web sites, for example, I can pick up the phone and ask someone who is directly involved.
I also try to meet librarians with different interests. At the awards banquet at my state's library conference, I sat at a table with several school librarians. They talked about ESL students, introducing middle school boys to books, and collaborating with teachers, and had insights and perspectives that I do not hear every day. I realized that I was learning how future college students are being taught library skills. By sitting with this group, I was exposed to issues in school library media centers.
Creating your own team for staying current is easy. Recruit coworkers, colleagues, fellow committee members, former coworkers, and friends from library school. Learn their interests and knowledge of current topics and ideas, so that you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of your team. Since people's interests and jobs change, it is important to keep recruiting new team members. Best of all, you only have to pay close attention to the topics that interest you. Staying current is more manageable, leaving time for the more important things in life -- like basketball!
Sally Gibson is the Reference/Support Services Librarian at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. She is a loyal fan of the Kansas Jayhawks.