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Promotions: In Your Own Back Yard, and Far Afield
by Tasha Squires
Nine months after starting my first professional library position, I was already cruising the want ads for a new job. This was a wasted endeavor, since I had received a scholarship which stated I needed to work in a public library for two years post-graduation. It did not make sense to switch from one public library to another for just one year, but I was already feeling stifled.
We've all been there. In every workplace, at some point, it seems that your creativity is capped, your input is invalidated, and your hard work underappreciated. I was at that point in just nine months, not something I thought boded well for my future at that particular library. But what I had to yet to learn was that, like so many other things in life, your library work experience can change in ways you never could predict. The trick is to know when it is possible to advance in your current position, and when it is best to scour the Internet for other employment opportunities.
Paths To Promotion
There are many ways a promotion can come your way. The most common way is to leave your job and accept a new position at another facility at a level above (or more highly compensated than!) your last job. Another common scenario occurs when someone leaves at your current library, and you have the skills needed to fill the position and want to move into a new area of your library. In most libraries, advancement means leaving behind many of your former duties, assuming new responsibilities and perhaps learning new skills.
In either case, it may be tempting to simply go where the money is -- which usually is in administration. Depending on the size of your library, being an administrator could mean you still work the reference desk, check out books, catalog, and shelve! But, as libraries increase in size, each position becomes more specialized.
When I was looking through American Libraries and searching the Internet for jobs while only a year out of library school, I believed I'd already have a new job lined up when my two years of service were completed. But then, something happened that I had not foreseen. At the end of my first year of work, my director retired. Things that had been done a certain way for twenty or more years suddenly were not such a given. For many staff members, this can be a frightening time. For others, it can become an opportunity to re- invent their position. (It often doesn't take the director leaving, or retiring to create new energy in your library or department. This energy could derive from something as simple as a new librarian joining the team.)
What, you might ask, does this have to do with getting a promotion? It can mean everything. It can give you the breath of fresh air that you have been needing. A new person can give you inspiration to look at your job in a different way. A new perspective can encourage you to take more risks and try new things, whereas before your attitude might have been more complacent. Once you begin to change things in your area, people take notice. If you are having an impact on service for the better, your boss will observe your new enthusiasm.
Choosing the Right Road
Of course, while you need to be on the lookout for opportunities for advancement within your current library, there will always be those jobs where things are stagnant, no new positions are planned, and everyone seems to be settled into their jobs as lifers. If you are not satisfied with your current level of responsibility, or find your current position too limiting, it may be time to start searching the want ads yourself. This path to promotion simply means applying for jobs which change your situation -- either by giving you more responsibility, or increasing your salary. When looking for a new job, it is important to know if you just want to change your location, or what you do in libraries in general.
A few months ago, for example, I decided that due to my long commute and my hectic schedule at work I would be happier at a library closer to home. I started looking at positions that were quite different than the job I currently held. After my first year, many things had indeed changed at my library. I felt I had more opportunity to express myself creatively, and that my ideas were being listened to. Then, the library underwent a massive reorganization of the upper administration levels, and I was promoted from the Young Adult librarian in our one library, to District Young Adult Librarian, serving both of our libraries. For me the most important change was the fact I could now focus my attention on serving teens, which I had discovered I was truly was passionate about.
At first, the promotion was wonderful. I was able to do more with teens, and have more school visits. But it quickly became clear it was an overwhelming task to serve the populations in two large libraries, in four middle schools, and two high schools all by myself. It was at this point that I decided to look for another job. After looking around, however, I realized my options were more limited than I had hoped. If I wanted another job, I would have to leave what I enjoyed most about my current position behind.
Staying the Course
Then, a woman resigned at one of the libraries I served, and my boss decided to replace this part-time person with a new full-time Young Adult Librarian. In the space of a week, my whole outlook at work changed. I would be in charge of the new librarian, and I would no longer have to drive back and forth between the two libraries or cover as many school visits.
Promotions can come in many forms, subtle and overt. Often we make mistakes when we have just started out as librarians, moving around from library to library without really knowing what is it we are looking for. If I had left after my first two years, chances are I would be working as a librarian in a position I would not enjoy half as much as I do my current one. When thinking of a change, it is just as important to consider your present situation as it is to look elsewhere. Make sure the move is to actually advance yourself professionally, and not just an escape. Remember, problems that exist in your current situation may just as well crop up at the new job.
Tasha Squires has been the Young Adult Librarian for the Fountaindale Public Library District for almost six years. She continues to be inspired by young adults, and looks forward to working with them for many years to come.