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Moving, Staff, Tenure - and Ice Cream, of Course!
by Danielle Theiss-White"Moving Onward and Upward" describes exactly what I've experienced since beginning a new position at K-State Libraries four weeks ago. I spent the past two years in Atlanta, Georgia working at Emory University in the Pitts Theology Library as the Periodicals and Reference Librarian. I saw the job posting for the General Reference Coordinator of Hale Library, Kansas-State Libraries last October and decided that it was time to move closer to my family in Missouri. So, I applied, and was offered the job this past February. My family and I moved in April to Manhattan, Kansas and have been settling into this wonderful, much more relaxed lifestyle.
Preparing for the transition
Before I left Emory, I started to think about what I would need to succeed in this new post. At Emory, I managed two small departments consisting of one FTE and three student workers, but here at K- State, I supervise an entire reference unit with eight half-time faculty members (instructor status) and ten student workers. I needed to do my homework on K-State and gather some tools to prepare myself for the new position. I began researching recent publications on supervising and managing others on library blogs and web sites and in the Library Literature database. I found several references to helpful books and articles which have become some of the only decorations in my new office.
I also tried to learn all I could about K-State Libraries, Manhattan, the state of Kansas, and the University. I combed through the K-State and K-State Libraries web sites, learning about the history of the university and the library. The K-State Libraries' strategic plan was being developed and was online for comments, so I was able to see the current library administration's vision. Also, I discovered that the K-State libraries (there is a main library and five branches) communicate heavily via blogs, so I read all the current blog activity and archives to gain some perspective on where the units and departments have been over the past year and where they were going.
Looking through the blogs was VERY helpful before I arrived at the library, because I could actually learn about the employees that I would be supervising by reading their posts. I learned that my department was always willing to try new reference service ideas and strived to meet the needs of the next generation of library users. I was already impressed and a little (OK, quite a bit!) nervous to meet all the staff at the library - and I hadn't even started yet!
First day
My first day arrived, and as I walked to the library surrounded by the freshly cut grass and whispering leaves of the trees, I knew it was going to be great. In the library, I met with my supervisor, the Head of the General Information Services Department, and the Director of Human Resources, to learn the bare bones of the library and to be given the keys to my office. I spent the first week learning the e-mail and calendaring system and reading all the policies/procedures I could find on the staff drive. I also gained access to the staff wiki and looked at some of the collaborative work that multiple departments were conducting. On Friday evening, I left the library glassy eyed from reading policies and procedures on the computer all week, but excited to return on Monday!
Orientation
When I started at the library, I discovered a two month formal orientation program for new hires. The first month focuses on learning the campus, the library building, and becoming familiar with immediate responsibilities. The second month centers on meeting department heads and visiting the other libraries on campus. So far, this has been a wonderful way to meet others in the library. I was also given a personal guide who gave me a building and campus tour. I can contact my guide when I have an important question, such as, where is the notorious ice-cream store on campus that sells K- State's dairy ice cream?
Since my new position is on the tenure track, I was placed in a mentoring cohort for this first year and will be mentored until I am granted tenure. K-State Libraries has had a formal mentoring program for over twenty years; this formalized mentoring process was one of the reasons I accepted my new position. Formal and informal mentoring was so beneficial for me at Emory, and I wanted to remain in an environment where this was highly valued. I have already met with my cohort mentor and am looking forward to working with the other two new cohort members over the next several months.
After a month
After surviving my first month on the job, I have discovered that this transition was not as challenging as the one I embarked upon two years ago after graduating from library school. Then, I was terrified to begin my first "real" library job, and struggling for the first three months. The K-State formal orientation and mentoring programs have made for a much easier transition this time around. Now, when library acronyms are thrown around, I don't even need to pull out all my library school textbooks to look them up!
Future challenges
I know this next year will present many challenges as I adjust to my new position. Has my preparation for this job been sufficient? What could I have done differently? What will I know in a year that would have proved helpful today? These are all questions that I'll try to answer after I've been in my new position for a while - and learned so much more.
Danielle Theiss-White completed her MLS from the University of Missouri, Columbia in 2005. She is the General Reference Coordinator for Hale Library at Kansas State Libraries in Manhattan, KS, and previously held the position of Periodicals and Reference Librarian at Pitts Theology Library, Emory University. She can be reached at dtheiss@ksu.edu.