Menu:
Info Career Trends - March 2003 Editor's Note
This issue almost didn't happen.
I want to tell you a story about publication and professionalism – and, while I'm at the moment somewhat personally discouraged, I think that the professional lessons apply to all of us.
Each issue of ICT features a number of articles from library practitioners. Behind the scenes, this means that some of you wonderful readers, or those who visit the publication's web site or see a call for contributors on a library e-mail list, agree to take some time to write an article sharing your experiences with others. In a perfect world, these articles appear on deadline and to guidelines, I edit them, arrange them, add additional sections such as this editor's note and online resources, format everything, and send it out - on time!
But, since we don't live in a perfect world, things often go wrong. This month, things went especially wrong. Out of the six people originally slated to contribute articles to this issue, two responded to an e-mailed post-deadline reminder with a note saying that they were now too busy and couldn't turn in an article after all.
I'm sharing this with you, not to complain, but to take this opportunity to discuss professionalism in terms of the library world. This is particularly pertinent in terms of the theme of this issue: jobs, salaries, and raises.
Although I'm not here mentioning the names of the two people who failed to fulfill their promise to write for this issue, be assured that they are firmly in my memory - along with the names of those who have in the past proved similarly unreliable. (Unfortunately, this is not the first time I've had to send out a last-minute call for contributors! Once could be a fluke - more than once is embarrassing.)
Although I'm not mentioning their names, they will be firmly in my memory should these individuals in the future query a publication I edit, or apply to a library for which I am on a hiring committee. Although I'm not mentioning their names, I talk about these problems with my own network of friends and colleagues - and it's interesting that certain names keep coming up in conversation.
I'm not telling you this story to give you the impression that I'm extraordinarily vindictive, or to deter anyone from submitting their ideas for publication in ICT.
I'm telling you this story to emphasize the point that the library world is a small one, and that the best way to build a positive reputation and to advance in this (or any other) profession is to remain unfailingly professional in all your interactions with your colleagues. This applies as equally to online newsletters as it does to peer-reviewed print publications, as equally to job interviews as to posts on discussion lists.
When your name sticks in someone's mind, you want it to be for a positive reason.
Thanks to some quick-writing participants on the NMRTWriter list, this issue did happen. Be assured that their names, and those of others who offered to help, are also fixed in my memory.
Thanks, guys!
- Rachel
P.S. If I haven't now scared you off entirely, ICT is now seeking contributors for forthcoming issues. Please send queries for September's theme ("branching out") or November's ("library management") to editor@lisjobs.com. Online guidelines are available.