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Developing Professionalism as a New Librarian
by Stacey Knight-Davis
Librarians have been discussing how to achieve professional status in the eyes of society since Dewey’s time. Since we’re still discussing it, odds are that we still have work to do! Looking at the techniques used in other professions helps us discover a few tricks to help our personal professional image.
What Would Doctors Do?
Take physicians, for example. What techniques do new doctors use to develop a professional image? Some background work done by earlier doctors really helps. Especially effective were decades of advertising, some outright propaganda in the early 20th Century, and several successful campaigns to eliminate or legally restrict the competition. Aside from that, doctors learn professionalism the same way librarians do: paying attention during their schooling and modeling the behavior of others.
The new doctor isn’t all that different from the new librarian. Both received formal training, have professional associations to support them and have a code of ethics to guide them. Knowing your code of ethics is the first step in becoming a professional. The code will help you to quickly and competently make decisions on what you should and should not do as a professional librarian. If you didn’t do so in library school, read the Code of Ethics of the American Library Association.
Projecting Professionalism
Developing core competencies and confidence is another key to professionalism. Expand on your formal training through experience and by modeling the behavior of other librarians. Find situations that allow you to stretch you current abilities and learn new skills.
In a perfect world, ethical behavior and being good at what you do would earn you respect as a professional. Unfortunately, people tend to judge others on qualities other than their ability to perform. As a new librarian, every contact is a new client to whom you must prove your competence. Clothes, grammar, posture, even what you have in your pockets can make a subtle but important difference.
Your primary goal as a new librarian is to avoid looking as confused, disheveled, nervous, and unprepared as you may feel at times. In a few months, those feelings will fade, but in the meantime you need to get serious about not looking silly.
Proofread everything you send out at least twice, and don’t forget to check the subject lines of e-mails, too. Be especially careful when you are stressed and hurried, because that’s when the most errors will creep in. If it’s an extremely important document, have a few other people proof it. Bad spelling and punctuation will make even the best of us look incompetent.
As a new librarian, you’ll be meeting lots of new people. Always carry your business card so you don’t have to look sheepish and try to explain why you don’t have a card when someone asks you for one. If you don’t have any cards, order them today. Definitely don’t go to a conference and try to network without cards.
This may sound paranoid now, but always keep a selection of safety pins close at hand. Take it from someone who once had to staple her pants shut after an unfortunate zipper failure: Go get safety pins. It’s also a good idea to keep a lint remover handy. If you have to handle old crumbling books or have a taste for crumbly cookies, the lint remover is almost a necessity. In other fashion-related matters, if a piece of clothing is getting on in years it’s probably time to let it go before the elastic lets go. At least stop wearing it to work; especially if it’s left over from your high school wardrobe.
Before you go out and buy a ton of new professional-looking clothes, pay careful attention to what your peers are wearing. By all means, get one or two good suits, just don’t go all suit crazy and then notice that everyone else you work with is wearing khakis and wash- and-wear.
Once you’ve figured out looking good, start working on sounding good. If you’re of a certain age, or have kids of a certain age, there’s a strong possibility that you like, um, say ‘like’ when you shouldn’t. I’m one of those people, and I’ve admitted to myself that I have a problem. Listen to yourself and try to cut down on the ‘ums,’ ‘likes,’ ‘uhs,’ ‘you knows’ and any other verbal clutter that sneaks out. Along with getting rid of the clutter, work on a strong, clear voice for presentations and taking control of a loud room. For these purposes, your voice must ooze confidence and control. Record yourself or practice with a friend if necessary - it’s necessary if people keep asking you to speak up!
Take Time to Take Care
Starting a new job can take a lot out of you. Take the time to take care of your health. Feeling awful all the time won’t inspire your best work. If you are in contact with the public for most of the day, expect to get really sick as your body adjusts to all the new viruses and bacteria that you get exposed to. After awhile, your body kicks your immune system up a notch and things should get better. The bottom line is that everything will get better. After a few successes, your confidence will grow. Keep trying new things so that confidence can keep growing. Your peers can be your safety net; learn from them and let them help you grow. Before you know it, you’ll be giving advice to new recruits yourself.
Stacey Knight-Davis is a reference librarian at Booth Library, Eastern Illinois University. She received her MLS in 2001 and has been at Booth since 2002.