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Reflections on Librarian Job Exchanges
by Dr. Samuel Brown"I wonder what it would be like to work someplace else?"
How many of us have asked ourselves this question? Usually, the only way to find out is by leaving one job and starting another. An increasing number of librarians, however, are finding out what it is like to work someplace else -- without leaving their jobs -- by taking part in a job exchange. This arrangement lets a participant trade places for a set period of time, typically from one to six months, with someone who has similar responsibilities. People seek a job exchange for a variety of reasons, such as needing a change of scenery, wanting to expand social networks, or looking for a broader perspective on the profession.
Having taken part in a job exchange with an academic library director in England in 2001, I was curious to find out how others have fared in their exchanges. I developed a list of 114 published accounts of librarian job exchanges that have appeared in journal articles and on web sites since 1980. The greatest number of exchanges took place between librarians in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Exchanges between academic institutions predominated, followed by exchanges between public libraries.
I found e-mail addresses for 61 of the authors and received 35 responses to the following questions:
What would you have done differently?
What was the most important thing you learned (about yourself, the job, etc.)?
What impact, if any, did the exchange have on you or your career?
What were the positive and negative aspects to the exchange?
What are your recommendations for librarians considering a job exchange?
Rather than concentrate on the responses to each question, I have grouped them into themes: Preparations, Job issues, Social/Cultural issues, Living arrangements, and Impact of the exchange.
Preparations
Finding an exchange partner was often done by sending out e-mail enquiries or through LIBEX, an international library and information job exchange. Respondents highly recommended meeting the exchange partner beforehand, or at the very least developing an extensive e-mail correspondence. Tasks associated with arranging the exchange often took a year, which was longer than the six month stay of most exchanges. Many people kept their own salaries and had both parties sign a contract listing who would pay for utilities and other items.
"Make sure all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed before exchanging homes and jobs. Be absolutely certain what is expected of you, and what you expect of your exchange partner in both the domestic and working environments." Along with exchanging cars came the advice to have one's insurance company adjust the policy accordingly. It was also important to have a friend on hand to keep an eye on things and to be there in case of any problems. Modest thank-you gifts were handy to give out to those people and others who helped you or invited you to their homes for dinner.
Job issues
Obtaining support from supervisors and colleagues was key to the success of any exchange, as was having clear goals and objectives for what you wanted to achieve, being flexible for adapting to unexpected conditions, and ensuring that the jobs were comparable. "A job exchange is always something that leaps out to a potential employer when they look at your resume. It says a lot about your willingness to try new things and take risks."
A common thread among many of the responses was how similar libraries are around the world, and how transferable our skills are to other locales. People described their experiences in terms like: Career renewal, rejuvenating, refreshing, refocusing, new perspective, professional development, and learned new things.
Social/Cultural issues
Developing long-term friendships was mentioned over and over again as a benefit of the exchanges. Friends were made through work and by joining church and cultural groups. Living side by side with those from a different culture enhanced cultural literacy, especially if one was as fluent as possible in the language of the host country. "Talk to the bin man. Make friends with the newspaper vendor. You'd be amazed at what helpful, informed people they are. You are not a tourist, you are living there." Travel on weekends, vacation days and pre- and post-exchange also served to increase cultural exposure.
Living arrangements
Exchanging homes was the most common arrangement. This often included taking care of pets, watering plants, and seeing to other day-to-day necessities in the home. "She not only stayed in my house but took care of my cat so that was one less thing to worry about." Although there were not usually housing costs, cost-of-living and exchange rate differences in the two locations often placed a larger financial burden on one party than the other.
Impact of the exchange
Personal and professional growth were by far the largest impacts of the exchanges. This included increased confidence, seeing oneself in a new light, motivation to try new things, being better able to face challenges, more flexibility and adaptability, seeing things from a new perspective, and realizing that there is not necessarily a "best" way to do something. The vast majority of respondents highly recommended an exchange. "Go for it! My exchange was truly one of the high points of my career, and a valuable experience that I often still reflect upon."
Librarians are unique in their propensity to exchange jobs with one another. Perhaps this is due to the fact that many skill sets can, with some modifications, be used across a wide variety of libraries. The relative lack of licensing requirements or governmental regulations on how we perform our jobs also means there are less restrictions on working abroad. The end result of so many job exchanges, whatever the reasons, is that the library profession continues to benefit from the cross-cultural experiences of so many of its members.
Dr. Samuel R. Brown is Director of Library Services at Naugatuck Valley Community College, Waterbury, CT. USA. During the summer of 2001 he exchanged jobs with the Library Director at Writtle College in Essex County, England. An account of his experiences may be found at: http://www.ctlibraryassociation.org/Newsletters/2001/oct2001.pdf.
Ed.: find links to job exchange information: http://www.lisjobs.com/nonus.htm#exchange