The Leadership SIG met in person at Southeastern NY Library Resources Council. Laura Wolven of Finkelstein Memorial Library facilitated the meeting.
Notes
Circulation is one of the hardest roles in the library - you’re exposed to all the people who might come in.
If you can’t effectively manage - do you stay until you get to place where you can?
One new director is still working on getting her staff up and running and interested in the library work. There is a supportive board, so that helps them move forward.
We hire professionals and then we don’t let them do their jobs.
If people are already vulnerable, they’re not ready for a traumatic or violent situation and they will not survive it intact.
There’s still a myth that libraries are safe places where you can go without trouble. But it’s a place where you can be treated unfairly by staff, managers, and co-workers.
You never know what someone is dealing with and how that might manifest on that day. People are not equipped to respond to someone who is acting unreasonably upset about small issues.
Give up a bit of control and take a day here or there - you don’t need to prove yourself. Pace yourself. If it doesn’t get done today, it will get done tomorrow.
If you want to be a director for the long haul, you can’t burn yourself out by doing it all from the start.
One of the best things a director can do is find the potential in someone and let them be in charge of programs.
You don’t have to do exactly what the person before you did. It’s also hard not to bring your bad day to the office, so you might need to distance yourself if you’re feeling that. Sometimes the assumptions about people linger from one administration to the other.
If someone else is there when you witness bad behavior, it’s worth it to call out the person who also saw it to validate that you heard what you heard.
If you’re always on edge around some people and don’t say anything, it can be exhausting.
Something to be aware of: When you’re working with people who have experienced impossible situations, they are likely not going to notice or be thankful for situations that you handle well.
What do you do about people who viciously hate each other with a visceral feeling and don’t trust management? It becomes part of the culture.
Directors shouldn’t stay at one library for more than 10 years. The library starts to get stagnant and does things the way they have always been done.
Bad or abusive moments on circ:
Let people know they can come off the desk if things go badly.
Recognize that it’s not life or death.
Give them authority to waive fines. It’s not worth an argument over 10 cents.
If someone is becoming a problem, call security, you don’t have to deal with that.
Make sure that your people know that you listen.
Be aware of how much you are asking circ staff to deal with, make sure they get training and feel appreciated.
At one library - if someone is banned, they have to meet with the director & head of security before they are allowed back.
You can adapt to things - but knowing the reason is the most important part to follow a rule that you don’t understand.
How much can you let the day go at the end of the day?