PLO

4. Lead and manage people and projects in an equitable, just, and culturally competent manner.

4.1 Apply leadership and management principles and practices to direct and manage people and projects.

This objective means implementing the leadership and management skills we were taught during this program. As  a leader, it is smart to review and apply the best practices and experiences other leaders have accumulated over years in the field.

In IST 564 Accessible Library & Information Services, I conceptualized a tax preparation program for low-income patrons.  This program required intricate planning and project management as it entailed collaboration with several community organizations.  In IST 717 Library Leadership and Management, I interviewed the director of the public library where I work.  This interview had many interesting aspects and what stands out to me was her experience with change management.  She was promoted to director after a period of instability and turmoil within the library.  Within five years, the library changed leadership three times, and morale was low.  By channeling change management principles and trial-and-error, she gradually instilled stability and a high sense of employee morale.  I found it incredibly helpful and clarifying to study the theory in class and then have a real-world example of how this theory was successfully applied.

In my future librarian role, I will ensure that my leadership style is informed by best practices and management principles.  I also realize that what is “best practice today” might be outdated tomorrow, so I will be mindful of continuous learning to stay abreast of these changes.

4.2 Use positional power to advocate for information equity and justice.

To me, this objective means to recognize that our position as librarians carries weight and influence.  It is our responsibility to wield that influence to advance information equity and justice.

To revisit the tax preparation program in the above section, this project was personal for me.  As I grew up in a lower-income neighborhood, I have personal insight into many of the challenges lower-income patrons face.  Among them, is overpaying for tax preparation that many times would be free if they were only aware of the free tax prep programs available to them.  I envisioned a library partnership with VITA (the IRS sanctioned volunteer tax prep group) to address this.  In IST 672 The Public Library as an Institution, I similarly created a strategic plan informed by my own experiences.  Throughout my life, I knew various family members and friends who were undocumented at one time or another.  It was reaffirming to find scholarly research that aligned with my observations and then be able to craft a plan that attempted to address their challenges.  I know that I can’t solve these issues, but in my own small way, I hoped to be able to alleviate what I can.

Going forward in my professional career, it is helpful to bear in mind what Professor Gray repeatedly instilled in us: lead from the position you’re in. This means that though we might not be in administration, we are all leaders.  We can effect change from the position we’re in.

4.3 Apply principles of equity and justice to ensure ethical decision-making.

This objective means to make sure that the decisions you make are grounded in the ethics and values that librarianship strives for.

I have had several instances in which I needed to conceptualize this for this program.  In IST 511 Intro to Library Info and Profession, I wrote my initial statement of professional philosophy.  It was an exercise in reflection and studying of ALA values.  As I was just beginning the program, the principles of librarianship were still forming within me.  I knew that I was drawn to social justice and information equity, but this exercise helped me begin to envision how I would translate that into my professional practice.  In IST 635 Collection Development, I wrote a response to a book challenge.  This was a real-world example of how to defend the principle of intellectual freedom with policy.

Going forward in my professional career, I will make sure that the principles of equity and justice underly my decision-making and practices.

4.4 Solve problems using empathy, evidence, and critical and creative thinking.

To me, this objective means leveraging a variety of tools to find the solution that works best for your library and your staff. An effective leader is always learning and willing to examine the best practices in the field and then use critical thinking and creativity to adapt these practices to their needs and community.  

In IST 635 Collection Development, I needed to do this for the Collection Evaluation assignment.  The assignment consisted of evaluating 25 books in the nonfiction department and then deciding whether to keep, weed, or replace the items.  The concluding piece was a professionally worded memo to the library director that explained my choices and highlighted the rationale that underwrote the decisions.  That rationale was the result of many steps.  First, I did a community analysis to ensure that the selected books were aligned with community needs.  Then, I reviewed the library mission statement and collection development policy to ensure that my decision-making aligned with the library’s goals.  Thirdly, I reviewed the CREW method for weeding to ensure that my decisions were guided by weeding best practices. Only after completing all these steps did I begin to make decisions about weeding, keeping, or replacing the selected items.

In my future librarian role, I will approach problem-solving by first consulting the literature and best practices and then my own or colleagues' experiences to find the solutions that best suit our needs.

4.5 Facilitate communication with users, colleagues, and community stakeholders. 

This objective means practicing clear communication with everyone at every level in your organization. To me, this means making sure that your communication is clear and that you adapt the message to your audience. 

Throughout my work experience as a library assistant, I have had many instances of learning how to facilitate communication.  This has been especially apparent to me when I’m assisting patrons with computers, and they are feeling intimidated or overwhelmed by their lack of familiarity with technology.  I have learned quickly that often, the stated need is not the actual need.  I have learned to ask open-ended questions and reflect back what I hear, and gradually, we come to an understanding of what the real need is. In 717 Library Leadership and Management, this topic also emerged during the Library Leader Interview.  The library director stressed the importance of being able to communicate with all different types of personalities and backgrounds. She emphasized the need to adapt your message to whom you’re speaking because everyone has their own communication style and their own way of processing information. 

I will continue to develop and practice this skill as I progress in my library career.

4.6 Direct and participate in responsive public relations, marketing, and development.

To me, this objective is understanding that libraries' nature has changed. Libraries need to be proactive and engaging to redefine themselves in the ever-changing and competitive information landscape. This is done through public relations, marketing, and development.

In IST 613 Library Planning, Marketing, and Assessment, the Final Report to a partner library was my first step in practicing this.  My proposal was to conduct a diversity audit for the Adult Fiction department.  A key component of this proposal was a marketing plan that would inform the community of this initiative and then measure the success of this marketing effort with follow-up surveys and staff observations. In IST 611, Information Technologies in Educational Organizations, I created a promotional video for a coding program in the library. The video needed to target middle schoolers and apply the ARCS motivation concepts to make it as engaging as possible.

Going forward in my future professional career, I will continue to learn more about marketing and public relations and look for opportunities to implement these strategies in public libraries.

4.7 Manage information resources through the information life-cycle, including processes of information creation, collection development, representation, organization, preservation, curation, access, and dissemination.

This objective means that as information professionals, we need to be aware of and participate in all the phases of information from creation to its ending. 

In IST 616 Information Resources: Organization and Access, the Final Policy was a good example of managing information in the organization and access phase. My group developed a cataloging policy for poisonous plants in the Northeastern U.S.  We needed to think deeply about the concepts of access and discovery in creating this policy so that it could be potentially functional. In IST 634 Collection Development and Access, my literature review was about the end of the information cycle:  weeding or deselection.  It was incredibly helpful and interesting to learn how to identify when an information artifact is no longer useful to a community and how that process is determined.

In my future librarian role, I will continue to build on my experiences of managing information in different phases of the information life-cycle.