Core Competency D

Apply the fundamental principles of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy.

Statement of Competence
Planning and management are arguably a trait of most lines of work. Most office jobs require these skills even if one does not hold the title of “manager,” and library work is no different. One fundamental skill of both planning and management is the ability to participate in a long-term project while working with a group. This skill includes the ability to set goals and objectives over a period of time, strategize the best way to achieve those goals, and work as part of a team in a collaborative fashion. The importance of the project being long-term, over a few weeks or months instead of just a day or two, is that time management and team cooperation are shown best over a longer period. Also, more important projects take a longer period of time to complete correctly. It is usually worth the extra time to make sure the group is working effectively toward a mutual end goal. Management theory is also extremely important during long-term group projects, whether or not one is the team leader. The practice of being an effective manager can be kept in mind by anyone working on a long-term project by making sure deadlines are met, work is clean, and their part of the project is impeccable. As the leader or manager of a project, management theory must be applied in order to make sure everyone on the team knows their roles and tasks, and is performing effectively. It is also essential to make sure the team’s morale stays high, everyone is respectful toward everyone else’s ideas, and criticism remains constructive, for the good of the team as a whole.

Marketing, while a more specific task, is also fairly common in most workplaces. Even if one does not work in the official marketing department (which in most library systems is usually a team of just a few people), it is still important to know how to market one’s own work to coworkers, supervisors, and patrons. For example, a youth services librarian might have an idea for a class on Internet blogging, a brand new type of programming that her library has never hosted before. The first step would be convincing her coworkers and supervisor that it is a good idea. She could do this by conducting some official research on other libraries that have successfully hosted similar programs, and by informally asking a few patrons if it is something they would be interested in. After getting the program approved, it would be time to market the event to the patrons. She would need to be very knowledgeable about the program before posting any information about it, because if signage is effective, interested patrons will have questions. At this point, the importance of her program depends entirely upon way she presents herself and the class. Her description of the program, on flyers and in person to people asking about it, will determine whether people will show up. These are all marketing techniques, and they are even more important than conducting the class itself. The success of library programming depends greatly on how well it is marketed to coworkers and management, and after that, to the public.

Advocating for the library is a large part of a public librarian’s job. Outreach events at schools, community centers, and parks, among other environments, can be instrumental in spreading the word about programs and services of which the public might not otherwise be aware. In these situations, much like marketing, the main battle is in how the library’s advocate is received. Whether the program they are advertising is worthwhile becomes momentarily unimportant; the central concern of a library advocate is making the program sound worthwhile. This means having an open and inviting demeanor, being knowledgeable about all services the library provides, and being ready for any questions the public might have. The organizational setting, how management might influence decision-making, can impact the work a librarian produces in both program marketing and library advocacy. It can do this by firmly confirming or denying that librarian’s technique; in the example above, a branch manager might refuse the librarian’s idea for a blogging class only because that territory is too uncharted, no matter how well the librarian markets the idea. Planning, management, marketing, and advocacy are all skills relevant to everyday work at a library, and skills that can grow with an information professional as they move through their career.

Evidence
Professional Synthesis: Teen and Young Adult Librarianship
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Description
The powerpoint presentation entitled “Professional Synthesis: Teen and Young Adult Librarianship” was completed during LIBR 204: Information Professions in the Spring 2015 semester. The goal of the assignment was to take an in-depth look at a specific career path within the broader umbrella of library and information science. I chose youth services, or teen and young adult librarianship, because my ultimate career goal is to manage a youth services department at a public library. The assignment provides references and quotations from the class textbooks as foundation for each section. Within each section, several bullet points explain the topic. Each page lends itself to a live presentation of the information, but is also relevant on its own as a short overview of each issue. The presentation delves into the finer points of library management and what it takes to effectively build and run a team, plan teen programming, and reach out to teens in the community. It ends with a short section advocating for teen literacy programs as some of the most important a library can offer.

Argument
I feel this assignment demonstrates my knowledge of Competency D because of its focus on management, decision making, communicating, planning, team building, outreach, and advocacy. The sections “Legal Issues and Library Management” and “Leading” provide similar information on how to manage a team, from two different perspectives. The former talks about the legal responsibility that comes with running programs for young people. The latter gets into the specifics of how to effectively manage a team of young adults, and why it is important to do so. “Decision Making” reminds the viewer that while leading a group of teens, it is the responsibility of the program manager to keep participants engaged and minimize any potential conflict. “Changing and Innovating” reminds the viewer to keep ideas fresh and always changing, because teenage patrons are especially used to consistent changes. This is relevant not just to youth programming, but library programming in general. Periodically changing the way things are done will keep people interested and engaged in library news. “The Planning Process” informs the viewer of the best ways to market and advertise a program. “Ways to Reach Out to Teens” also touches on marketing and outreach, listing ways to advertise a library event such as social media and public bulletin boards. This slide also takes care to mention speaking to social services about “at-risk youth who might benefit from library programming.” This is an important way to exercise advocacy, both for the library and for the teens. By representing the library, this type of outreach is not only benefitting any at-risk youth gained for this one program. The social services contacted will then remember the library’s interest in involving at-risk youth in their services and recommend the library again and again.

This assignment details all important aspects of Competency D. Compiling the powerpoint presentation, as well as reading and dissecting the sources cited, have provided me with a solid understanding of marketing, management, program planning, and advocacy both for the library and the patrons I will be serving.

Solution Pathways Analysis
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Final White Paper
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Description
Both of these assignments, “Solution Pathways Analysis” and the “Final White Paper” were completed in the Fall 2016 semester during INFO 281: Colloquial Contemporary Issues: Examination of Global Library Issues Using Project-Based Learning. These assignments were on the same subject, working toward a mutual goal of finding an effective cataloguing and automation system that would be compatible with the resources to small libraries in Guatemala. I completed the Solution Pathways Assignment individually, as a supplement to the Final White Paper group project.

The Solution Pathways Analysis is a detailed look into one section of the Final White Paper. It investigates the characteristics that an Open Source System (OSS) needs in order to be effective in the small libraries of Guatemala. The paper notes that in these libraries, internet connection is scarce or nonexistent depending on the location, and technology such as computers and digital self-checkout systems are difficult to acquire. For this reason the requirements for a compatible system include free of cost, no requirement of a consistent internet connection, and the ability to operate the program in languages other than English. The paper comes to the conclusion that OpenBiblio would be the most effective for the purposes of small libraries in rural Guatemala. This program is free, available in Spanish, and does not need a solid internet connection to operate sufficiently. In the second part of the assignment, I relate the search for an OSS system to a local issue of which I have experienced the aftermath, the changeover from old to new automation systems at Phoenix Public Library. I also use the new Phoenix system as an example of a system with multiple branches each using the same system, so employees can move easily between branches without having to learn new systems. This example is applied to the idea that Librarians Without Borders (LWB) should use the same automation system across all the libraries that they run in Guatemala so that volunteers can easily move between them and assist patrons and staff in system operations.

The Final White Paper was a group project that I worked on with five classmates. We were to follow a “white paper” format, which is an authoritative report that breaks down a complex issue and usually solves a problem in order to help readers understand the issue at hand. As I stated above, the subject of the paper was cataloguing and automation in small libraries. I collaborated with another group member to write the “Solutions” section, recorded a short FlipGrid video about the subject of our report, and was one of two group members who edited and revised the entire project before turning in both the rough and final drafts.

Argument
The Solution Pathways Analysis and Final White Paper demonstrate my mastery of Competency D mainly because the final project was the culmination of an entire semester’s work. The INFO 281 focusing on global library issues is a project-based learning class, meaning the students work for an extended period of time investigating one complex subject. After receiving the topic of our report, my group divided the work and made ourselves available for scheduled meetings and over email at any time. This way, we were able to bounce ideas off of one another and give our feedback as sections were added to our shared Google Doc. My group of six worked completely collaboratively from the beginning of the semester until the final was turned in. We met deadlines such as completing a majority of the project to turn in as a rough draft halfway through the class, and made sure to respect one another by completing tasks on time so the next group member could start on their part.

The Solution Pathways Analysis was an individual assignment that allowed me to elaborate upon ideas that I was forming for my section of the group project. This technique was similar to forming a personal marketing technique before presenting it to my fellow group members. This order of operations also supports my mastery of Competency D. The process of solidifying my ideas individually before contributing to the long-term group project helped me understand the overall purpose of the large project. Both assignments also involve advocacy; imagining being an advocate for LWB, while also advocating for systems that will be compatible with available technology in Guatemala. These two assignments combined into one process creates a solid representation of my understanding of Competency D.

Conclusion
Competency D consists of four principles that I will apply to both my current and future library work. In my current job as a library assistant, I always have three to five long-term projects at once. I intend to use the planning and marketing techniques I learned in these classes on a daily basis so that I continue to practice effective time management and meeting of deadlines. I also use management in my current position when I am an acting supervisor, and advocacy when I am a representative of the library at outreach events. I plan to use these skills even more often as my career advances and I look toward the goals of librarianship and management.