Core Library Leaders and Managers Interest Group

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Purpose: Organizes, moderates, and distributes summaries of virtual and face-to-face discussions on topics of interest to leaders and managers at all levels and types of libraries.

This interest group is part of Core's Leadership and Management Section.

Portraits of three Core members with caption Become a Member: Find Your Home: Core.

 

  • 1.  Library Lounge June Discussion: Doing less with less

    Posted Jun 03, 2024 01:39 PM

    Hello everyone,

    Please join us on June 12th at 10am Pacific Time/11am Mountain Time/12pm Central Time/1pm Eastern Time for a facilitated conversation with Marsha Miles, Assistant Director for Collections & Resource Management at Cleveland State University: What do you do when your library has been doing "more with less" for so long that further budget and/or staffing cuts necessitate "doing less with less"? Share ideas on identifying services and tasks that can be eliminated and strategies to maintain morale, self-care, and wellness during these challenging times.

    As a reminder, you can register for our upcoming sessions here: https://ala-events.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJApc-ipqDkiG9XgOpKE8gOzJvsk7ltZGWGe#/registration. We are looking forward to seeing you soon!

    Erik, Lori, and Cinthya (co-chairs)



    ------------------------------
    Cinthya Ippoliti
    Auraria Library Director
    University of Colorado Denver; Metropolitan State University of Denver; Community College of Denver
    she/her/hers
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Library Lounge June Discussion: Doing less with less

    Posted Jun 11, 2024 04:20 PM
    As someone who was downsized out of an academic archivist/tech services manager job because of lack of support and budget, I would recommend adding someone like Alison King of King Career Services to the agenda of this meeting. 

    In the years leading up to the re-org, the small, private university where I worked had no book money. We didn't renew several contracts to save money. When my employees retired, I was not allowed to replace them. Our supply budget was $20 a month, so I couldn't buy archival boxes.  It was an incredibly difficult work situation. We joked that the only thing left to reduce is people. A year or so later, I lost my job. 

    If employers can't or won't support library services, morale cannot be maintained. In my 25 years in a variety of types of libraries, I can't recall any libraries that recovered from long term budget reductions. 

    Please don't put the pressure on yourself to fix these situations. Self-care is essential,but won't help your work situation. You are too valuable to take this on when your employer won't.
    Write the next chapter in your career! Offering resume, cover letter, LinkedIn, interviewing, and job search coaching for librarians (and others)!
    kingcareerservices.com


    Lorene Kennard, MLIS
    Information Services Manager
    Rockford Public Library
    214 N. Church Street 
    Rockford, IL  61101
    815-987-6623



    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Library Lounge June Discussion: Doing less with less

    Posted Jun 12, 2024 07:42 AM

    Thank you so much for sharing! What a terrible situation you were in. It's incredibly frustrating and disheartening that libraries aren't receiving the support they need. My institution is struggling all around, not just the library. Our first step is to stop doing "more with less" as we've been doing. It is not sustainable. King Career Services looks like a wonderful resource, and I look forward to hearing others' experiences, recommendations, and strategies.



    ------------------------------
    Marsha Miles
    Asst. Director for Collections & Resource Management
    Cleveland State University
    She/Her/Hers
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Library Lounge June Discussion: Doing less with less

    Posted Jun 13, 2024 10:53 AM
    Marsha,

    You are right. Many institutions are struggling. You are also right that it's not sustainable. The economy is doing well and many types of libraries are still struggling. I wish I knew the answer.

    What I do know is librarians are doing their best to continue to provide a high level of service to patrons. 

    I wish I could come to the Library Lounge June Discussion. I would love to hear feedback on the discussion. I don't want anyone to do any extra work, but if there are any notes, could you post them here? 

    Thank you!
    Lorene Kennard, MLIS
    Information Services Manager
    Rockford Public Library
    214 N. Church Street 
    Rockford, IL  61101
    815-987-6623



    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Library Lounge June Discussion: Doing less with less

    Posted Jun 13, 2024 09:00 PM
    Hi Lorene,

    Yes, we will send out a summary of the discussion soon, thank you!

    Cinthya

    Cinthya Ippoliti

    she/her/hers

    University Librarian and Director

    cinthya.ippoliti@ucdenver.edu|303-315-7771

    2020-04-21_16-17-50 

     




    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Library Lounge June Discussion: Doing less with less

    Posted Jun 20, 2024 04:46 PM

    Hi everyone,

    Here are the notes from June's discussion! Thank you,

    Cinthya

    We talked about what we can stop doing  and how we can support colleagues and their workloads. The impact to students can be one criteria to determine that delineation. We also talked about folks feeling pressured to say yes either because of their positionality or just having too much work to do. We also discussed ways to communicate changes to services and programming externally and providing as much notice as possible when things are stopped or limited. Prioritizing care and wellness can be difficult when people are taking on multiple roles and work and some ideas were to host social events, a wellness room, mindful movements and cultivating psychological safety to encourage sharing of challenges and having open discussions about what everyone is experiencing. We also discussed flexible work arrangements when possible, doing things like chair yoga and several CALM Conference sessions were mentioned: https://www.conferenceonacademiclibrarymanagement.com/. 

    Please let me know if I missed anything thank you!

    Cinthya



    ------------------------------
    Cinthya Ippoliti
    Auraria Library Director
    University of Colorado Denver; Metropolitan State University of Denver; Community College of Denver
    she/her/hers
    ------------------------------

    Original Message