Had coffee with my old boss the other day (he who got me looking into blogging), and was reminded of some of the things I have learned over the last ten or so years as a librarian.
- “No one’s going to die.”
This was said to me by a very wise library technician who’d seen it all. I had just become her supervisor. I had no experience in supervising anyone and had just learned how the circulation system worked and was realising that there was a lot more to the library than the reference desk roster. I can’t remember what I had gotten myself in a flap about, but she stopped me, looked me in the eye and said, “It will be fine. NO ONE’S GOING TO DIE.” These days this phrase always comes back to me when something unexpected and undesirable happens at work and helps me stay calm and not take myself too seriously. - “All staff are not equal.”
I had the privilege* of observing a manager who treated all her staff exactly the same, from the fresh, enthusiastic, full-of-ideas recent grad, to the is-it-morning-tea-time-yet, seen-it-all-before, been-here-forty-years veteran. This does not work well. Oh, of course everyone has the same rights, and so forth, but staff members at different stages of their careers need different things. If you only ever work to the lowest common denominator (”You bothered to come to work. Yippee”), it has a horribly demoralising, dulling effect, not just on the bright young things, but on the whole team. *privilege, because from her I learned a lot about what not to do. - “Be bold.”
I’ve also been fortunate to work with a librarian who was creative and interested in trying new things, right until the day she retired. When she left, she actually told me to “Be bold.” Mal is right, many of us in libraries tend to be afraid. Our first reaction to a new idea is to immediately worry about what will go wrong. “A library blog? We’ll get negative comments!” “A new service? Let’s do some environmental scans, a lit review, talk to people, visit some libraries, write a report, present it to a committee, discuss, consult, another review, report again, committee…” I have to admit, it’s way too easy for me to forget this one. Much easier to not ruffle feathers and just go with what everyone seems to want. Or is it?
What are the useful messages, adages, mottos, that have influenced your world view, and that you try to live or work by?
