ILA Annual Conference: Day 1- Leadership

Over the three days of the conference, I will be writing up posts summarizing what I did with links where applicable. These posts will be long, but it is much easier to get each day into one long post rather than try to make a post for each program.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE PROBABLY TYPOS HERE. IN ORDER TO GET THESE POSTS OUT QUICKLY, I AM ON SCANNING THEN AFTER WRITING THEM DURING THE PROGRAM.

If I had an overall theme for Day 1 it would be leadership. I am looked to as a library leader and it was nice to hear other leaders and managers talk about what they do. I gained very good insight, had some things I do and believe corroborated and got a great list of leadership resources [at the end of this post.]

I got a late start today as I had just done a 24 hour trip to Indianapolis and back. So I began at Noon with the awards luncheon. I love going to honor all of my wonderful IL Library colleagues to hear about all of the good work they are doing. You can click here to see al of the winners and the press release for each one. This year I had the added bonus of being honored as an IL Library Luminary. It has been interesting to keep encountering myself on  this poster at the conference.

Check out all of the award winners, but also, please consider nominating someone you know for a library award. So many people are doing great work but they never get singled out for it all because someone did not take the time to nominate them. As someone who has nominated people and been nominated by others, I can vouch for the process.

This is What a Self Published Author Looks Like:

With the growth of self-published authors and the appeal of their books, hear from Soon to be Famous Illinois Author winners about how libraries can support self-published authors.

This program was sponsored by the Soon to Be Famous IL Author Program:

The Soon to be Famous Illinois Author project is the brainchild of library marketing professionals who were inspired after listening to a presentation by brand expert and NYU professor David Vinjamuri, who spoke at the American Library Association’s 2013 annual conference about the importance of libraries in the era of e-books and self-publishing. He challenged libraries to wield their collective influence to lift a self-published author to success to create a measurable indicator of the power of libraries and librarians to affect books and reading. Currently, 32% of bestsellers on Amazon are self-published. 

In the first year of the project, 103 self-published adult fiction titles were nominated and eighteen librarians across the state served as judges. After a series of eliminations, the top 3 authors were selected and were all present at the ILA headquarters for the announcement. Vinjamuri flew in from New York to introduce the authors and present the award to the winner. Committee members are currently planning for the fourth year of this exciting initiative.

Soon To Be Famous Illinois Authors:2014 – Joanne Zienty2015 – Michael Alan Peck2016 – Geralyn Hesslau Magrady2017 –  Daniel Rosenberg

This is just the tip of the iceberg of the information about this amazing program. Click here for the full website. I was one of the first judges for this contest, and have blogged about this wonderful program many times here.

Before they got to the heart of the program, the organizer did announce that other states are starting their own program modeled on ours! California is up and running and a few other states are ready to start soon. The hope is that one day all 50 states will have a Soon to be Famous Self Published Author program and then there can be a National winner.

The rest of the program featured past winners Michael Alan Peck and Daniel Rosenberg talking about the program and what being a winner has meant for them.

I think Mr Peck summed it up best when he said that the curated exposure of winning a library sponsored award and being included in library collections is amazing. His book is all over IL, the country, and the world now- and that is because librarians trust other librarians.

The authors continued by talking about their books, their process, and their future plans.

In the audience were librarians and aspiring authors. There were questions from the aspiring authors about how to get their book noticed. Of course I used this opportunity to promote IndiePicks Magazine for the authors to submit their titles for us to review.

Here in IL we are working hard to vet and promote self published authors so that libraries can add their titles. I am proud to have been a part of this group when it first started.

Moving On Up?: Determining If Management Is Right for You:

Moving from the service desk to management may seem like the natural progression in your library career, but it’s important to know what you’ll be getting into before making the leap. Hear from a variety of managers about what it’s like to transition to a management position, including: challenges you might face; how personality affects management; organizational skills needed to succeed; and the drawbacks and rewards of a change in job focus. Participants will also learn which questions to ask and what research to do before accepting a management position, to make sure it's a mutually beneficial fit.

Carolyn CieslaInterim Associate Dean, Learning Resources and AssessmentPrairie State College 

Anthony LucarelliHead of Adult ServicesIndian Prairie Public Library District

Jennifer JazwinskiPalatine Public Library District 

Alea PerezWestmont Public Library 

Handouts and slides can be accessed here. Search for the program’s title to pull them up.

Here are some notes from their presentation:

• Life of a Manager Means Meetings. As a manger, try to figure stuff out without a meeting. This shift to meetings is also so new to most librarians that I suggest that you schedule yourself 15 minutes before and after each meeting. Before- to plan for the meeting; even if it is just to make sure that you grab the right folder. After- to have a few moments to gather your thoughts and make notes. Strive for efficiency in the meetings. Another idea: put a time frame on each agenda item. It helps you to keep the meeting moving forward. 
• Time on the Desk: Don’t expect that because you are a manager now you won’t have any desk time. It is less, but it is important that you continue to know your patrons, collections, resources, etc... when you are the manager. You need to know what your front line staff knows. Commit to a department schedule and try to keep to it. Make people have a set day and time to be on desk and repeat it. Alea is at a smaller library and she is actually on desk more now, but that is because she wants her staff to run more programs and engage with the community more.
• Great general advice-- If you ask your staff to do it, you have to do it too! [When I was a manager I lived by this rule]
• From Planner to Coordinator-- If you are more about the details of planning, you need to focus on being more about the vision. That’s a big difference when moving to management. You get to be a mentor to give your staff the training and advice they need to succeed. It is so rewarding. Being a manager also means learning to say no. Do you have enough people to be doing all of the things they want to be doing?
• Scheduling: Always assume you will be a person down-- safest, best assumption to be prepared for anything that comes your way. Are there subs available? Some libraries have subs they can call in. If not, do you need to be on call? As a manager you often have to be the one to change your schedule, but suggest your library add official subs to help. The good thing about being a manger is that you can suggest changes.
• Monthly meetings with the people who directly report to you. 30 minutes max. Keep up on goals, talk private. Jen has no office so she meets with staff in a story time conference. 
• Personality and Management: Hardest to adjust to but so very important.
• Introverts are just as good managers as extroverts. Whatever you are, schedule time for yourself each day-- an appointment with you-- you are as important as your employees. You will be a better manager for it. 
• Impending burnout is always on the horizon. 
• Interpersonal Relationships: Carolyn was promoted from within so it’s hard because she can be friendly with them still, but not friends anymore. Communication is crucial- I am happy to chat during work but I cannot go out for beers anymore. Managing your friends is hard because you have to be respectfully critical of their work now. You have to correct, be able to have frank conversations. It’s hard but well appreciated in long run.
• Managing change: Tony replaced someone who had been there over 30 years. Came from a different library. He went in and observed for the first 6 months, which leads to next point....
• Managing Change: observe and then start small-- he took schedule from paper to electronic. Then he created a staff manual. Also as a middle manager, Tony had to managing from 360 degrees- those below and working with those above. No one likes change, but if they are all being heard and feel like they are part of the conversation, change is easier.
• Handle discipline and poor performance ASAP. Don’t wait until annual review. Your employees aren’t going to wait for you to be fully ready until they act badly. They are going to act how they are going to act. You need to deal with it.
• As a manager you also need to be an advocate for your employees!
• Time management: When Jen became a manager she felt like she had 3 jobs. Librarian responsibilities, supervisory responsibilities, management team/strategic planning responsibilities. Organization is key! 
• Be gentle with yourself. Allow yourself to try something and then if it doesn’t work, try something else.
• If management is for you, start looking for leadership opportunities first! Join leadership committees internally at your current library and look to professional library associations to get involved. Also look in your community- Rotary, Lions, Church. If you can’t get it at work, you can run committees, work on projects, and oversee volunteers in these groups.
• Look for the right fit. Before you have an interview- research the library and the community. See what they are doing and what they are not doing. Do you bring something they need? Highlight that in your interview. Don’t forget to check the local newspaper to see if there has been Director turn over or controversy. 

Final program of the day: Make it Work: Elevating Library Leadership in IL:

What does it take to be a library leader in today’s challenging social and political climate? How can we develop leaders who will help Illinois libraries rise up? A panel of leaders who have participated in the Synergy Library Leadership Initiative will share their favorite leadership axioms to help you become an effective leader from any position in your organization, community, and profession. We will also provide a safe space for you to ask questions about challenges you may be facing in your libraries and communities. The session will also include information about an exciting new library leadership program.

Richard KongDirectorSkokie Public Library 

Brian ShepardExecutive DirectorIndian Trails Public Library District 

Betsy AdamowskiLIbrary DirectorWheaton Public Library 

Veronda PitchfordDirector of Membership Development and Resource SharingReaching Across Illinois Library System 

Amanda McKayDirectorEffingham Public Library

• Question and Answer style with these great panelists. I did not note who said what, I was concentrating on getting the information recorded.
• Advice you have received about Leadership:
• Remind myself to lead from wherever I am. Create a culture that supports people’s strengths and allows them to explore.
• Follow my heart
• My title does not make me a leader, my title gives me authority. That authority gives me the power to lead; I have to use it correctly.
• Leaders often face a higher level of scrutiny. How do you deal with this, especially when things get negative?:
• What I do is grounded in who I am. Knowing I own it and it is mine, has helped me to move forward if challenging or negative. I have already struggled with it on my own so I can defend it.
• Everyone is not going to go away okay, no mater how much planning you do. Explain self authentically.
• Communication:
• As a leader speak clearly, confidently, and be brief if you want to be heard and followed. 
• Communication means letting everyone know what’s happening and where we are going. Get everyone on staff up to speed. 
• Walk the walk and talk the talk
• Veronda- Well I am never brief. But in terms of improving the clarity of my message by always asking for feedback
• Delegate more decision making authority than you are comfortable with and trust people to do the right thing.
• Managing Time:
• Being intentional with how I schedule my time. I schedule time to think- white space. [Becky’s note: this came up in the previous session above.]
• How to transition into ILA Leadership Roles:
• Pick up the phone and call-- offer to help.
• Connect and engage with groups that abut libraries- @Infollectuals on Twitter is a good one.
• What I look for when I evaluate employees:
• Don’t feed into the crazy
• What do you bring me? What do you add to our org?
• What are you reading/listening to about leadership?
• Just Mercy by Stevenson
• Work Rules!: Insights From Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead by Bock
• NPR Podcasts: TedTalks [even ones that aren’t about leadership or librarianship]
• Chicago Tribune, New York Times
• Fast Company- Magazine
• Find leaders you respect and want to learn from and follow them or read there stuff, but also be true to yourself.
• Suggestions from friend of RA for All, and my conference spouse, Magan - Harvard Business Review, Radical Candor podcast and book. Magan is not only the manager of a large department, but she is part of the RUSA leadership team, so she knows what she is talking about.
• What tool do you use to manage you white space time:
• Pen and paper as working daily and then gather it up electronically.
• Dry erase wall in office. She can spend time with ideas and planning, but also easily show to others to share.
• Journalling. Every day. I am up to 12.
• Proximity is key to Leadership. How do you bring people together?
• Get out of your office and ben in your library’s space. See how things are working and what is happening. Get feedback without them coming into your office.
• Can’t always be about email. Make the effort to create relationships and get to know people.
• Dealing with oppositional views:
• Sit down and talk about it immediately. Address the person with the person who is opposed to you. Be direct and respectful. Have dialog.
• Getting to know people and hearing about their experience, especially when their view is opposed to yours, is helpful.
• #1 thing you need to be a leader:
• Integrity and Humility- you can learn from anyone
• Listening Skills-- don’t just hear it, but listen and do something with that.
• Passion- you can be a leader, but if you are not feeling it, the people you are serving won’t feel it either.
• Take Risks and Own Failure
• Always Be Evolving! Work on your weak spots.