CREATING MANUALS FOR JOB DUTIES
Holly Flynn
There are many good reasons for a librarian to create a manual of his or her job duties. In the event that a librarian goes on a leave of absence—whether long-term or short-term—a manual provides management documentation for getting that librarian’s assigned tasks completed in the interim. When a librarian retires, a manual is a way to pass on institutional knowledge that might not be documented elsewhere. Even if a manual is never used while a librarian is away, it helps the librarian writing it to become better organized, as I have experienced myself.
I have gone on two maternity leaves in three years, for a total of six months. During my first leave I was the solo librarian at two branch libraries and managed one full-time library assistant. For the second leave, I managed two full-time assistants at two locations, one sixty miles away from our main campus. I knew that, given the economy and poor budget years, a temporary librarian would not be hired to replace me. I needed to train several colleagues to fill in while I was gone. I also needed to ensure that my patrons were not inconvenienced during this time. Finally, I wanted my library assistants to refer inquiries to other librarians instead of acting as librarians and risk working above their union pay grade.
Writing a job manual is a bit like trying to write a parenting manual: it is going to be different for everyone, and you cannot possibly cover every contingency. There are, however, a few basic steps you can take to be successful: keep a log of your daily tasks; write down personal practices and procedures; find backups and train them; and record passwords and contact information.
KEEP TRACK OF EVERYTHING YOU DO
Most of us cram many tasks into a single workday: possibly a reference shift, a library instruction class, story time, committee meetings, and more. Try to keep a fairly detailed list of everything you work on for several weeks. As you read through it later, it will become clear what you spend the most time on and what your highest priorities are. This helps you later when you start writing down policies and procedures for these tasks. If you are a reference librarian, keep track of all the questions you are asked and where to find the answers. If your library uses a software program for keeping statistics, such as DeskTracker, you can notate your statistics there and run a report later.
WRITE DOWN PERSONAL PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES FOR EACH AREA OF YOUR JOB
If your library has general procedures in place and current documentation for them, there is no need to rewrite that. You may want to include reference to the relevant public web pages in your manual, since those are usually kept more up to date than private documentation. However, if you do something differently, or have different priorities than other librarians, write those down. Include every detail. Remember that, although you may do tasks much like others at your library, you probably have your own unique way of doing them. Think of the librarian who has worked at your library for thirty years or more. She knows her subject area and patrons thoroughly. Eventually she will retire, and without a written manual all of that knowledge will be lost. Manuals are an excellent way to preserve the institutional memory of an organization. Not only do they work as a stopgap for management until a new person is hired, they are also a valuable tool for the new librarian.
FIND SEVERAL PEOPLE TO FILL IN FOR YOU, AND TRAIN THEM
Once you have the main components of your manual—procedures for various areas of responsibility—you need to find colleagues to serve as your substitute in each area. In the event that you are unavailable to work for a while, this assures that each aspect of your job is covered while not overworking any one person. For instance, if you work the reference desk, have another reference librarian cover your reference questions, whether they are presented in person, through e-mail, or chat. If you are a subject selector, have another collections colleague with a similar subject area trained to buy books and other material for you in the event that your patrons request something. If you need someone with specialized expertise, you may want to work with someone from your professional organization. Generally speaking, if you know you are going to be gone only for a short time, others are usually willing to help.
When it comes to training your temporary stand-ins, simply giving them a copy of your manual is not enough. Work with them personally to ensure that they can handle the details of your job. Cross-training is an exercise that has only positive effects.
You may also create online tutorials for areas of your job for which you have no backup. If you are a subject librarian, you might create online instruction modules for various databases using software such as Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro. I created a virtual tour of our library for patrons to use, since I knew I would be unavailable for in-person tours at the beginning of the semester. Finally, make sure your public online documentation, such as research guides and collection development policies, is accurate and up to date.
RECORD RELEVANT PASSWORDS AND CONTACT INFORMATION
If your backups need to know various computer passwords or other numbers, include those in the manual. As I was preparing for a leave of absence, our security gates occasionally malfunctioned, so I included the phone number to call and the serial numbers of the gates in my manual. You can hide your manual in a password-protected wiki so only authorized people can see it. Also be sure to include the contact information for all of your backups as well as your home or cell phone number. Distribute the link and password to your manual to your supervisors, appropriate employees, and anyone else you think may need it. In the end, this will likely mean fewer phone calls to you at home, and you will be free to concentrate on nonwork issues. Finally, be sure to revisit your manual once a year to make sure it is up to date, in the event that you are unexpectedly called away from your job.
Creating a manual for my job duties has been extremely useful. My manual was used successfully during my two maternity leaves and continues to be used now that I am on an academic year appointment and out of the office for three months a year. The process of writing the manual helped me better organize my job procedures. By letting my colleagues handle various tasks, I am able to leave the office for extended periods and not be overwhelmed with outstanding work on my return. In a challenging economy when management may be unable to hire temporary librarians, manual documentation and cross-training are budget-friendly ways to handle long- or short-term leaves. Manual writing is also an excellent way to pass on best practices and institutional memory after you retire. Whether you are new to your career or ready to retire, having a manual for your library contributions will endear you to your colleagues and management.