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COMMUNICATION AND STAFF AWARENESS IN THE BRANCH LIBRARY

Jason Kuhl

If you have managed a library branch, you have been presented with challenges not faced by other library managers. How do you make sure your staff feel like part of the organization? How do you keep them aware and committed to the library’s values? Mastering techniques for nurturing staff awareness and employing good communication skills go a long way toward helping you meet these challenges in any type of library.

WHAT’S SO DIFFERENT ABOUT BRANCH MANAGEMENT, ANYWAY?

Although every library is different, library branches tend to

• be located in residential areas and maintain more of a “neighborhood” feel than their centrally located counterparts
• employ staff that live in the neighborhood
• employ a greater percentage of paraprofessional staff
• not house any support departments or library administration
• have a relatively flat organizational structure with many job titles directly reporting to one person

STAFF AWARENESS

Keeping staff aware of the library’s philosophy is one of a branch manager’s greatest challenges. At a single-location library, staff may see the library director and other decision makers on a daily basis; this is not true at a branch. How can staff be kept aware of the library’s values and mission when they rarely see its leadership?

The good news is that, as the branch manager, you have control of this situation. Make no mistake; it is your responsibility to see that your staff understand the organization’s philosophy and the reasons behind it. Some directors are more involved with communicating their vision to frontline staff than others; regardless, the ultimate responsibility lies with you. Keep these ideas in mind:

• Professional reading is not just for professionals. Understand that your staff probably do not read professional journals or blogs; you may be surprised to find out what they do not know about the library world (see It’s Up to You). Compile a binder of interesting articles and give staff time to read them. Discuss at meetings.
• Make minutes of library board meetings available and see that staff review them.
• Send staff to professional development workshops or webinars. Do not assume that paraprofessional staff should attend workshops for nonprofessionals only. Require attendees to distribute materials and share what they learn. Be sure to issue reports from all of the workshops and conferences you attend, too.
• Be transparent. Unless instructed otherwise, share reports from library meetings, committees, and workgroups with your staff.
• Get your staff involved. Cross-train and rotate duties. Think about giving staff full responsibility for a project from planning and budgeting to implementation and assessment. The more you can increase the breadth of their experience, the more apt they are to become aware and involved.

COMMUNICATING BY E-MAIL

Good communication is critical for effective management. It is surprising how many managers do not think about the way they communicate with their staff. Reign in your e-mail. Since it is fast and convenient for the sender, it has become the instinctive way to communicate, but it is far from perfect, for several reasons:

• It is not immediate; if something is of critical importance, your busy staff may not see it until it is too late.
• It is best for one-way communications; even if one recipient responds, others do not have the benefit of the discussion unless all replies are sent to all recipients.
• It is asynchronous; if you send an e-mail to all of your staff, some will surely hear about it through the grapevine before they read it.
• It is overwhelming; the sheer volume of e-mail we receive each day can lead to overload and critical information being missed.

IT’S UP TO YOU …

… to make sure your staff are aware of major topics in the field. I recently spoke with some branch library paraprofessionals who thought their library was horribly mismanaged because they were under a hiring freeze and would not be getting raises that year. A glance at any professional journal would have shown them that innumerable libraries across the country are facing those very circumstances—and much worse—during these difficult times. Do not assume that staff members are aware of even the most important issues.

How many times have you said something like “It was in an e-mail. Didn’t you read it?” to one of your staff who missed a key piece of information? E-mail is quick and easy; it is natural to want to use it whenever you have something to share. But instead of overloading your staff with numerous e-mail each day, consider sending one large e-mail each week.

When you are tempted to send an e-mail to your entire staff, consider whether or not they need to know the information immediately or if it can wait a few days. If it can wait, write yourself a reminder. By the end of the week, you will probably have several items to be included. Tailor the content to your own situation; in addition to those items on your list, consider reviewing your schedule for the upcoming week, programs happening at your branch in the upcoming week, and community groups meeting at the branch in the upcoming week.

STAFF MEETINGS

Have the right kind of meetings; if well utilized, they are great for encouraging discussion and exchanging ideas. Staff meetings are too often used as a place to make general announcements. It is difficult to get staff together in one place; take advantage of it by leading discussions of big-picture topics. There are other ways to make general announcements. Consider these basic guidelines:

• Very brief morning meetings are a great way to touch base before opening, highlight what will be happening that day, and ensure that everyone is on the same page.
• Individual meetings are the best way to discuss performance and projects with staff members. Set up a schedule and stick to it.
• Position a dry-erase board near the employee entrance so staff can see it when they arrive. Record items that came up in your morning meeting or critical information staff need to know as soon as their shift begins; this is more effective than e-mail.
• A staff blog is a good way to encourage discussion, and a branch wiki is an effective way to consolidate information.

Both new and experienced managers would agree that managing a branch library offers exciting opportunities and unique challenges. From offering programs that focus on the specific needs of your neighborhood to developing relationships with members of your local community, the rewards of branch librarianship can be great. By realizing the challenges of branch management and addressing them, you can go a long way toward solidifying your branch’s place as a centerpiece of your neighborhood.