Spectrum PR Column
December 1998
Marketing Your Support Staff
by Herb Cihak
AALL Spectrum, Volume 3 No. 4 December 1998
As libraries continue to be changed by technological advancements, librarians ought to be interested in public relations and marketing--since these aspects of a library operation are ultimately tied to a library's growth and survival. In the rush to build bigger and better library organizations we must not leave our non-librarians behind. In fact, one of the best things that we can do is to market our traditional support staff.
Marketing our non-librarian staff means that we do whatever we can to encourage and reward these members of our library team. If we direct our attention and distribute our resources to library support staff, then a tremendous transformation will take place both in the individual staff member and within the library organization itself. How is this done? Let me recommend a two step staff marketing approach.
First, we market our support staff personnel by encouraging and supporting them. The greatest resource that a library organization possesses is its people. I have asked non-librarian personnel to head library committees or take charge of self-directed teams. Without fail, support staff members have exhibited tremendous leadership skills. Most library technicians also are endowed with common sense and creativity. Library leaders miss the mark when they fail to tap into the intellectual capital that non-librarians possess.
Liberation is part of the process of marketing the non-librarian support staff member. When we liberate our employees we hand employees the key to their own jobs. We help employees understand that the key which they have been given unlocks the true meaning and purpose of the job responsibilities that they perform. We also let library technicians know that goals are set and controlled by them. Then we step back and provide the resources that our employees need. We serve as library coaches. As a coach our task is to offer encouragement. We stand on the sidelines and cheer our support staff-offering advice only when needed.
Library coaches must also help library support staff members keep aligned with a library's mission and values. Frequent evaluations serve as a good barometer of workplace performance. At quarterly evaluations, with my library staff, we are able to assess what went right and what could be improved upon. Goals can be discussed and library coaches can be graded as to how good a job of coaching they do. If mistakes happen then correct the mistakes and move on. Kentucky football coach Hal Mumme terms this type of attitude one of "play the next play."
Second, we market our support
staff personnel by rewarding them. We treat non-librarians as librarian equals.
If we procure new equipment or furniture then those purchases are distributed
equitably. Consideration is given to support staff positions whenever salary
increases or reclassification upgrades occur. There is no room for a caste system
within a library setting.
Library technicians can be rewarded by giving them the proper recognition and
praise that they deserve. No one shines unless someone shines the light. It's
the job of a library coach to focus the spotlight on staff members. Often library
support personnel will desire to enroll in classes or be involved with various
library organizations. Such professional development opportunities should be
encouraged. Trips to national and regional library meetings should be provided
for our non-librarian staff members.
Library support staff should handle all interactions with professors and other library customers. For example, routing or book order requests should go directly to the support staff member who handles those responsibilities. Liberated library staff members must feel that they have control over the content and timing of their own jobs, so flextime schedules may also be instituted to accomplish that objective.
Want to establish a library team that is Y2K ready? Market your non-library support staff personnel. These people are truly diamonds in the rough!
Last Updated: January 28, 2003
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