Leonette Williams
Associate Director for Collections and Technical Services
University of Southern California Law Library
Los Angeles, CA
Above and Beyond
Law Library Journal Spring 1997
Most days begin with a "bitch session." I feel strongly that open communication between colleagues contributes to better work performance. Work days are busy for everyone, so I make a practice of seeking out fellow librarians and staff members for a few moments of informal conversation. For me the open window of time at the beginning of each day is just right for a few minutes of shared thoughts. My approach is to casually sit down with the selected individual of the morning and just start talking about whatever comes to mind. Earlier I referred to this conversation as a "bitch session" and for good reason; the majority of times someone wants to unload their personal thoughts on someone else or something going on in the library. It's surprising how much can be shared and gained from a ten-minute nonjudgmental, nonthreatening dialogue. An opening remark about today's headline or last evening's sitcom can expand into a variety of directions, including professional topics. Over time these sessions foster better and friendlier personal and professional relations that make it easier for colleagues to work together. There's nothing like trashing the boss or "him" or "her" to create a bond.
My title reads "Associate Director for Collections and Technical Services." For those who prefer a simplistic and generic description, I am the head of technical services. My position entails all the standard responsibilities that are usually part of a position with this title. But there are some other areas that are not so evident from the position title. They are "above and beyond" what my job description calls for and they often fill a good part of my day, although, of course, no day is typical. Every day offers something different.
Practically every day I put on my firefighter outfit. Fires may be large or small—the key is to prevent small fires from becoming large fires and to put out all fires as quickly as possible. Someone's unexpected and different way of looking at something can be kindling for a fire just waiting to ignite at the first spark of disagreement. Or a seemingly innocuous procedure can be ignored for a little too long, and pop!—a fireball suddenly bursts forth. Fires demand immediate attention and I stop whatever I'm doing to devote my full attention to dousing the fire. The smoke may linger for a while but I'll keep working to wave it aside and return us to clear skies. The most disturbing fire is the one which I cause. Even after practicing fire prevention techniques for many years I can still ignore a burning ember, albeit unintentionally, and accidentally start a flame.
As you would expect, the majority of my time is spent in the Technical Services Department. Each day I meet informally with the two librarians in my department who manage the acquisitions and cataloging functions. Currently the two librarians in technical services are relatively new to the profession of law librarianship. Both are extremely bright and enthusiastic about their new profession, and I believe both will become future leaders in the profession. Their fresh view has changed several procedures for the better. Because of their talent they have made my task of teaching them their new responsibilities (and serving as their supervisor) sheer joy. This is not to say that they will not need instruction, guidance, and mentorship for some time to come; it is to point out that, because of their competency, more time is open for me. I enjoy working with them on such things as tracking down requests for items where insufficient information is given, examining entire ranges of the collection title by title for the purpose of reclassifying it, analyzing serials with potential problems, offering suggestions for added subject entries, and figuring out how best to handle a difficult faculty request.
Collection development is my favorite activity. The Acquisitions Librarian has responsibility for Anglo-American selection and ordering up to a certain monetary figure. She refers titles above the specified figure to the library's director or me for authorization to purchase. International and foreign law is selected by a committee on which I serve as chair; the committee is composed of the senior reference librarian, the foreign/international reference librarian, and a library staff member fluent in Chinese who handles selection for Asian jurisdictions. I regularly monitor many sources for reviews of new books to keep apprised of the current state of legal and nonlegal publishing. In addition, I review all acquisitions invoices slated for payment. This review provides direct information on expenditures and leads me to closely examine potential titles for cancellation. As a result I continuously prepare lists of titles by subject or publisher for the librarians and selected faculty members to review. I consult with the law faculty members on collection development matters so frequently that I am sure they believe it is my own money comprising the acquisitions budget.
Our philosophy on hiring is to find the best and the brightest. As a result, our library assistants generally remain with us an average of three years. Most have gone on to become librarians or have pursued master's or doctoral degree programs. It seems that in any given year there is always someone to be trained in technical services. I now accept the fact that training new staff is a constant part of my job. For me to keep current with what's going on in my department, I need to participate in training all levels of personnel. By becoming involved in training, the teacher is forced to first become the student. When I learn new library operations or software updates, I either feel pride in my ability to grasp new concepts at lightning speed or I feel just plain stupid. Experiencing both feelings is good; it helps me set realistic goals for new employees.
If this were a parody essay, I'd entitle the two formally scheduled meetings that I attend "The Horror." In practice, the two meetings are commendable; in my moments of paranoia they are dreaded trials of tribulation. The two meetings are the weekly administrative meeting and a computing meeting every third week. The purpose of the administrative meeting is to ensure that time is set aside each week for the librarians involved with administration to share their noteworthy activities and to discuss library matters of mutual concern. The meeting is necessary. However, in the presence of the library director and esteemed colleagues, a strong pressure exists to contribute something worthwhile. Quite frankly, sometimes weeks go by without anything noteworthy happening. More times than I care to admit, I feel like a character in a Dilbert cartoon scrambling to make something out of nothing. The only saving grace is that my colleagues share the same feeling. In defense of the meeting, it does force each of us to take a more critical look at our areas than we otherwise would. The computing meeting is more challenging for me since the attendees—with the notable exception of the assistant director and me—are computer nerds. The two of us learn and observe a great deal more than we contribute. However, neither one of us wants to be excluded from the meeting because we fear that our departmental needs would be relegated to a low position on the list of computing priorities. For example, if I hadn't been at these meetings to harp on the extraordinary boot time (i.e., those lost moments when a computer gears up) experienced by various staff members, some of us would still be using 286 PCs instead of Pentiums. I think it was the completion of a king-size quilt made during boot time that convinced everyone an upgrade was due. In fairness to the "nerd squad," our library couldn't have a better group of computing people. The director of computing is blessed with intelligence and the ability to translate nerdese into lay terms with charming diplomacy.
I think that the director of my library has a great deal in common with Captain Jean Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise on the Star Trek television and movie series.1 Captain Picard runs one of the finest fleets in Star Fleet. His officers have been selected from the top graduates at Star Fleet Academy. From his no-nonsense approach to management you are aware that he expects all of his officers to be highly competent and to perform at high levels. His one clear direction is to "make it happen." Captain Picard does not address his top officers by name, but addresses them by their function: "Number One," "Counselor," "Doctor," and "Chief Engineer." Although he places a distinct distance between himself and his crew, he has shown a selected few a personal side. Star Trek fans will recall that Captain Picard stood as Worf's "second" during Worf's battle to regain his family name from the Klingon Empire. Captain Picard is not married, he does not have children, and his work is his life. In the years and years of intergalactic space travel he has had but two real romances: Commander Darrian and an archaeologist unrelated to ship's personnel or Star Fleet. He has visited his family, a brother and his brother's family, only once. He makes all the tough decisions but never without first consulting his officers. He gives his officers the confidence to speak their opinions and though they may not always agree with Captain Picard's decisions, they will carry out his orders. He confronts danger straight-on and never backs down. I have great faith in the creativity of law librarians and know that you can carry out the analogy of the library to the Enterprise without further elaboration. I don't see myself as any one particular character on the Enterprise; more like a combination of Counselor Troy, Doctor Crusher, and Worf. Serving on the Enterprise can be challenging but I am proud to be aboard.
1. I mean the character of Captain Picard, not Patrick Stewart, the actor who portrays the character.
For More Information About Law Librarianship or the AALL Recruitment Committee, contact committee chair Sarah Mauldin.