ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 406 / C&RL News for sharing experiments and innovations and for encouraging others to join in by contributing ideas and perceptions. Short articles should be sent to George Eberhart, Editor, College & Research L i­ braries News, at the ACRL office. Other ideas or comments can be sent to me at Rutgers University Libraries, 169 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08903. The Management Intern Program at the Columbia University Libraries By Louise S. Slierby Reference Librarian, Humanities and History Division Columbia University Recognizing the importance of providing devel­ opm ent opportunities for professional staff in a large, complex, decentralized library system, the C olum bia University Libraries established the Management Intern Program in 1985 with the ob­ jective of introducing experienced library staff members to the responsibilities of senior manage­ ment positions. Modeled on the internship pro­ gram operated by the Council on L ibrary Re­ sources, the Libraries’ internship program provides the opportunity for librarians to spend a six-month period observing and participating in the various activities of a senior staff member, with the ulti­ mate goal of expanding the interns’ own skills and abilities and allowing them to become more in­ formed about the responsibilities and skills needed to perform successfully as senior managers. In addition to enhancing the career options of the interns, the program aims to develop the in­ terns’ awareness of the library system at different levels, provide a system-wide perspective rather than a departmental or divisional perspective, and involve them in the policy formulation process. Through performance of specific assignments as well as participation in committee meetings, the interns also contribute in a significant way to the Libraries during this time period. The Internship Program is a competitive one. Prospective interns are required to write a letter of application stating why they are interested in the program, whom they wish to work with, and their objectives and goals for participation. The applica­ tions are submitted to a committee of three senior managers for review. The successful applicant is notified by Patricia Battin, vice president for infor­ mation services and university librarian. To be eli­ gible for the intern program, staff members must have five years of experience as librarians and have worked in a supervisory or managerial capacity for some part of this time. During the six-month in­ ternship period, the intern is released from regular duties and is assigned to a senior administrator at the level of assistant university librarian, director, assistant director, or librarian of a distinctive col­ lection, with whom the intern works closely on particular areas of concentration. The two interns who have participated in the In­ ternship Program to date have both come from public services areas. The 1985/86 intern was Jane W inland, the business and economics librarian, and the 1986/87 intern was Louise Sherby, refer­ ence librarian, Humanities and History Division. W inland had twelve years experience as a front­ line reference librarian and four years as a depart­ mental librarian; Sherby had sixteen years experi­ ence as a reference librarian, including six years as head of a reference department in a college library. Jane Winland worked with Paula T. Kaufman, director of the Academic Inform ation Services Group, and Louise Sherby worked with Charling Chang Lagan, assistant director for social sciences, and then with Paula Kaufman for six weeks when Charling Pagan began a previously planned leave of absence. Kaufman directs the public services op­ erations of the libraries, Humanities and History Division, Science and Engineering Division, and Social Sciences Division, and the Columbia Uni­ versity Center for Computing Activities, User Ser­ vices Group. Pagan is responsible for directing the activities and operations of four departmental li­ braries in the social sciences—the Lehman Library (social sciences and international affairs), the Busi­ ness and Economics Library, the Social Work Li­ brary, and the Journalism Library. Participants in the program accept the many re­ sponsibilities inherent in such an activity. Perhaps the major responsibility for the senior staff member to whom an intern is assigned is a commitment to the goals of the program and the ability to spend a significant amount of time with his/her assigned in­ tern. It is important for the two participants to agree on specific objectives and to develop a real working relationship. Talking about problems, plans, and other agenda items and soliciting each other’s opinions are integral parts of the process. In addition, it is im portant for the intern to have an assigned workstation or office close at hand to the staff member so that the intern will be available to July/August 1987 / 407 participate in impromptu meetings that may be of interest. Specific projects for the intern to work on are also an important part of the program. These projects include activities that will help develop the intern’s management and analytical skills and also be of value to the organization. The intern, too, has a set of responsibilities that are part of the process. The intern should not ex­ pect to be only a “shadow” that follows the senior staff member around all day long. Active partici­ pation in meetings and other activities is valuable for both the intern and the “host” administrator. Interns should recognize that there may be certain meetings or activities in which it will not be appro­ priate to participate. Interns should be willing to schedule meetings and activities on their own and even to suggest projects that might be of interest. One of the major responsibilities for the interns, however, is to respect the fact that they will be privy to confidential information during the in­ ternship and to recognize that maintaining that level of confidentiality is of the utmost importance. Also, interns must be willing to be flexible. They should not expect to know in advance what projects will be assigned and they should expect to feel somewhat out of touch with w hat’s going on at least part of the time. Both Winland and Sher by attended and contrib­ uted to meetings of group directors, division heads, the Planning Council, and the Operations and Planning Council. In addition, Sherby partici­ pated in the Social Science Division meetings and some departmental library staff meetings. Both in­ terns also had the opportunity to attend special ses­ sions of some Research Libraries Group commit­ tees as well as internal task force and committee meetings. Some of Winland’s special projects in­ cluded the development of a software evaluation mechanism, acting as coordinator of the Columbia University Center for Computing Activities/Co­ lumbia University Libraries (CUCCA/CUL) Cross Education Program, drafting telephone and elec­ tronic reference policy statements with assistant di­ rectors, consulting on physical layouts of the Engi­ neering and Psychology Libraries, and proposing an agenda for a “think tank” discussion of catalog assistance. Sherby conducted a study of the reserves collec­ tions in College Library and Lehman Library with the cooperation of the reserves staff in each library, worked on a project to set up and develop an evalu­ ation mechanism for the installation of the Dow Jones News Retrieval Service in the Journalism Li­ brary, drafted new reserve policy statem ents, planned a joint meeting of the reference librarians and computer consultants, participated in plan­ ning activities for an off-site storage facility and CLIO (Columbia University Libraries Online C at­ alog), and conducted a delay study in the Book Ac­ quisitions Department. As can be seen, the variety of projects is multi-faceted and contributes to the growth of the intern’s management skills. The benefits of such a program are numerous. It provides a real staff development opportunity for members of the staff interested in the area of man­ agement. It gives an intern the chance to work 408 / C&RL News closely w ith a senior staff m em ber and to see how policy, budget, and other system-wide decisions are m ade in the library. In addition, such a p ro ­ gram m ay also provide a second staff developm ent opportunity such as occurred in 1985/86. A refer­ ence lib ra ria n in th e Business L ib ra ry was a p ­ pointed acting Business L ibrarian for the period of W in lan d ’s internship. Such an opportunity m ay not always be available but w hen it can be taken advantage of, it can be another valuable experi­ ence for a staff m em ber who w ould like to explore the m iddle-m anagem ent experience before making a perm anent com m itm ent. Not to be overlooked are the costs of such a pro­ gram . The m ajor cost is, of course, tim e—the tim e of the host adm inistrator, the tim e involved for the intern, the tim e of other adm inistrators and staff who m ay be asked to p articip ate in projects w ith the intern or to orient the intern to various activi­ ties, etc. In addition, there is a cost for the staff re­ m aining in the departm ent w hich the intern has left tem porarily. In both instances, the reference departm ents in the affected libraries operated for th a t six-month period w ithout a replacem ent for a full-tim e staff m em ber. This places an extra b u r­ den on the staff mem bers left behind. O n balance, this has been m ore th a n offset by the contributions the interns m ake to the Libraries as a whole and to their departm ents upon their return. The M anagem ent In tern Program at the C olum ­ bia University Libraries is a successful program th a t provides staff developm ent opportunities on a small b u t effective scale. Not only have the interns learned new skills and benefited from the chance to p articip ate in system-wide planning meetings, bu t the host adm inistrators have also benefited from w orking closely w ith a staff m em ber for a specific period of time. Although not w ithout its costs, the benefits of such a program m ake the effort needed to carry it off w orth while. The author w ould like to acknowledge the assist­ ance o f Paula T. K aufm an, fa n e W inland, and Charling Chang Fagan in the w riting o f this contri­ bution to “Innovations. ” “Knowledge Bound” at San Francisco State University On April 28,1987, from 5:00 to 7:00 p .m ., the J. Paul L eonard L ibrary at San Francisco State U ni­ versity was the site of a perform ance art work. Among the unusual site-specific events th a t were staged there was a doctor listening to the stacks w ith a stethoscope, a table set w ith a feast of books in different languages, ghostly likenesses of great w riters w andering the stacks, and three furies en­ ticing people to enter the L ibrary. The event, “Knowledge B ound,” involved ap ­ proxim ately 35 activities, events, and installations Tasting gala at Texas A&M T he Friends of the Sterling C. Evans L ibrary at Texas A&M University recently sponsored a unique fundraising event— a tasting gala. The gala featured recipes from the cookbook, H u l­ labaloo in the K itchen, w hich was com piled by the Dallas A&M University M others’ C lub and includes favorite dishes of local and national ce­ lebrities. M any of the local celebrities prepared their ow n dishes and brought them to the event. In addition to sam pling the m any kinds of food, guests had the opportunity to purchase books from the lib rary ’s Special Collections D e­ p artm en t, and to p articip ate in an auction of tw o copies of the cookbook th a t had been signed by some of the celebrity/chefs. The gala, w hich was atten d ed by eighty people, raised over $2,750 for the Evans L ibrary. th a t sim ultaneously took place throughout the un i­ versity library building. This project represents a new and non-traditional approach to cam pus out­ reach by the L eonard Library. “ K now ledge B ound” was th e m aster’s degree C reative W ork Project of tw o graduate students from the San Francisco State University In ter-Arts C enter, Nancy Beckman and Levia Stern. Their great love of libraries led them to explore im agina­ tively the physical, cultural and intellectual envi­ ronm ent of the Leonard L ibrary. Their purpose was to bring to life great thinkers and to explore themes related to books and education. T h e a c tiv itie s in v o lv e d in th e p u r s u it of k n o w le d g e — o b s e rv in g , d o c u m e n tin g , classifying—were portrayed along w ith hum orous interpretations of traditional and contem porary attitu d es to w a rd libraries. Beckm an and Stern gave delighted onlookers from th e cam pus and com m unity an opportunity to experience the li­ b rary in new and im aginative ways. F or m ore in fo rm atio n concerning this event, contact Victoria Scarlett, Exhibits Specialist, J. Paul L eonard L ibrary, San Francisco State Uni­ versity, 1630 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA 94132; (415) 469-1198. ■ ■