ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries November 1985 / 551 Rotation Day reflections By Jo a n M. Bechtel L ibrarian D ickinson C ollege How collegial m a na gem en t works at Dickinson College. T h e w arm Ju n e sun stream ing in th e w indow lights up th e dust specks stirred up as I houseclean th e cab in ets, files and desk o f four years accu m u ­ la te d p a p er in p re p a ra tio n fo r re tu rn in g to the “b a ck room ” tom orrow and th e new chairperson ’s m ove into th e fro n t office. G ra tefu l for th e u n in ter­ rupted q uiet o f a sum m er Saturd ay w hen the li­ b ra ry is closed, I can a t last sort through th e piles, m ark for filin g th e im p o rtan t item s, th ro w aw ay th e dross, and box up personal m aterials th a t I w an t to ta k e w ith m e to m y new/old desk in T ech - Mission statements M ission S ta te m e n ts f o r C o l l e g e L ib r a r i e s , the fifth p u blicatio n in th e C L IP (C ollege L ib ra ry In fo rm a tio n P a ck et) series, is now a v a ila b le from A C R L . T h e n ew p u blicatio n contains the results o f a survey o f 132 colleges, statem ents fro m re g io n a l a c c r e d ita tio n asso cia tio n s on how lib ra ry mission statem ents are used in the a ccred itatio n process and sam ple mission s ta te­ m ents from 2 8 institutions. T h e p u blicatio n w as com p iled by L a r ry H a r­ desty, directo r o f lib ra ry services; Ja m ie Has- treite r, systems planning/serials coordin ator; and D avid H enderson, instru ctional services/ collection m anag em en t co o rd in ato r, all from E ck erd C ollege, Sa in t P etersburg, Flo rid a. M ission S ta te m e n ts m ay b e ordered from the A C R L O ffice , 50 E . Huron Stree t, C h ica g o , I L 6 0 6 1 1 -2 7 9 5 . T h e cost is $1 5 fo r A C R L m em bers and $ 2 0 for n on-m em bers. ISB N 0 -8 3 8 9 -6 9 4 4 - 5. n ical Services. Yesterday, m y fin al w orking day in th e o ffice, I fin a lly com pleted th e C h airp erson ’s m an u al and the m onthly C alen d ar of events and tasks fo r th e incom ing C hairperson. T h e y m ay, in fa c t, b e superfluous, as th e new chairperson comes to th e o ffice w ell prepared by her years of active p articip a tio n in th e p a rticu la r form o f collegial m a n a g em en t p ra c tic e d a t D ick in so n . W e both w an t this ro ta tio n , th e th ird since in itiatio n o f the ro tatin g ch a ir nin e years ago, to b e as sm ooth as possible. L ik e th e flo a tin g p articles o f dust now glow ing in th e sun, bits and pieces o f th e events o f th e past fo u r years a re sparked in m y m em o ry b y th ese p reparations fo r R o ta tio n D a y . I re ca ll m ost viv­ idly those occasions w hen th e lib rarian s struggled to solve a p roblem or together celeb rated some suc­ cess. C ollegial m anag em en t as it has evolved in w orking together has forced new jo b descriptions and new relationships am ong th e lib rarian s and has resulted in greatly increased service to th e edu­ c a tio n al program o f th e c o lle g e.1 T o d a y , how ever, as I p rep are to chan ge hats, I am aw are th a t th e po- 1For a fu ller discussion of collegial m anagem en t at D ickinson C ollege, includ ing shared jo b descrip­ tions and im provem ents in lib ra ry service since the reorgan ization , see D oroth y H . C ieslicki, “A New Status M odel for A cadem ic L ib r a ria n s ,” J o u r n a l o f A c a d e m i c L i b r a r i a n s h i p 8 (M ay 1 9 8 2 ):7 6 —8 1 ; Jo a n B ech tel, “ C ollegial M an agem en t Breeds Success,” A m e r ic a n L ib r a r i e s , N ovem ber 198 1 ; and “A ca­ dem ic Professional Status: An A ltern ative for L i­ b ra ria n s,” J o u r n a l o f A c a d e m i c L ib r a r i a n s h i p , No­ vem ber 1985 (in press). N ovem ber 1985 / 553 sitio n I h av e filled for th e past fou r years is very d if­ fe r e n t fro m th a t o f th e u su al H e a d L i b r a r i a n . R a th e r th a n d irectin g and supervising th e w ork o f th e lib ra ry , I h ave served ch iefly as a fa c ilita to r , an in terp reter, and a co o rd in a to r as w ell as a lead er. In th e ro le o f fa c ilita to r I w as responsible fo r m a k in g sure th a t th e o th er seven lib ra ria n s and th e th irteen sup port s ta ff m em bers w ere a b le to do th e ir jo b s a t a h igh p erfo rm a n ce level and w ere free to stretch an d to grow . T h is has involved coun sel­ in g w ith ind ividu al sta ff m em b ers, ch a irin g s ta ff m eeting s, serving as a n ad v ocate in th e co llege ad ­ m in istra tio n fo r individuals and groups w ith in th e s ta ff and in general p rov idin g th e sup port th e sta ff needs to do th eir jo b s e fficien tly and w ell. So m e­ tim es this has n ecessitated m akin g a d ifficu lt, n eg a ­ tiv e e v a lu a tio n , b u t m o re o ften it has requ ired th e p leasan t task o f n o tin g w ith a p p reciatio n th e good w ork o f individuals o r groups. A m a jo r resp onsibility o f th e C h airp erso n has also been and w ill co n tin u e to b e to a c t as an in te r­ p re ter o f th e lib ra ry ’s.mission and goals to th e sta ff itself, as w ell as to th e ad m in istratio n , th e fa c u lty , students, a lum n i and to th e la rg e r lib ra ry w orld. T h e in terp reta tio n an d discussion o f th ese issues n o t on ly serve to in fo rm th e lib ra ry ’s c o n stitu en ­ cies, b u t also serve as th e occasions fo r all to re flect upon th e ap p ro p ria te m ission o f th e lib ra ry and to sh arp en and ad ju st th e goals as th e d irectio n o f th e a ca d em ic p rog ram changes and expands. C o o rd in a tio n o f s ta ff p la n n in g , b o th lo n g and sh o rt ra n g e , and o f th e day to day a ctiv ities o f th e s ta ff consum ed a la rg e p o rtio n o f th e c h airp erso n ’s tim e. T h is h as includ ed ev ery th ing fro m c o o rd in a t­ in g th e m ovem en t o f 3 0 ,0 0 0 volum es to o ff-site s to ra g e to in s ta lla tio n o f n ew c o m p u te r e q u ip ­ m e n t, fro m p rep a rin g d ra ft budgets, reports to c o l­ leg e c o m m ittees an d agendas fo r w eekly s ta ff m e e t­ ings to d ealin g w ith th e Bu ildings and G rounds d e p a r t m e n t w h e n th e w in d o w s h a d n o t b e e n w ashed in tw o years. M o re often th a n not, fa c ilita tin g th e w o rk o f th e dep a rtm e n t, in terp retin g lib ra ry services and c o n ­ cern s, and co o rd in a tin g a ll th e activities o f th e d e­ p a rtm en t h a v e necessitated e m b ra cin g o th er peo­ ples, p rio rities an d agendas as if th ey w ere m y o w n . P ro m o tin g m y co ncerns and en co u rag in g th e c o l­ leg e an d th e s ta ff to address th em has been a c o n tin ­ ual struggle and one th a t has dem an d ed genial, ta c tfu l persistence. L a s tly , th e o ffic e o f C h airp erso n is one th a t re ­ q u ire s th e ex ercise o f lea d ersh ip . H o w ev e r, th e lead ership th a t is requ ired and th a t is a p p ro p riate to th e o ffice and to co lleg ia l m a n a g em en t is one ch a ra cteriz e d b y discussion, co nsu ltatio n and p er­ suasion ra th e r th a n b y fia t or d irective. T h is sort of le a d e rs h ip is c o n tin u a lly e x e rc ised as o n e goes ab o u t th e d ay to d ay a ctivities o f counseling, advis­ in g , co o rd in a tin g , re p o rt w ritin g , ch a irin g and a t­ te n d in g m eeting s, e t c ., and is as im p o rta n t fo r th e chairp erso n as it is fo r th e rest o f th e sta ff. W h ile th is style o f lead ersh ip m ay ap p ear to b e tim e co n ­ sum ing an d cu m b erso m e, it is w ell w o rth th e e f­ fo rt. O n e ’s ow n ideas a re co n tin u a lly honed and re­ fin ed in discussion w ith o th ers a n d , even m o re im p o rta n tly , th e ideas, opinions and im aginatio ns o f one’s colleagues a re rea d ily a v a ila b le resources fo r th e im pro vem ent o f lib ra ry service. T h e te m p ta tio n , h o w ev er, to succum b to th e lu re o f a m o re a u to cra tic ro le is never fa r aw ay. L i b r a r i a n s w o r k as p a r t n e r s , n o t c o m p e t it o r s . T h e lib ra ry w orld tends to view one as a H ead L i ­ b ra r ia n ; m ost m ail is addressed to th e “H e a d ,” co l­ leagues fro m o th er lib ra ries assum e th e chairp erson is rea lly a “H e a d ,” and even fa cu lty m em b ers, stu­ dents o r lib ra ry s ta ff peop le som etim es assum e an in a p p ro p ria tely h ie ra rc h ica l, d ic ta to ria l ro le for th e chairp erso n . O n e is occa sio n a lly b ro u g h t up sh ort b y o n e’s ow n propensities to en jo y deferen ce granted o r services p erfo rm ed or suggestions a c ­ cep ted w ith o u t, a t least, m in im a l ex am in atio n . T h e o ffic e o f ch airp erso n , b o th fo r one’s individual h ea lth a n d fo r th e good o f th e lib ra ry , requ ires c o n ­ tin u a l re je c tio n o f th e role o f “boss” in fa v o r o f p ro ­ m o tin g th e n o tio n and re a lity o f colleagueship . In th e la st few days b efo re R o ta tio n D a y several p eo ­ p le co m m en ted ap p recia tiv ely on th e w ork o f th e lib ra ry in th e last few years. T h e m ost gratify in g , h ow ever, c a m e w h en on e sup port sta ff m em b er co m m en ted , “ I n ever fe lt it w as a boss/worker re la ­ tion sh ip , b u t m o re like a p a rtn e rsh ip .” C olleg ia l m a n a g em en t in th e D ickin so n C o llege lib ra ry , in clu d ing b o th a stru ctu re in w h ich all th e lib ra ria n s fu n ctio n as equals w ith a ro ta tin g C h a ir­ person P ositio n , has h ad a m a jo r im p a ct upon th e self-im a g e o f all th e lib ra ria n s and this in tu rn has in flu en ced th e c h a r a c te r and q u a n tity o f lib ra ry service and t h e p osition o f lib ra ria n s a t th e college. B eca u se all th e lib ra ria n s sh a re in decision m akin g, lo n g an d sh o rt ra n g e p la n n in g , and a d m in istratio n o f th e lib ra ry and becau se a ll th e positions involve a w id e v a riety o f lib ra ry activities and services, th e lib ra ria n s n ow w ork as p artn ers ra th e r th a n co m ­ p etitors. No lo n g er does th e b lu e w all sep aratin g th e te ch n ica l services a re a fro m th e rest o f th e li­ b ra ry serve as a stark rem in d er o f th e division and co n ten tio n b etw ee n catalo gers and re feren ce li­ b ra ria n s. All see them selves p rim a rily as ed ucators, lib r a r ia n ed u c a to rs , w h o a re c o n fid e n t o f th e ir roles an d w o rth as colleagues o f an d w ith classroom fa cu lty . T h e result is th a t all eig h t lib ra ria n s, not ju st th e C h airp erso n , a re activ ely involved in th e e d u c a tio n a l p ro cess. C o lle g ia l m a n a g e m e n t in ­ clu d in g th e ro ta tio n o f th e o ffice o f chairp erso n has 554 / C &RL News freed lib rarian s from th e necessity o f com p etition for th e few positions in th e m iddle or a t th e top o f the h ierarch y and has em pow ered them to w ork to ­ gether for th e advancem ent o f th e goals o f th e li­ b rary. Such a structure provides every lib ra ria n , not ju st th e d irecto r, w ith responsible, challenging and fully professional positions and th e opportu­ nity, a fter a successful, six year p ro b atio n ary p e­ riod , to serve in th e position of chairperson. Even m ore im p o rtan tly for th e o ffice and fo r th e work of th e lib ra ry , such ro tatio n provides fresh leadership and new perspectives on a continu ing basis. T h e result is th a t th e released en ergy and c re a tiv ity have resulted in p roductivity th a t fa r outweighs th e tim e-consum ing aspects o f d em o cratic organi­ zation. I n sh o rt, all th e lib ra ria n s are profession ally health ier th a n they w ere before reorganization and are m ore en ergetic, enthusiastic and excited about their profession th an in most oth er lib raries I know. Ideas origin atin g w ith all eight lib rarian s, not ju st one, abound; th e interp lay and exchange o f opin­ ion and th e efforts to resolve disagreements add to th e generation and growth of new ideas. Services are expanding and im proving in quality in spite o f the alleged cum bersom eness and tim e-consum ing aspects of collegial m anagem en t. C lea rly th e en­ ergy and creativ ity released by th e sharing of re­ sp on sib ility and a u th o rity h ave m o re th a n o u t­ weighed th e alleged n egative aspects o f th e m ore d elib erate p ace o f collegial organization. F in a lly , I look fo rw ard w ith keen an ticip atio n to th e next few years as a m em ber o f th e D ickinson li­ b ra ry staff. I am confid en t th a t m y professional life in th e lib ra ry w ill continu e to b e stim ulating and challenging as I m ove o ut o f th e fro nt o ffice and into a position th a t includes catalo gin g, serving on th e autom ated ca talo g developm ent tea m , service a t the reference desk, liaison to th e religion, philos­ ophy, geology and Ju d a ic studies dep artm ents, and b ib lio g rap h ic instruction to students in those de­ p artm ents and to five freshm an sem inars. A gain, co n trary to th e w eight o f m uch o f lib rary opinion, jo b satisfaction and prestige do not necessarily de­ pend upon bein g th e top a dm in istrator in a lib ra ry . In this lib ra ry all positions are challen gin g and re ­ sponsible; all dem and energy, creativity and co m ­ m itm en t. R a th er th a n regret over w h a t could be perceived as a dem otion and loss o f prestige, I look forw ard to having m ore think tim e as I am relieved of th e need to deal w ith th e n itty gritty of keeping th e lib ra ry fu nctio n ing w ell. No longer w ill I have to w o r ry a b o u t th e fa u lty a la r m sy ste m , th e flooded b asem en t, the sta ff vacation schedule, etc. R a th e r th a n dism ay a t th e loss of position and p ow er, I an ticip a te w ith pleasure th e opportunity to h ave m ore tim e to th in k about im p ortan t issues and problem s in depth, to pursue ideas ra th e r th an answers to th e everyday questions o f lib ra ry op era­ tion . T h e changes I an ticip a te are, how ever, ones o f em phasis ra th e r th a n fu n d a m en ta l b ecau se, along w ith th e oth er seven lib rarian s, I w ill con­ November 1985 / 555 tin u e to h ave responsibility for long range p lan ­ ning, decision m aking and some adm inistration of the lib rary . T h e sun/dust firew orks filling th e now alm ost em pty o ffice, w h ile inad eq uate to th e task, provide a festive celeb ra tio n o f R o tatio n D a y , a day n ote­ w orthy in th e lib ra ry w orld for its lib era tin g e f­ fects. In fa c t, in some m easure, it is th e B astille D ay or th e 4 th o f Ju ly for th e Boyd L e e Sp ah r L ib ra ry . In th e sam e w ay th a t people celeb rated th e fa c t th a t one social class w as no longer subservient to another or th a t th e colonists w ere no longer subject to th e king, lib rarian s on R o tatio n D a y celeb rate freedom from dehum anizing h ierarch y and d ebili- la tin g com p etition and division. W h en all lib ra ri­ ans share equally th e responsibilities and rewards o f lib rarian sh ip , th ey are free to realize th eir full p otential; they b eco m e fu lly hum an. R o ta tio n D a y is, th en , an ap prop riate occasion for celeb rating th e boundless p o ten tial, individual and co rp orate, o f lib rarian s to co n trib u te to ed ucation and to the preservation and growth of knowledge. ■ ■ ACRL continuing education courses at the Midwinter Meeting T h e A ssociation o f C o lleg e and R esea rch L i ­ b ra rie s w ill sponsor fo u r co n tin u in g ed u catio n courses a t th e A L A M idw in ter M eeting in C hicago. A dvance registration by D ecem b er 2 3 , 1 9 8 5 , is re­ q u ire d . A la t e r e g is tr a tio n fe e o f $ 1 5 w ill b e charged. A C e rtific a te of C om p letion w ill b e awarded p articip an ts in each course. Successful com p letion of 10 co n ta ct hours o f continu ing ed ucation is equal to one C on tin uin g E d u ca tio n U nit (C E U ). A C R L m aintain s a C E U record for each p a rticip an t. T o reg ister, send in a co m p leted reg istra tio n form to Sandy D o nn elly, A C RL/ALA , 50 E . Hu­ ro n S tr e e t, C h ic a g o , I L 6 0 6 1 1 . D e ta ils o f th e courses follow : P e r f o r m a n c e E v a l u a t i o n : A R e s u l t s - O r i e n t e d A p p r o a c h C E 106 w ill introd uce particip an ts to th e co n ­ cept o f perform an ce evaluation based on p erfo r­ m ance goals and results-oriented evaluation. This includes exp lanation o f different approaches and purposes for evaluation ; review o f how a goals- based p erform an ce system works; p ra ctice w riting p erfo rm an ce goals; discussion o f how to im prove a p oor evaluation system ; m eeting co n flict in ev alua­ tio n interview s; and how to m ake evaluation a de­ velopm ental experience fo r th e supervisors and the em ployee. In s tr u c to r : L u c y C ohen, M anager o f Personnel and P ayroll, University o f M ich igan L ib raries. D a te : F rid a y , Ja n u a ry 17, 9 :0 0 a .m .- 5 : 0 0 p .m . F e e : A C R L m em bers $ 9 5 ; non-m em bers $13 5 . C E U s: .7 C E U . O p e r a t i n g a n d M a r k e t i n g F e e - B a s e d S e r v i c e s i n A c a d e m i c L i b r a r i e s : A S m a l l B u s i n e s s A p p r o a c h C E 1 08a provides inform ation to en able adm in­ istrato rs and lib ra ria n s from a ca d em ic lib ra ries and especially op erating m anagers w ith th e tools to c ritica lly analyze fee-based service operations. P a r­ ticip an ts are urged to b rin g any existing service brochures, p rice schedules, p olicy statem ents and business plans w ith th em to th e p rogram . These docum ents w ill b e esp ecially useful du rin g th e w orking portion o f th e program . In s tr u c to r : B a rb a ra Stum p, D irecto r, R egional In fo rm a tio n and C om m u n icatio n E x ch an ge, R ice U niversity L ib ra ry . D a t e : F rid a y , Ja n u a ry 17 , 9 :0 0 a .m .- 5 : 0 0 p .m . F e e : A C R L m em bers $ 9 5 ; non-m em bers $135. C E U s : .7 C E U . I m p r o v i n g J o b P e r f o r m a n c e : S t r a t e g i e s f o r S u p e r v is o r s C E 112 w ill h elp librarian-supervisors crea te a clim a te for m otivation, define jo b com p etencies, set p erform an ce standards, address p erform an ce problem s and im prove w ork effectiveness o f their staff. T h is course is intended for lib rarian s w ho are first-lin e supervisors o r m iddle m anagers. P a st p a r ­ tic ip a n t s to C E 101 n o t e : th e m aterial presented in this course w ill build upon th e knowledge and skills developed in A C R L C E 101 L ib ra ria n s as supervi­ sors. In s tr u c to r : M aureen Sullivan, H ead o f Person­ n el, Y a le University L ib ra ry . D a te : F rid a y , Ja n u a ry 17, 9 :0 0 a .m .- 5 : 0 0 p .m . F e e : A C R L m em bers $ 9 5 ; non-m em bers $135. C E U s : .7 C E U . C r e a t i v e A p p r o a c h e s t o V i d e o f o r B i b l i o g r a p h i c I n s t r u c t i o n C E 2 0 6 — I t is estim ated th a t over 600 academ ic lib ra ria n s h ave p ro d u ced vid eotap es for b ib lio ­ grap hic instruction. This workshop exam ines uses o f video, c ritica l prod uction issues, and a fin an cial com p arison o f various m edia products. M any ex­ am ples o f lib ra ry video products w ill b e exam ined. In add ition, crea tiv e p roblem solving techniques w ill b e applied to th e process o f developing a video­ tap e p ro ject. A n um ber of exercises designed to en­ h a n ce creative p otential w ill b e conducted. In s tr u c to r : T ho m as M cN ally, H ead C irculation