Planning for your successor (Hiring series #4)

Who do we hire next??

Have you ever started a job and had no idea what you were supposed to do? Have you tried to hire someone, and realized you have no good direction on where to start finding a qualified replacement?

Where are the pens kept? How do you file a report? Who does the scheduling? When everything is new and different, even the most basic things are a challenge. And when an employee is trying to get through the basics, s/he is not focusing in on getting to the important parts of the job.

Every job should have some level of succession planning in place. Employees may move, get promoted, or abruptly depart from their jobs for all kinds of reasons, either permanently or temporarily. Having some basic procedures to help the next person will make the transition easier on everyone. For most jobs in the library this can be fairly minimal. It is a good idea to have everyone make some notes about their work and the things they do each day, each week, or annually. (Sometimes this request stirs up fears in employees that they are going to be replaced. Managers: be quick to reassure them this is not the case!)  These will be useful if an employee has to be out of work for a couple of weeks, or if they win the lottery and depart without notice. (Who could blame them??)

Disaster Planning for Libraries

Disasters happen. Great River’s recent fire (St. Cloud) and flood (Belgrade) are scary reminders that all kinds of disasters can happen in libraries, and planning ahead for them can help make them less terrible.

Have you looked at your library’s disaster plan lately? Does your library even have a disaster plan? You can not assume your parent organization (school, college, city, corporation, or whoever) will include you, or that they will understand enough about what you are doing to include meaningful information. When disasters strike your library, you want to be ready with procedures that will quickly help you to cope.

This is one disaster we can avoid in Minnesota!

Think realistically about the kinds of disasters that might strike your library. In Minnesota, we do not need to worry about hurricanes; but tornadoes, power outages, and fires are all pretty likely. I have seen library policies dealing with bears in the parking lot and rattlesnakes in the stacks; if these are likely to occur in your library – set up a plan! Are you ready in case your library’s website falls victim to a ransomware demand for Bitcoin? (see Radiolab podcast: Darkrode) It is starting to be an issue for hospitals – libraries could be vulnerable without protection and backup. (Wired: Hospitals as targets).

As with so many things, we can just follow the procedures other libraries have created. If you look at your disaster plan (or the blank space where a plan should be), and see that it could use some updating, you have a few basic options:

• call other libraries in your area to see what they are doing (we are great resources for each other!),
• check in with your system to see what suggestions they have (see: this entry!),
• look online at other libraries and their plans,
• browse through plans for other types of organizations,
• talk to your parent organization about their suggestions for updates, and ideas on how you will fit into their plans.

Here are a few resources you might look to as you prepare your own disaster planning:

• ALA’s Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Some information here to get you started on your disaster planning, and sharing the converation with everyone who should be involved in your process
•  “Library as Safe Haven: Disaster Planning, Response, and Recovery; A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians” ALA Neal-Schuman book by Deborah D. Halsted, Shari C. Clifton and Daniel T. Wilson  “…a nuts-and-bolts resource that enables libraries of all kinds to do their best while planning for the worst.”
• Disaster Planning and Recovery for Libraries Libguide filled with information from the South Central Regional Library Council
• Emergency Management from the Library of Congress
• Homeland Security’s disaster planning site You can close the initial request for email, then click on the navigation link to get information on all sorts of disasters.

This is definitely something we can work on together as a system. If you want some organized training, or a writing session where we all work together, or just someone to be a sounding board as you start your disaster plan work – let us know!

 

Study says keep your picture books!

For quite some time we have been hearing that reluctant readers are often encouraged to read when the book is loaded on a device. Why? Because the  “thickness” of the book is disguised, and the reader can enlarge the print if that makes reading more comfortable. It also removes any possible stigma if you are say a sixth grader, reading a fourth grade level book. No one knows exactly what is being read except the reader, which makes perfect sense. As librarians, we want to do everything possible to encourage nonreaders and remove discouragement for struggling readers. The format can be secondary when reluctant readers are involved.

But, what about picture books at the elementary level? How important are the pictures in conjunction with the text? I must admit, I never thought about picture books.

Two-thirds of schools across America are using eBooks, according to School Library Journal, but their use in England is much more sporadic. This produced an opportunity for a handy research study where 800 students in 40 schools used eBooks and shared their feelings. Would you be surprised to learn that boys responded most positively to eBooks? Click here to read the full piece.

Here in CMLE land, we have at least 180 elementary schools. Use the comments to weigh in as to whether your school uses eBooks, and whether you use them for picture books too. Ready, set, go…

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/pejajg3, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0