Making the Transition to Middle Management
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WESSWeb > WESS Newsletter > Spring 2009 > Making the Transition to Middle Management
Having entered librarianship as a thirty-something (already middle age, I was told), it amazes me to think that soon I will have spent thirty-some years as a cataloger, subject & area-studies bibliographer, unit head, reference librarian, instructor, and committee-person. I would have gladly ridden into the sunset with those laurels.
However, the time came to leave the dugout of bibliography and step up to the plate of collections management. In 2004 I traded my five-figure area-studies budgets for a seven-figure multiple collections budget consisting of eight general funds, 18 subject funds, and 20 language & literature and/or area-studies funds. I joined a team of other collections coordinators, department supervisors, technical-services unit heads, and automation professionals. Our modus operandi is the management (and occasional solution) of issues and problems, in an environment replete with ambiguity, uncertainty, partial data, and vigorous group dynamics.
Several area-studies colleagues have taken the same path, and to them I turned for greater wisdom, insight, and some approximate data. Fifteen of them kindly sent me their reflections. We bring to middle management approximately: 340 years of library experience (divide by 15 for the average); 238 years in bibliography, reference & instruction; 160 years in collection management; 78 years in rare books, special collections, and technical services. Plus European-language expertise, humanities or social-sciences scholarship, and a subject master's degree or doctorate.
In relinquishing area-studies librarianship, we forego interactions with faculty and students and direct contact with the collection. Lacking formal management and budget training, we have to learn the trade ourselves. However, most haven't relinquished the former: most of our subject specialist positions remained unfilled, even before the fall 2008 crisis. As one colleague writes, "This is an 'add-on' to my other duties; collection development work [gets] done sporadically and [not] systematically … I am literally doing the work of two full-time jobs simultaneously; both suffer from this division of attention." Time-management training is crucial. Another observes, "I need to do a better job of relying on staff to provide support for my current position … [The] many meetings are a definite drawback, since I still have large collection responsibilities."
Salary growth is also an important consideration in moving to general collection management. One of my counterparts notes, "I moved out of area studies and into general TS because … the administration [assumed that] because of my love for the field I would stay put and accept poor conditions and salary." However, as another contends, "My paycheck looks better, but I suspect I'm getting less per hour than I once did." Yet another colleague feels that collection management is the logical outcome of a subject-librarian career track.
Growth happens during the transition to middle management. "I have a broader perspective on our university's needs, how we can have innovative collections, and how important are library instruction and liaison work," writes one colleague. Satisfaction increases, too. "My work is making a difference and having an impact," claims another. Indeed, a manager can "enhance morale, mentor new librarians, and have an increased role in planning." One manager views the promotion itself as an "acknowledgment of my effectiveness with collections work and in getting things done."
Perspective broadens as well: "Being coordinator and department representative has given me a better sense of what is going on and what the questions are … In the decider's chair [I see clearly] the interconnectedness of policy, financial, and collection decisions." We rise to the occasion: "I didn't really want to do management, but I feel I have become good at it." Finally, humility becomes a virtue: "The best managers admit they don't have all the answers. They are good listeners and respectful of patrons and employees alike …"
In conclusion, if you have the opportunity to make this move, I would follow the advice of Minnesota fishermen: Seize the Carp!
Gordon Anderson
ganderso@umn.edu
WESSWeb > WESS Newsletter > Spring 2009 > Making the Transition to Middle Management
