How do you describe what you do to your family or to people at a party?
I’m responsible for managing IT and Production at the library, including the public websites, software development, and overseeing Library programming.

What special projects, initiatives or committees have you been or are involved in? How did you first get involved? What experiences, in ALA or otherwise, have been the most rewarding?
I’ve been involved in the construction and equipping of 3 new branches for our system, as well as two new website projects, plus the development of AADL’s gaming program. The branches have been very rewarding because they’re used by such a large range of our patrons; the gaming has been rewarding because we’ve been able to change teenage boys’ perceptions about the Library and turn them into enthusiastic patrons.

What advice would you give to up and coming librarians/information professionals?
Always keep the focus on the patron; understand the basics of database design; find solutions not obstacles, don’t be a format fetishist, and don’t trust a sales rep.

What do you think are the top three issues facing libraries (positive or negative) that could change the course of things? If we want to try to change that course, how should we go about it?

1. We could be written entirely out of the content distribution chain by the triumph or by the death of copyright, and it could happen almost overnight. Ask a travel agent.

2.The public perception that libraries are no longer relevant or worth the money could become a majority view.

3. Libraries could invest in software development and give as much back to the open source community as we take.

These all point to libraries needing to increase our roles as producers of content, products, and tools. We need to provide unique value to our communities that isn’t tied up in commercial media.

Tell us from your own experience, what is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your leadership role/s?
Turf wars are stupid.

What values (personal traits or characteristics) do you look for and admire in a leader?
Understanding perception, a healthy disrespect for tradition, and a perspective on how far libraries have come and how far we still have to go.

How do you recognize contributions of others in your library and in your community?
Freely giving credit where it is due; always thinking and talking from a ‘We’perspective, and always remembering that the patron knows what they want better than we do.

What or who influenced you to become a librarian/information professional?
A classified ad for a helpdesk job at the right time, and the promise of a non-profit, community-oriented workplace.

If you could do anything in your career differently, what would that be and why?
Hmmm… no regrets!

What are the top three things they don’t teach in library school that you think are critical?
Facilites Design, Public Finance, and dealing with the Mentally Ill.

1. How do you describe what you do as a librarian to your family or to people at a party?
It’s changed over time. When I first became a librarian I would whisper that I was a children’s librarian and that I bought books and led storyhours for kids. Now, it’s actually harder to explain because I don’t do traditional library “stuff.” I start by saying I help librarians and educators figure out the best way to integrate and use technology with kids, teens, students, etc. I get lots of blank stares but it’s the best I’ve been able to come up with.

2. What special projects, initiatives or committees have you been or are involved in? How did you first get involved? What experiences in ALA have been the most rewarding?
I first got involved in MA when I was a member of the MA Library Association Youth Services Committee and then the Chair of the Committee. When I worked for the Eastern MA Regional Library System (which no longer exists) I was accepted in the first class of YALSA Serving the Underserved Trainers. That was a great experience because I got a really good sense of how to help others understand what working with teens was all about and why working with teens is such an important part of library service.

However, what really got me involved in YALSA was technology. I was fortunate enough to be able to help YALSA get the Division’s technology feet wet. I worked on their first ever divisional web site and then also developed, with a committee, their web site for teens - Teen Hoopla - which is now defunct.

Any experience in ALA, in particular YALSA, in which I was able to help the Division come up with new ideas for meeting the needs of teens have been most important - that includes the web site development mentioned above but it also includes working on the blog, the Division’s MySpace, developing guidelines for technology use, and so on. I feel like in these instances I really get a chance to help model some technology pieces for librarians and I get to help the Division move forward.

That said, the other thing that’s been really important to me in YALSA are the opportunities I’ve had to meet like-minded librarians from around the country. I’ve made some really good professional and personal friends through work in the Division. It helps me to know that I’m not alone and there are others struggling with the same challenges and having successes in some of the things that I hope to see libraries accomplish.

3. What advice would you give to up and coming librarians?
Don’t be afraid of the cliques. Don’t be afraid of speaking up because you think you are new and other people know more than you do. Know that people who have been in the field for a long time have something to offer - at least sometimes - but that you also have something to offer. Be willing to take chances and make mistakes. Don’t pigeonhole yourself into thinking that there is one and only way to get something done. And, be open to jobs, that you might never have thought you would be interested in participating in/doing.

4. What do you think are the top three issues facing librarianship (positive or negative) that could change the course of things? If we want to try to change that course, how should we go about it?

1) Fear - for some reason librarians tend to be afraid of making mistakes of being seen not to be perfect of worrying about what might be the case as opposed to seeing if that’s true for themselves.

2) History - we tried that once and it didn’t work is something I hear a lot. As a library director once said to some school librarians, you didn’t try it with me so lets do it again and see what happens. This also relates to educating the public about what the library of today is about. Librarians think members of the community know what the library is and is supposed to be. That’s not the case. We have to constantly talk to people about the library and what it is and not assume that because of some historic sense of THE LIBRARY that people know what we do and what we are about.

3) Too much focus on ourselves and not enough about the customer - almost every day I have librarians say to me things like, “I don’t like that technology” or “I don’t like to use that” and that is really a problem, it’s not what I like but what the customer likes and wants.

One thing we need to do is to make sure that those going to library school are the “right types.” I once had a student say to me that she had worked in a really stressful position for many years and she realized that as she was getting towards retirement the library would be a perfect place to work because it was so much less intense and stressful. That person shouldn’t be a librarian. Somehow library schools need to find the people who are going to not get bogged down in old-ideas and fear.

Also, we have to weed out those librarians that just can’t keep up and aren’t willing to move into the 22nd century. I know that’s not easily achieved, but all these librarians that propagate the stereotypes are doing more harm than good. At some point we have to say, you know what, you aren’t going to be able to change with us so it would be best if you move into another profession, job, something.
And, as I mention above, we need to be willing to get out into the community and educate and be proactive about the library. I’ve thought for a while now, that if a library is having funding troubles then it’s not the town’s fault necessarily, perhaps the library staff hasn’t spoken up and gotten the community to let them know exactly why the library is important. We can’t live on “Oh I love the library!” That’s just a sentiment not $ and cents.

5. Tell us from your own experience, what is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your leadership role/s?
Not to be afraid and that goes with being willing to take chances. However, part of taking the chances is figuring out what the people you are leading actually can and will hear and framing your message so that it is heard.

6. What values (personal traits or characteristics) do you look for and admire in a leader?
Fearlessness, courage, mentorship, listening skills, sense of humor, willingness to make mistakes, willingness to acknowledge mistakes.

7. How do you recognize contributions of others in your library and in your community?
I guess I actually recognize myself as a mentor more than a leader and it’s in the mentor role that I think I most get to recognize others. I do this by connecting people that I think have something to give/show each other, I do this by writing and blogging about people doing great things, I do this by suggesting people publish - in some format - what they work on, I do this by helping people get involved in various organizations.

8. What or who influenced you to become a librarian?
I became a librarian by chance. During my senior yr of college I realized that my plan for my life was off and when I took a class in children’s literature the second semester of my sr. year I thought, oh maybe I’ll become a librarian. (I’m one of those people I’d say shouldn’t go to library school today.) But, what made me into the librarian I am today are the various people I got to work with who gave me the chance to try things out, make mistakes, and move into positions I never thought I’d want to take on.

9. If you could do anything in your career differently, what would that be and why?
This maybe surprising or unique but I don’t think there really is anything. I’m really lucky to be doing what I’m doing today. I didn’t plan for it I just took different jobs and opportunities as they came along and that got me here. Of course some things were not perfect, but I don’t think I’d be where I am today without every one of those past experiences.

10. What are the top three things they don’t teach in library school (or did not teach you when you were in library school) that you think are critical?
The way that real-live libraries work, management skills, marketing skills.

The essential skills for success in this field are curiosity and compassion. Become a facilitator rather than a gatekeeper of information.

How do you describe what you do as a librarian/information professional to your family or to people at a party?
When they hear I am a librarian, people most feel the urgent need to tell me how much they love books. In my work as a public librarian, I feel it is more important to love people than to love books. I love literacy, reading, and books, but I am less involved with physical collections and more interested in social interaction, technology access, training, and the library as a public commons.

What special projects, initiatives or committees have you been or are involved in? How did you first get involved? What experiences, in ALA or otherwise, have been the most rewarding?
After receiving encouragement from some great librarians including Gretchen Wronka (Past President of ALSC) and Patrick Jones (Author of YA Librarianship books and YA Lit.), I joined ALA in 2004. I served on the Technology for Young Adults Committee, part of Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA/ALA) as a Committee Member from 2004 to 2006 and as the Committee Chair from 2005 to 2006. I worked with Linda Braun on the YALSA Website Taskforce 2005. I have been an infrequent contributor to the YALSA and PLA Blogs.

For me, the most rewarding part of ALA has been connecting with professionals around the country. I actually started blogging so that I could attend the OCLC Blogger Salon. Now, I chat with colleagues around the country. And when I need information and advice, I have a network of folks to contact.

What advice would you give to up and coming librarians/information professionals?
The essential skills for success in this field are curiosity and compassion. People are dealing with so much information and input; remember to treat others with humanity and respect. Become a facilitator rather than a gatekeeper of information.

What do you think are the top three issues facing libraries (positive or negative) that could change the course of things? If we want to try to change that course, how should we go about it?

1. We have a unique role in supporting youth development. I believe that public libraries around the country can take this one step further by appointing a student member to their boards. Have young people at the table, not as token members, but as active participants.

2. Funding is obviously a key issue for many libraries. The only suggestion I have is to continue to advocate for libraries. Quantifying outcomes such as the ratios of dollars spent to investment in the community is an excellent means of expressing the value of libraries.

3. Branding ourselves is also paramount. If we want to reinvent the modern library, it will take a more proactive approach. OCLC tells us through their research that books are our brand. What else is the library? How are we telling that story?

Tell us from your own experience, what is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your leadership role/s?
There are no easy choices floating out there. You can never make everyone happy all of the time. Making the right decisions, however, is easier if you get good input and have the stakeholders at the table.

What values (personal traits or characteristics) do you look for and admire in a leader?
I value transparency, open communication, and risk taking. Leaders also develop and trust staff.

How do you recognize contributions of others in your library and in your community?
The biblioblogosphere and library publications keep me in the know about my peers and leaders in my field throughout the country. In our County system we recognize leaders through organization-wide employee recognition

What or who influenced you to become a librarian?
In my first interview to work at Hennepin County Library, a librarian asked if I had plans to go back to school. I replied yes without thinking. After a couple of weeks at the library, I knew I was here to stay. Where else can you have sane working hours, intelligent colleagues, and challenging work? I pursued a degree online from the University of North Texas while working full-time at HCL.

If you could do anything in your career differently, what would that be and why?
I have no regrets. I made a decision to join a new department that did not survive and returned to my former department. I am grateful for the opportunity and it is through those kinds of experiences that I can grow and learn.

What are the top three things they don’t teach in library school that you think are critical?

1. Cultivate your own continuing education plan.

2. Learn how to speak in front of an audience whether it is children and caregivers or library board members.

3. Look to leaders outside the library for wisdom and mentorship. I regularly read management books outside of our field.

No matter what position one holds, we are responsible for carrying out our organization’s mission and serving its community. No one of us can do that alone; our successes are always collective efforts.

How do you describe what you do as a librarian to your family or to people at a party?
As I librarian I help people make connections-connections between their interests and the world of information, connections between their needs and information that can meet those needs, connections with the knowledge that a community depends upon for its growth and advancement, connections among people in that community and with people in other communities, connections with human creations that stimulate the imagination and inspire wonder. I do this with my library worker colleagues by providing pertinent collections and services and a zone where any and all enjoy unfettered access to explore the world of knowledge and the universe of information by following whatever paths they choose.

The short answer is that I help people solve problems and improve their lives through access to information.

What special projects, initiatives or committees have you been or are involved in? How did you first get involved? What experiences in ALA have been the most rewarding?
The special project I am currently involved with is preparing to serve as the American Library Association’s president for the 2008-09 term. I anticipate a very rewarding experience. Who else in a single year gets to meet so many ALA members from so many different parts of the country to hear about their concerns and aspirations?

Prior to this my most rewarding experiences have been serving as a division president (RUSA, then RASD) in 1992-93 and as chair of ALA’s Committee on Organization (COO) in 2000-03. During that period COO proposed and the ALA Council approved a number of enabling policies that, even though some today choose to interpret them as restrictive, expanded opportunities for committees and boards to conduct business electronically and to include virtual members. COO did a balancing act among pertinent provisions of ALA bylaws and policies, the rules of our parliamentary manual, and strongly expressed contradictory views of ALA members.

What advice would you give to up and coming librarians?
Think and act beyond your job’s hours and duties. Clearly identify your talents and interests and put them to work for yourself and for librarianship. Look for ways to make a wider contribution to our profession. Learn to say “Yes!” to invitations to participate in a project, make a presentation, write an article, review a book, etc. You’ll expand your experience and develop a reputation as a dependable colleague who fulfills commitments.

What do you think are the top three issues facing librarianship (positive or negative) that could change the course of things? If we want to try to change that course, how should we go about it?
The ACRL Board asked me this question last year and published my answer in College & Research Libraries News. Then, as now, I wrote: “The top three challenges librarianship faces are recruitment, retention, and participation. The first two of these are clearly challenges; the third has great potential to be a solution.” With a very creative and energetic advisory committee I have been developing a set of initiatives for my ALA presidential year. Most of these are designed to expand opportunities through which members can benefit from and contribute to ALA. A number of these are electronic, but not all of them.

An overarching challenge, one that has been with us at least since ALA’s founding in 1876 and will be with us for some time to come is communicating and demonstrating to our communities the benefits our libraries offer them. If we can attract their attention long enough to engage them, we can get them hooked on their libraries and, in time, count on many of them to develop not only into regular, frequent users, but also advocates for their libraries.

Tell us from your own experience, what is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your leadership roles?
No matter what position one holds, we are responsible for carrying out our organization’s mission and serving its community. No one of us can do that alone; our successes are always collective efforts.

What values (personal traits or characteristics) do you look for and admire in a leader?
The same characteristics I look for and admire in anyone-integrity, honesty, talent, commitment, initiative, creativity, and more (including a sense of humor).

What or who influenced you to become a librarian?
While working on my master’s degree in English I took a required one-credit course on bibliographic resources and research methods in English and American literature. I realized I had a knack for remembering the characteristics of the fields’ specialized reference books and the relationships among them. As a teaching assistant I enjoyed the one-to-one work with students. Put those together and you have a job description for the reference librarian of that day. These factors and the dismal job market for PhDs in the humanities in the mid-1970s prompted me to explore librarianship. After I finished that degree I switched paths to librarianship. I am glad that I took the road I took rather than the road not taken.

If you could do anything in your career differently, what would that be and why?
Surely with more time and greater introspection and reflection I would be able to give a better answer to this question. This profession has been very good to me and I hope that I have made a positive contribution to it.

What are the top things being taught in library school that you think are critical?
I’ll name four things I learned in library school that I consider critically important in every librarian’s education. In 2006 I had the pleasure of returning to the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Library and Information Studies to speak to that year’s graduates. One of the things I told them, reflecting on my experience there 30 years earlier was that “I learned and absorbed our profession’s fundamental principles, its values, its ethics, its commitment to others.” Those four lessons have served me well throughout my career.

Networking is so important. You have to look for opportunities to get involved and it’s absolutely critical to get out of your comfort zone.

How do you describe what you do as a librarian to your family or to people at a party?
When people find out you’re a librarian, they always tell you that they love to read - they think you just read all day. Though I’ve been in library administration a long time, I still consider myself a librarian - I still do reference and I’ll always be a reference librarian at heart.

When I talk to people about what I do, I focus on the relevance of libraries - though our role is changing in the age of the internet and Barnes & Noble, the library still plays an important role in changing lives. The neighborhood library is a haven. Historically, the New York Public Library has always been a place where immigrants could come and learn how to read - they were and still are able to find books in their native language as well as English. But the library also plays an important role in terms of acculturation - people can come here and really learn what it means to be a New Yorker and/or an American, and that in turn promotes information literacy, self-sufficiency, and problem-solving.

What special projects, initiatives or committees have you been or are involved in? How did you first get involved? What experiences in ALA have been the most rewarding?
I first joined ALA in 1972, when I finished library school. Since then I’ve been involved in many different capacities over the years. I’ve been a member of several committees, including Reference and Adult Services, Statistics, and Interlibrary Loan, and I’ve chaired a few committees as well. I became involved in the ILL committee after I called the person who had written the ILL Manual to ask for advice - by reaching out I was able to establish a relationship which then led to my appointment on the committee. Participating in the ILL committee was my most rewarding experience because at that time the national code regulating interlibrary loan was being revised, and I was able to meet my peers at a national meeting and participate in a major change of agenda. The ability to have my voice heard at the table of a national discussion had a major effect on my future involvement in ALA, because I participated in this committee early in my career.

What advice would you give to up and coming librarians?
Networking is so important. You have to look for opportunities to get involved and it’s absolutely critical to get out of your comfort zone. I would advise librarians to participate in Discussion Groups at ALA, because it’s a chance to make connections with other professionals experiencing similar situations, but it gets you out of your home institution, which can be very insular. And Discussion Groups, in my experience, often lead to committee appointments, which allow you to further broaden your network.

It’s also very important to take what you learn in Discussion Groups or committee meetings and bring those ideas and lessons back to your home institution. So often, librarians are passionate and very productive in these conference meetings, and it’s very rewarding, but almost non-transferable. It’s important to take advantage of the opportunity to bring something new and exciting back to your organization after the conference.

What do you think are the top three issues facing librarianship (positive or negative) that could change the course of things? If we want to try to change that course, how should we go about it?

1. Relevance
2. Funding
3. Technology

I believe these are the three major issues facing libraries right now, and each has both positive and negative aspects. Also, they are all inter-related. For instance, funding, which always has been and always will be a top concern, is dependent on our ability to describe the relevance of the library to both public and private funders. Our private funders don’t actually use the library, but rather view it as a social good worth supporting. But because they aren’t active users, we have the responsibility of communicating the crucial role the library plays in our community to them. City government lacks an understanding of the public library in the role of education, from preschool all the way up through college, so we have to make our case to them to ensure the appropriate level of funding continues.

The goal of the library will always be to connect people with information, but we have to find new ways of delivering services. In order to be relevant, we have to explore emerging technologies and really be where our users are. We can’t wait for them to come to us, either in our physical buildings or on our website - we have to use the technology they are using and go to them. So we’re asking ourselves, how do we put our content where the users are, so that it then brings them back into the library. We are looking at different ways of distributing our services and collections, and it’s a new capacity for librarians, but something we have to stay on top of all the time.

Tell us from your own experience, what is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your leadership role/s?
The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is the importance of listening. A good leader understands how important it is to give people a chance to talk, to have their voice heard, to have their ideas truly influence the direction of an organization. Decision-making should be a collaborative process - no matter how good a leader you are, you’re never going to have all the answers. An organization’s culture plays a huge role here, as well - either it fosters collaboration or it doesn’t.

What values (personal traits or characteristics) do you look for and admire in a leader?
There is a set of interpersonal skills a person has to have to be a good leader, and they can’t really be taught, but after all these years I can tell pretty quickly if someone has them. I look for an individual who truly cares about people, who has good listening skills, who has empathy and is able to understand what people are going through and is genuinely sensitive to the situation. Directness and honesty. And of course, the ability to make decisions.

How do you recognize contributions of others in your library and in your community?
This is hard to answer, because recognition is individual-driven; each person has different needs for recognition. For some, public recognition is important, but for another person it might be something as simple as an email. The new staff services office we’ve implemented is focusing on the individual in many ways, including acknowledgment, so one way we are addressing the need for recognition is by asking our staff, “What is meaningful to you?”

What or who influenced you to become a librarian?
As an undergraduate at Northeastern, I participated in the co-op program, where you’d go to school a term and then work a term and so on. My second work assignment was in the MIT Humanities Library, shelving books. My mentor, who was the Associate Humanities Librarian, realized early on that I could do more, and so she changed the job definition and I was exposed to lots of other types of clerical and behind-the-scenes library work. I was working with a wonderful group of people, who made it a lot of fun. I ended up with three years of co-op experience at MIT, and in addition to the Associate Humanities Librarian there were two other strong women librarians (the Science Librarian and the Director of Libraries) who took an interest in my career. That was the beginning of a 31-year career in the MIT Libraries, and the whole time was terrific, and then I went to Duke and that was even better. I’ve been very fortunate.

What are the top three things they don’t teach in library school that you think are critical?

1. Importance of Personnel Issues
2. Business/Fundraising/Development
3. Technology

As a library administrator, I would say the library school curriculum does not prepare people well at all for dealing with personnel issues (recruitment, retention, recognition), and on a larger-scale, the human side of library work is not a focus. Libraries are about working with people, and library schools don’t, in my opinion, do a good job of conveying that message to students or considering how important interpersonal skills are when admitting students. Also, the business side of fundraising and development is critical to libraries, but it’s not a focus in most library school programs. Technology is being taught, but not in the right way. We have to focus more on emerging, developing technologies and encourage technological curiosity (i.e. staying on top of everything and being excited about it).