Dr. Betty J. Turock
Professor, School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies, Rutgers University
American Library Association Past-President, 1995-1996
Librarians can lead from any positions they occupy as long as they have the courage to take on the challenges of a leadership role…
How do you describe what you do as a librarian to your family or to people at a party?
As a librarian it’s my job to make certain that all people in our community have access to the information they need via computers, books or other media for their education, entertainment and survival in a complex and sometimes confounding society. As a librarian I bring groups together with very different viewpoints to forge new directions for libraries and librarians that help solve the problems facing society and its people. As a library advocate I travel to where my voice is needed and appear in and on the media to articulately spread the word about how and what my profession daily contributes to this democracy and its civic life. As a librarian I analyze problems and help find solutions to those that sometime seem intractable. I work with others both inside and outside of my profession to develop and implement a compelling vision for services and programs that gather the support of policy and legislative leaders, services and programs that increase literacy and access to information for all of the people of our nation and the world.
What special projects, initiatives or committees have you been or are involved in? How did you first got involved? What experiences in ALA have been the most rewarding?
There is no doubt that the experience that was most satisfying in my entire career was serving as the President-Elect, President and Past President of ALA. I first got involved in ALA because, as Assistant Director of the Montclair, (NJ) Public Library, the Director who hired me, Arthur Curley, himself a young ALA leader, became my mentor. He made certain that I attended the ALA Annual Conference in 1973 and told me to find some committees that appealed to me within the division of my choice, go to their meetings, talk with the Chair about my interest in their work following the meeting and ask how I might get to be a member. Because of that approach I found myself early on committees in PLA. I was a vocal member and a hard worker within any committee that I was asked to join. Once I ran for Council, won and supported candidates who were running for President, I was appointed to the more prestigious ALA Council Committees. It was the mentoring by others further along in their association careers that I came to the attention of existing leaders who felt that I also possessed the qualities of leadership the Association needed.What advice would you give to up and coming librarians?
Be willing to take risks when they lead to better service for the people your library is chartered to serve. Continue with your education past the master’s degree and stay on the cutting edge of professional knowledge. Be an advocate for libraries and librarians and hone advocacy skills that make an impact on decision makers. Spread the word about how and why our profession daily contributes to this democracy and its civic life. Have the determination to analyze problems and help find solutions to what seem intractable issues. Know the fundamental precepts of the profession and don’t be afraid of the struggle it takes to maintain them. Remember that wherever you reside in the circle of authority and influence in your library you can play a leadership role that will move the library to what it must become in the future to remain a viable and respected institution.
What do you think are the top three issues facing librarianship (positive or negative) that could change the course of things? If we should try to change that course, how should we go about it?
1) Making the profession more diverse
2) Ensuring the people’s right to equity on the information superhighway and the librarian’s right to professional equity
3) Working for increased funding and legislation that supports the continued growth of the library as a bastion in a democratic society.
Making change in major societal and professional issues like these three requires that we gather sufficient numbers to our cause so that it cannot be ignored by decision makers. This make ALA a first rate vehicle for change-it is a lsrge, old established, respected Association that forms coalitions and leads not only librarians but others who seek change to band together to make a difference.
To make the profession more diverse I would continue to support the Spectrum Initiative, monitor its progress and take its implementation into the states where it could also create new directions in recruiting and retaining a more diverse workforce. The second requires consistent interaction with the Congress as well as influential state leaders to make certain that the thrust of an egalitarian society and the role of libraries and librarians in it are not forgotten. The third requires a concerted ongoing effort to emphasize what society gets from libraries in return for their financial support. I would impress upon the leadership of ALA the essential nature of the three for the ability of the profession to continue to thrive, not just survive and never let leaders forget their obligation to advocate for them every chance they get.
Tell us from your own experience one lesson you have learned.
When I retired from my day-to-day work for libraries and librarians I gave a series of talks entitled “Lessons Learned.” A few are worth recounting here. The first lesson I learned occurred in Winston-Salem, NC with the initial job I had following the receipt of my master’s degree from Rutgers University. The myth of separate but equal institutions for African Americans exploded into the reality of separate but vastly unequal institutions. That realization changed my professional focus forever. The first lesson I learned was that, regardless of the struggle that might ensue, we had to mix the library with the soul of the community to serve any significant need in the people’s lives. The second lesson learned was that to bring our community’s youth into the library we had to envision our professional home as a place where imagination could devise services responsive to youthful dreams. The third lesson learned in my various roles within ALA, was that even anomalous rabble rousers can become mainstream leaders over time. And, finally, I learned that we should let no one tell us the life of a librarian is dull. It is dull only if we choose it to be.
What values (personal traits or characteristics) do you look for and admire in a leader?
Tenacity, fearlessness, imagination and not only an understanding of the big picture of libraries and what they can do for society, but also the ability to bring the big picture to life and make it happen.
How do you recognize contributions of others in your library and in your community?
My community for 22 years was the University and the sphere of the library educator. There a series of awards are given for outstanding performance. Since we are not a profession in which anyone makes a lot of money, it is important for awards to recognize contributions, among these are rewards that arise from enriching work responsibilities.
Who do you think is a library leader? Name one person.
Patricia Schulman, an ALA Past President, who has created within our Association some of the most innovative approaches to issues confronting libraries. She has always had the courage to speak out on behalf of equity for women and communities unserved or underserved.
What or who influenced you to become a librarian?
My life as a student caused me to love libraries from elementary school forward. But it was not until I was the adult mother of two young sons that I ever considered working in them. When I began taking course for teacher certification, the professor for one of my courses was the Superintendent of Schools in a nearby community. One night he asked me to stay after class. He told me I was wasting my time in this learning environment, that his school system had a newly funded position, Library and Audiovisual Services Coordinator, and offered me the job. He advised me to go to Rutgers to get my master’s degree and make that my new career. I loved learning at Rutgers, the job was exciting and challenging and a career was born.
If you could do anything in your career differently, what would that be and why?
I would have studied for and completed my PhD earlier. I enjoyed every minute I spent as a manager in the field, but as a professor I played a subversive role in the lives of my students, placing my ideas into their heads and influencing the way they forever forever perform as librarians. As an educator I reached many receptive ears over the years and fully embraced the idea that I could move the profession forward through the actions of my students.
What are the top three things they don’t teach you in library school (or did not teach you in LS) that you think are critical?
1) The basis for my life as a librarian came from what I learned at Rutgers. But there were some things I never learned. It was from my own observations that I came to know that the University is indeed the ivory tower, where the goas is to teach the ideal. But the other half is that students must also know that they are responsible for making the ideal happen in the field–that the roles of the university and the field are complementary and the development of the profession is dependent on both.
2) The duties of librarians may be determined by the organizations in which they work, but the precepts basic to the profession are the same regardless of the type of organization with which they choose to affiliate.
3) Librarians can lead from any positions they occupy as long as they have the courage to take on the challenges of a leadership role, which includes championing unpopular causes when the need arises.
What should every librarian know?
That they should present the new directions they wish to establish for their libraries from the point of view of the public interest and not the library’s interest. Think always in terms of what the library can supply that the people of a democratic society need.
What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned in your position?
That the demographic ballasts of the nation are changing, but the moorings of our profession remain anchored in the realities of a time past. If we expect the people of the country to support libraries we must supply emerging majorities within our communities with services that have meaning for their daily lives. Professional ranks must also become more representative of the changing face of the nation to help define and implement these needed services.
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