- Holt points out that her experience at the Reference Desk was invaluable to her as a manager. She learned a “two-pronged” set of skills, technical and interpersonal, that have shaped how she manages the library today. However, she says she wished she had taken more management and business related classes before becoming a director. After her promotion she learned a lot of skills hands-on, like budgeting, information about town finances and municipal government. One of the most important things she learned after becoming director is that there are no clear cut solutions. She emphasizes that being a Library Director involves a lot of compromise, especially when working with the town.
- I ask Holt what some of the most important aspects of being a manager are and she replies by telling me there are differences between being a manager and a leader. She explains that librarians can sometimes be “mired” down with keeping libraries running smoothly and efficiently, making it hard to focus on “being a visionary and focusing on how the library will evolve in the future including the betterment of the community.” She goes on to stress that “libraries can’t survive unless they elevate the community.” She works to create a balance so she can be both manager and leader but even she admits it’s hard.
- Focusing on the future of libraries, we talk about plans and goals for the Ames Free Library. The library is working on a strategic plan built on their slogan “Where the community connects.” The main objective is to make sure the library thrives regardless of the future. The four goals included in the library’s long term plan focus on providing functionality and accessibility, quality library service to an increasing population, funding to maintain and improve services and focusing on collection development. In addition, the plan is also to focus more on the “virtual community” by embracing technology and using social networking and other technological tools. The library wants to provide entertainment, promote gatherings and forums for the community, do community outreach, and promote education and cultural events to better the lives of the people it serves. They want to articulate how technology is being used in the library and demonstrate the positive uses of these technologies, like e-books and e-readers. The library already has a Facebook page and two blogs (One of them is mine! The other is from the very talented Children's Librarian, Ms. Cathie!) accessible through their website. Holt’s role in making this strategic plan work is as a leader and visionary with an eye to the future.
- Next we discuss how these goals get put into place and who decides what’s important to the community. The library has organized a committee of people from different groups in town, such as the Council on Aging, the Easton Historical Society, My Brother’s Keeper,
Stonehill College - Keeping the spotlight on goals, I ask Holt what some of hers have been as Library Director, in addition to creating a strategic plan for the library. Holt tells me that when she was promoted to Director, it was a time of transition in the library. This was one of her most difficult managerial issues so far as Library Director. The library was also in temporary quarters as the historic library building was undergoing a much needed renovation. The staff had gone through one move and was adjusting to even smaller quarters than they were used to. They had to catalog, process and receive new books in the kitchen of their temporary quarters where people would also be eating lunch! Moving back into the renovated building and opening a library branch for teens also loomed in the future and the staff was exhausted and overall morale was low. Holt had recently read the book Fish! A remarkable way to boost morale and improve results and thought it would be a fun way to energize library workers. She was thinking to the future and wanted to build the relationships between the community and the library. The first step was building the relationships between co-workers and getting everyone on the same page. She thought that having staff read the book would help to strengthen these relationships. The library bought copies of the book for all employees and was able to access the movie version based on the Pike Place Fish market. They had a staff enrichment day where employees talked about the book and the video and how they could adopt the practices that were used in the library. Each month at staff meetings different aspects of the book were discussed, including team building activities and strategies on how to improve customer service skills.
- Holt implemented other changes as well. She wanted a more involved staff that would be able to interact easily and share feedback at all levels. She wanted to promote open communication and address problematic issues right away. She wanted staff to know they were welcome to make suggestions for improvement, especially for Holt herself. She wanted to instill the value and benefits of open, proactive management. She felt building these relationships between all levels of staff would help create a better work environment and make staff happier, allowing them to provide the excellent service she now praises them for achieving. The Fish! book helped build morale by encouraging library employees to have fun at work. Employees were more comfortable and open with each other and the new management. This created a relaxed and renewed staff that provided great customer service and resulted in higher job performance.
- I inquire if Holt receives any assistance in making the difficult decisions that are part of the Director’s job. Holt relies heavily on her assistant director, Uma Hiremath. The two of them are the library’s “inner circle” when it comes to management. Hiremath consequently is in charge of the interpersonal and day to day aspects of the library and staff needs, program planning and also evaluates library success and recommended changes. Hiremath reports these details to Holt, leaving Holt to focus more on important and pressing Director-related issues. Holt and Hiremath maintain constant communication, providing updates and feedback. They have an administrators meeting once a month with other members of management and librarians and also a staff meeting once a month with all staff.
- The discussion then moves to employees. Holt says the Ames Free Library is a great place to work in the way that the staff all genuinely gets along. They even take part in social events after work because they generally like one another, and this builds strong interpersonal relationships, which reflect on the service they provide. Holt encourages “everyone to do wonderful things, allow for room to grow, going above and beyond.” She says she tries to “give people opportunities to make the most of their talents and fatten up their resumes (not that she wants to lose any of her valuable staff).” The staff seems to enjoy these opportunities as they collectively make many individual contributions to the library such as monthly reviews of music, books and movies, computer tutoring lessons, blogs and knitting circles. She stresses that the staff members at the Ames Free Library are very experienced (the average worker being employed at the library for seven years) and do extraordinary things. Holt even says her employees have a healthy competitiveness she promotes.
- Holt and Hiremath have formal staff performance evaluations once a year. They asks staff members to come prepared with a list of jobs they do, what they like about their positions and what they would like to change. Together, they provide feedback to the employee, recognizing strengths and weaknesses, and expect the same kind of feedback from the employee. They make it a point to ask what they, the upper management, can do for the employee. In addition, Holt has an “open door policy” throughout the year where she welcomes staff to drop in and speak to her informally about anything.
- Holt stresses that managers must be open to anything available to them that may be helpful. The key is to take the bits and pieces that apply to one’s institution and situation and make them work. Holt emphasizes that she wished she’d had more management knowledge when she became Director and recommends taking classes in business management and public speaking as a way to prepare. As a small business manager, she’s “always on her toes” and has to be ready to do the next thing. She says that Library Directorship is “a big job with a lot of facets that make it even bigger.” There are many people to answer to including staff, the board of directors and the town and she must always be prepared. She depends upon “point people” in the town for feedback and decision making, which is crucial in developing a sense of who can help the library when the time comes. Reaching out to town figures help forge relationships and support for the library.
- Our interview is coming to a close, and I ask Holt for her elevator speech. This is something we recently discussed in class and Holt has just mentioned a time when she froze when asked what purpose the library serves. She has since made it a point to be able to quickly respond to such a question and does so to mine. “The library focuses on the community and advocacy. Libraries have learned to be community focused organizations instituted to bring people together, enlighten, educate and look to the future to embrace technology. Libraries are intermediaries between technology and the average user. Even if some day all materials are electronic someone has to be the agent (the librarian) to teach the content and be the providers of the technology and information.”
I bet you didn't realize how much work being a Library Director is! These topics are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything a Library Director is responsible for. Let's show appreciation to all libraries and employees at all levels for the outstanding job they do of bringing the community together and promoting learning, literacy and success for their patrons!
Madeline Miele Holt's Recommended Management Books
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