Lessons from a symposium - compensation, job descriptions and competencies

Compensation

     Foundations:

• Philosophy: what is valued, culture and environment, internal equity, competitiveness
• Design: Internal comparisons, pay structure, market comparisons
• Administration

• Money isn't everything: Whom do I work with?  Whom do I work for?  Challenges?
• Why put golden handcuffs on someone you don't want?
• Engage people whom you want to retain and motivate
• Market surveys are an alternative to COLA increases (don't do both because you will double count)
• To convince the municipality to give money for compensation - show how you support THEIR goals and objectives (from strategic plans, etc.), speak their language

Job descriptions and competencies

• A central tool: basis for job ads, performance management, compensation
• Add to offer letter (becomes part of employment contract)
• Review regularly

     Job description template:

• Title:
• Reports to:
• Duties / Responsibilities
• Required Experience:
• Required Education:
• Required Skills and Abilities:
• Working Conditions

     Performance Appraisals:

• The windshield should be bigger than the rear view mirror.
• Keep a "shoebox" (file) for each employee - with good and not so good things to review in appraisal
• Appraisals are a waste of time if you don't know how to coach
• Numerical (rankings) or not?  Up to you - helps justify if you tie salary to performance
• Appraisal errors:  "similar-to-me" bias, central tendency (everyone is a 3/5), halo/horns, leniency/strictness, recency, contrast effect

Lessons from a symposium - manager -trustee panel

• Policy - needs to be vision driven, community focused and consistent
• Board needs a manager (leader) who can help with direction
• "Book famine" - lack of titles for print disabled
• Need to provide policy with care and feeding - they are living documents
• If you are tackling tough issues, you need to be armed with information - compare with other libraries, prove that what you do is relevant
• Sometimes, throwing the gauntlet at taking on tough issues, e.g. pay, can make something impossible begin to become possible (if not an immediate reality)
• HR case study: board sets HIGH level HR policies, CEO sets operational
• Mirror city policies if you can
• CEO sets management compensation, involved in all but 1rst level discipline, collective bargaining interpretation
• "Rules about rules": they have to be reasonable, published, communicated, understood, enforced and consistent with collective agreement
• Chairs should talk to managers weekly; look for burnout signs e.g. tears, defensiveness, taking it personal

Lessons from a symposium - Eli Mina

I attended a symposium on human resources issues for libraries.  Here's what I learned.

Presentation by parliamentarian Eli Mina:

• When raising points of order or otherwise enforcing Rules of Order: only be a stickler for the rules when you are protecting people's rights or the end results.  (Don't be too fussy)
• Shift from a negative focus to affirmative - ask not what to forbid, but what to achieve.  "Propose, don't oppose."  
• Defend the process, don't criticize the person.  Keeping correction impersonal makes it easier to deliver and easier to take.  A good impersonal question when someone is off on a tangent: "Where are we on the agenda?"
• Objectives:  ORDER - FOCUS - EFFICIENCY - EQUALITY - DECORUM - SAFETY.
• Equal time tactic: No one speaks a second time on a topic while others are waiting to speak for their first time.

• Who decides?  MONARCHY = one decides, ANARCHY = no one decides, DEMOCRACY = all decide.
• "Any objection to _? "  (How a chair or other can quickly look for unanimous consent, which eliminates need for voting)
• Policy direction = board, professional expertise = staff, public input = community.
• Board debates, CEO informs.
• "Green bananas" - things that come up e.g. in a meeting, that are decided on too quickly.  When something comes up that requires more fulsome consideration, play for time - table it until the next meeting.  Or take a meeting break to gain a moment to think and plan.

Thoughts on makerspaces

I have some thoughts on makerspaces and I would like to sketch out one example of a makerspace plan.  This is not rigorous or well thought out, it is just to capture some ideas.

Vision: "Design, fabricate and repair objects, art and community."

• "Design and fabricate": two stages of making something from scratch.  Repair probably requires a planning equivalent to design, perhaps "learning how to make repair," but for the purposes of a vision statement, it is understood not stated.  
• "Objects, art"  - Objects are physical things made to be used.  Fabrication is everything, design is a means to an end.  Art can be physical or intangible.  Design is everything, fabrication is a means to an end.  
• "Community": It is kind of cute to include community in the list of what gets made, but it is not untrue, a makerspace can build community.  Community is also a resource that helps design/fabrication/repair happen.  
• "Craft" is another term to use in a vision statement.  It suggests both design and fabrication in one pleasant sounding word.

Design resources can include 

• workstations with music, CAD, and printing software
• Books and other collection materials with relevant information and knowledge
• Staff and community human resources to guide/train/teach/assist designers
• All of the above to support repair

Fabrication and repair resources can include

• Printers
• Sewing machines
• Tools
• Musical instruments and recording devices
• Materials: fabric, sheet goods, printer inputs, paint, paper, clay

What things would I like to see in a makerspace?

• Workstations: music production and recording, graphic design, and illustration, printer interface, video production
• projector: for training/leading group activities
• musical instruments: guitar, drums, bass, keyboard, hand instruments, DJ stuff, mic, PA
• printers: large format, vinyl, 3D
• sewing machines: regular, serger, canvas
• Cameras: still, video, stop motion
• Art supplies
• Technology to assist in uploading, distributing and sharing results

Activities

• Musical: jam/song nights, recording studio
• Craft: upcycling projects, 

Other

• A library makerspace should be used to make stuff for the library itself: vinyl lettering for stacks and other signage, 3d printed chessboard pieces, etc.  Economical and good PR.
• Identify experts who can assist others.  Anyone from any level of staff who is willing to help on demand or lead scheduled programs.  Community members, with a formal agreement and plan in place.
• Any piece of technology that is acquired should come with a plan for how it will be promoted, used in programming, used by the community or otherwise leveraged.  Nothing acquired that will just sit there.

Library future

I just attended a workshop where former Hamilton Public Library CEO Ken Roberts spoke about the future of libraries.  I found it really interesting.  Here are some highlights I wanted to capture:

• Apparently, public libraries are really growing in China and there is lots of library innovation happening there.  Apparently science fiction has become popular there, with the government lifting past restrictions based on their observations of how important science fiction is in Silicon Valley style culture.
• The old model of content consumption and individual learning is giving way to more content creation and group learning.  This would seem to fit in with the "learning commons" model of school library which is happening in Alberta.  It also seems to connect with community engagement.
• "Meet you at the library" as a vision statement - if you can get people to say that, you have truly become a living community space.
• Under 5% of library funding comes from non-government fundraising sources, and that is the case everywhere.
• The trend towards library staff out from behind a desk requires that they be identifiable - badges, vests, buttons, corporate shirts, whatever it takes.
• "Hang out, geek out and mess around" - Chicago Public Library's model for teen learning in its media center.  Hang out meaning people working together, geek out meaning having a knowledgeable peer transfer knowledge, and mess around meaning just fiddling with the technology to figure it out.
• Sometimes leaders enable others rather than controlling the process.  (Amen.)
• Author: John McNight, "Building community needs from the inside out: a guide to finding and mobilizing a community's assets" - outlines what communities can do to develop their own local assets. 

How to handle library news

I have observed quite a few situations where a library issue became news in the community.  I have drawn the following conclusions:

• The media, and the public in general, rarely comprehend the full, nuanced picture.  This is not surprising - they don't have as much information as an insider.  Every time I've been familiar with an issue that became newsworthy, I have seen errors in the publicly circulated information.
• The media and other shapers of public opinion will run with whatever story they can get.
• Given the above points, it is critical for the library to be in front of the story, communicating with the media and others and shaping the story.
• The library's story should always be positive.  Even if the story seems negative, the library needs to spin it in a positive way.  For example, a funding cut can be framed in terms of all the great things the library wants to do with that money.
• Saying nothing is not as safe as it seems.  It might seem prudent to avoid a public statement that could be criticized, but other people will say plenty and their version of events will become the truth.  And it will happen quickly.  You don't have much time.

Rising to the Challenge: Re-envisioning Public Libraries

Another planning-methodology-cum-call-for-change:

This is a report/initiative by the Aspen Institute.  It posits that we are in a time of change which requires expanded access to education, learning opportunities and social connections, and which represents an opportunity for public libraries "with their unique stature as trusted community hubs and repositories of knowledge and information."

"The process of re-envisioning public libraries to maximize their impact reflects:

• Principles that have always been at the center of the public library's mission - equity, access, opportunity, openness and participation
• The library's capacity to drive opportunity and success in today's knowledge-based society
• An emerging model of networked libraries that promote economies of scale and broadens the library's resource reach while preserving its local presence
• The library's fundamental people, place and platform assets."

People, place and platform - that's a good summary of what a public library is!

Their strategies for success:

• Align library services in support of community goals (YES)
• Provide access to content in all formats (which seems to mean econtent to them but which I think speaks to print disabled content too)
• Ensure the long term sustainability of public libraries 
• Cultivate leadership

Their publications include an Action Guide for libraries and a Facilitator's Guide for facilitators who will use the report as the framework for community engagement and strategic planning.

Get outside the lines

"Libraries are dynamic centers for engagement that help everyone in your local community be their best. To shift perceptions, we need to demonstrate how the library is more relevant than ever before.
Let’s not just tell people how libraries have changed; let’s show them.
Outside the Lines is a weeklong celebration demonstrating the creativity and innovation happening in libraries. Whether your organization is large or small, a school library or a public library, you can participate by hosting at least one event or campaign that:

1. Gets people thinking – and talking – about libraries in a different way.
2. Showcases the library out in the community as well as in the library.
3. Highlights how your library is relevant to people’s lives.
4. Represents your local community.
5. Is active versus passive – gets people engaged.
6. Is extraordinary and unexpected.
7. Most importantly, is fun!"

That is lifted verbatim from www.getoutsidethelines.org - now I will find it again if I go looking for it

Outcome Measurements: Practical Considerations

(Notes from a session delivered by Rebecca Jones of Brampton Library.  These are notes I am mostly recording for my personal recollection, they might not be coherent to others.)

• Key questions:  What?  So what?  Now what?
• It is good for outsiders to look at your data - they might bring a different perspective - this is a great role for the board
• You need to understand the perspectives of others if you want to convince / influence them
• Libraries don't tend to have a culture of assessment
• most measures convey past performance
• Our measures don't align with interests of decision-makers (perspective)
• Many partnerships do not include outcome goals or joint measures

"Good to Great" (recommended book)

• Identifying and illustrating value depends on conversations with your stakeholders
• The first conversation shouldn't be the one where success is presented
• More isn't necessarily better - more can cloud the issue and the message

Successful organizations:

• Clarity of purpose
• Understand the external community they work in
• Use performance measure that fit the culture

Surveys are good for evaluating / measuring outcomes and impacts [different from the way we usually think of them in AB - here they are often used as a general needs assessment/service planning, but she's saying they are good for backward-looking, targeted evaluation of a specific service)

• Ask councillors, etc.: what constitutes personal success for them?  "What would a successful term look like for you?"
• If you can meet emotional / value needs (as opposed to the merely practical...)

Seven measurement areas [I think this is from ALA's Project Outcome]:

• Civic / community engagement
• Digital inclusion
• Early childhood literacy
• Economic development
• Education / lifelong learning
• Job skills
• Summer reading

United Airlines and the institutional trap

United Airlines recently lost most of a billion dollars in stock value after a bloodied customer was dragged off an airplane.  The incident was bad but the tone-deaf response from the CEO was worse.  What was he thinking when he defended the indefensible?

This is the institutional trap.  It captures experts and professionals by turning their knowledge against them.  They know everything about the inner workings of their institutions, but they come to believe that the belly of the beast is the entire world.  Their analytical toolkit is a box they can't escape.

What to do with data

After I do a community needs assessment meeting, I generally hand a pile of flip chart pages to the hosting library, offer a ten minute verbal debrief, get in my car and drive away.  What is that library supposed to do with that data after I am gone?

I suggest the following simple steps to hammer raw data into insights and conclusions:

First, just look at the data.  Work all the way through it.  Read every page, try to understand the format and what is being said.

Second, think about what it means.  Any initial impressions?  Anything jump out at you?  Any patterns?

Third, crunch the data.  Count repetitions, tally up yeas and nays.  Try making some bar charts or pie charts out of the data.

Fourth, think about it some more.  Identity themes and give them descriptive names.  Try to collapse categories.  Look for the bigger deeper story.

Finally, come to some conclusions.  Decide what it all means, pick what is important.

This is boiled down from other stuff.  I will try to attach some citations which I would like to keep track of.

A new model for library service planning

I have been doing library service planning for a while now, mostly following PLA's Strategic Planning for Results methodology.  It's a good process for many situations:

• It's prescriptive: it tells you what to do every step of the way. 
• It's complete: everything plotted out to the last detail, and things like meeting agendas and worksheets are included.
• It's community focused: it starts with community needs and picks library service in response to those needs.  Also, it empowers the community to define those community needs and pick the library service responses themselves.
• It includes outcome oriented descriptions of library services (Library Service Responses).

Like anything, though, SP4R has its limitations:

• Prescriptive isn't always good.  Sometimes you want to customize.
• It includes only one way to do community needs assessment (public meetings).
• Those damn Service Responses!  I half love them and half hate them.  They are an inspirational summary of all the things libraries can do for people - but they are text heavy, they categorize services in an odd way sometimes and they give core and niche services on the same weight.

My answer is to move away from this prescriptive process towards a toolkit and set of principles. I will be presenting this at the Alberta Library Conference this spring.

Lethbridge Public Library's "Have a Seat" Campaign

Lethbridge Public Library did a really good community engagement campaign called "Have a Seat".  It was good for two reasons:

First, they came up with a great way to talk to the community.  They got a red leather chair and they took it around to community events, the local pool, wherever they could find people, and invited the public to sit down and consider one question: "How do you fit a community into a library?"  I love this!  The chair is a vivid, symbol of the campaign that catches attention and invites people to engage. Once they are seated, they are in a posture that naturally invites lingering and contemplation.

The question is really good too.  I love how they limited it to one open ended question rather than a survey.  The question is open ended but it is also somewhat complex, requiring some thought to understand; and it is subtly leading, suggesting that fitting the community into the library is the issue at hand.

They talked 700 people.  They took a different approach with "community builders," sitting them in the chair and interviewing them (asking a series of questions).  Very thoughtful way of extending the visual metaphor of the chair into different types of engagement.

The second thing they did really well was analyzing and compiling the results.  You don't get any quantitative information with one open ended question, so how do you crunch the data? They identified what they called "story themes", common refrains which surfaced over and over again, and they gave them compelling names.  There were six of them:

• We Love the Library!
• People Want More of the Good Stuff (less of the not so good)
• Well…I Didn’t Know That!
• By the Way I’m Having Just a Little Trouble Using the eResources
• Since My Life is Filled to the Max (it makes a difference to me that the Library is close to where I live or work)
• It’s Important that the Library be a Community Hub (a place to learn, discuss, interact, have fun and sometimes expand who we are).

The Trouble with PLA Service Responses

I do a lot of community needs assessment using the PLA's Strategic Planning for Results process.  It has a lot of strengths (focused on community needs, etc.) but some weaknesses too.

SP4R includes "service responses", a list of 18 services which libraries can deliver in response to community needs.  The service responses have their uses; for starters, they are a good summary of the wide range of things that a modern public library can do.  Also, they focus on the benefit that the community receives from the service, as opposed to the activity of the library.  For example:

"Residents will have someone to answer their questions on a wide array of topics."  

See how that is focused on residents, and not on the library?  This is the right way to describe services when you are talking to the public.  It  is good advocacy language. 

There are however two problems with service responses.  First, they can lead to a loss of context when collecting public input.  For example, lets say the community tells you there is a teenage graffiti epidemic, and determines that an appropriate service response to that would be 

"Express Creativity: Create and Share Content.  (Residents will have the services and support they need to express themselves by creating original print, video, audio or visual content.)"

The idea being that the little hoodlums can come be creative in the library rather than on garage doors.

The problem arises when down the line, someone receives this public input and starts deciding what the library will do to implement that service response.  If they don't have all the information, they might decide to do a seniors' painting program.  Which would be fine, except it misses the reason why the service response was picked in the first place.

This is an artificial sort of example, but the point is that when you move from 1) community need to 2) these very broad and general service responses and then 3) into a specific library activity there may be a disconnect between #1 and #3.  Really.  I've seen it happen.

The second problem with the service responses is what I call "takeout menu syndrome."  If you let your community representatives pick service responses, they are liable to pick the ones that sound good to them for whatever reason.  No matter how much you tell them to pick based on community needs, they will tend to like one or the other, just because it sounds good to them.  And they will pick that one, as if it was moo goo gai pan and they were hungry.  Mmm, moo goo gai pan.

How to avoid these problems?  I do show community groups the service responses, as part of my effort to show them the range of things that libraries can do.  I do not ask them to pick service responses.  When it comes time to talk about what the library should do (that is step 3, after we have identified community needs and discussed all the things that public libraries can do), I simply ask them to pick the community needs that the library should respond to and to say whatever they want about what exactly the library should do in response.  After that it is up to the library to refine and polish that input and to reference Service Responses if they so choose.

Library funding in Alberta

Personal responsibilities of library trustees

Another video

A quick introduction to library service in Alberta

Another video

How to be an effective trustee

I am going to try to post some videos I have created so I can show them from the web when I'm out of the office.  Here goes #1, How to be an Effective Trustee

Polarity Management

... Is a problem solving methodology, well summarized by Barry Johnson at http://www.jpr.org.uk/documents/14-06-19.Barry_Johnson.Polarity_Management.pdf

It is an alternative to "either/or" and "independent alternatives" decision making.  Polarities are situations where options are interconnected, e.g. should I take care of myself or my kids first?  (Bad example but it shows how one alternative might serve the apparent goal of the other alternative, as when you put the oxygen mask on yourself first.)

There are some techniques to incorporating polarity management into your decision, which could be summarized as "balance, grasshopper."

This has little connection to anything else I'm doing but I wanted to capture it before it blows away.  😀

Public engagement techniques, categorized by situation

Yet another interesting online resource ...

Design with Dialogue describes four types of group consultation approaches, the situations they apply to and the facilitation techniques that work for each.

Exploration is about examining a situation in an open ended way.  It emphasizes learning and insight over action and results.  Techniques include Conversation Cafe and World Cafe.  It could be a useful first step in community needs assessment for libraries but it requires additional followup.

Conflict transformation is for resolving conflict.  Techniques include Sustained Dialogue and Compassionate Listening.  It wouldn't normally be relevant in community needs assessment unless you have a situation where the public is upset about something, e.g. the relocation of a beloved library.  It could also be useful for resolving conflicts between and within board and staff.

Decision making is about getting to the point where you decide something.  If "exploration" is the beginning, "decision making" is the end.  It is appropriate for when "public engagement is needed on an issue to strengthen policy decisions and public knowledge" - and that is exactly the case with community needs assessment for libraries. "These methods are recommended when the issue at hand is going to be decided on by a single entity, such as a government agency or committee, that is genuinely interested in learning about their constituents’ informed opinions and shared values."  This is the sweet spot for library planning.  Appropriate techniques include National Issues Forums, Deliberative Polling, 21st Century Town Meetings, Charrettes, and Consensus Conferences.

"Key features of decision making methods include unbiased “naming” of the issue and balanced framing of options, creating space for participants to weigh all options and consider different positions, and identifying the public’s core values around an issue."

Collaborative action empowers the group to make decisions and can even assign responsibility for results to the group or members thereof.  It is appropriate when dealing with partners.  This level of empowerment and offloading of responsibility seems a bit much for the public library / community relationship.  Study Circles, Future Search, and Appreciative Inquiry work for collaborative situations.

There are so many facilitation techniques out there.  It is useful to see them categorized like this so you know which ones fit your situation.