Big Blog Post

I have not posted anything in a while so this is going to be a compilation of the readings and some thoughts. First I have been doing some research on our juvenile section. We really do not have a strong juvenile section at all. This school has a pretty good size education department. There are many required courses that have required reading of juvenile books. It would be nice if the section was more up-to-date. I did a search of about 30 juvenile books that have been popular in the last year and we didn't even have one of them. I Sayre, on the other hand did have a few. I also did a search of The New York Times Bestselling Juvenile novels and we didn't have 4 of the first 5. I don't know if there is some sort of system we can work out where we can maybe get bestsellers or award winners periodically. I understand that there is not a HUGE demand for them but there is a need. It would be nice if we could get some things that are more current.

One of the readings I read but never blogged over is the Coping with different workplace personalities article. First I will say that i really like these Communication Briefing Articles. They are simple and practical and they get right to the point. Some articles like this are too wordy and tend to repeat the same idea over and over in different words. Anyway, I like that this article gives you example of things to say. There were three personalities that were targeted. The Negative Person, The Thin-skinned, and the Office Dictator. There are student workers that I can put in each category. One reaccuring theme throughout the article is the importance of staying positive. Just choosing to use positive words to express yourself can make all the difference. Instead of saying whats wrong with that idea? I should say things like, "What suggestions do you have?" Something else I noticed is how important it is to make people feel like they are useful, needed, and part of the team. If a worker feels needed they are more likely to invest in the good of the library. I think that is something we could probably work on here.

I also read the ABC's of Supervisory Communication a while back. I really really liked this article. It laid out some practical and very useful guidelines when it comes to communicating with subordinates. One thing that really stuck out to me was the importance of listening to the ideas of others. If that is something I do continuously with the student workers then they will fill comfortable enough to bring issues to me when it is really important. I want to have an open line of communication with them like I do with Erin and Jason. I want them to be confident that they can talk to me, and that I will do whatever I can to find a solution. Another point the article made was giving praise when it is deserved, and that is should be done in front of people. When someone does a great job they should be told, and it is even better if they are told in front of a small group. The article says that it makes them feel like part of the team and that is motivates others to step up their performance. I agree with those statements and I know that giving praise is something I do not do nearly enough.

I also read an article about knowing what your employees are thinking. This article really struck me. One of its main points was, " Speakers will stop communicating if they think listeners have stopped paying attention." People need the affirmation that we are indeed listening. Whether is is a nod or eye contact or verbal reassurance, we need that. Often times if a worker thinks the boss is not listening they will stop talking all together. Sometimes listening means more than just nodding, sometimes it means action being taken. If workers have presented a problem and nothing is done to find a solution, workers will stop communicating. Not only is this bad for business, but productivity decreases, morale goes out the window, and efficiency is lost. Workers adopt the, "why should I even try" attitude. This article is exactly right. There is a person in my life that loves to talk, but when it come time for me to talk she looks away or starts playing with her phone or talking to another person. Not only is it rude but it really conveys that she is too selfish to care about me, or my opinion. I never want my workers to feel this way. I want them to trust me and know that I really do care about what they have to say. One last point it made is to praise the sharing of information, even if it is hard to hear. I think that is a big one. People need to know that I want them to communicate with me, even if it might be hard for me to swallow. I need feedback, i need to know when I have upset someone, I need to know when there is a problem with how we are doing something. I dont want the student workers to ever think that they cannot come to me with something that might be negative.