Are you hiring?

Citation

Mitchell, E. and Barbara Watstein, S. (2011), "Are you hiring?", Reference Services Review, Vol. 39 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/rsr.2011.24039aaa.002

Are you hiring?

Article Type: Editorial From: Reference Services Review, Volume 39, Issue 1

If not, how are you meeting the needs of emerging service areas? Evolving curricula? New technologies? Changing user demographics?

If not, how much do you rely on position redefinitions, position reassignments, interim arrangements, or “retooling” existing librarians for meeting these needs?

In the economic downturn many libraries have experienced (at best) a more cautious approach to filling vacant positions. We have been challenged to manage with multiple vacancies and still achieve excellence. We are expected to strategically redeploy position vacancies, and to critically assess each position as it becomes vacant. Often we must make a case to library or campus administration to post and fill long standing (and mission critical) positions.

As vacancies arise, answering core questions will provide keys to staffing in the “new normal” in which we operate:

1. 1.

   What is the relationship of the position vacancy to the institution’s strategic aspirations?

2. 2.

   What is the relationship of the position vacancy to the metrics proposed in the Association of College and Research Library’s “Value of Academic Libraries” research review and report1 – student achievement, student retention, student collaboration, to name a few?

3. 3.

   How does the position vacancy support research, teaching and learning?

4. 4.

   How does the position vacancy support the library’s operational and business needs?

We suggest that, ultimately, the informed redeployment of position vacancies will lead to the rejuvenation of our ranks and will position us to meet our coming workforce needs – not to mention positioning us to meet the needs articulated above!

Check out the classifieds

Tracking position vacancies and postings provides an interesting window on our shared future. One recent announcement caught our eye and we think you will agree – it “pops”.

CSU Channel Islands: Head of Public Services and Outreach Position

CSU Channel Islands is looking for a not so mild-mannered superhero librarian to be our Head of Public Services and Outreach. Someone who places students at the center of the educational experience for a university that provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives. Someone who is able to oversee reference, instruction, public computing, and outreach services, but will also jump at the chance to teach a library instruction session, help a student with a printer jam, develop a Halloween theme related to information literacy, and work a graveyard reference desk shift, or two, at the end of the semester. Someone who can lead people by recognizing and harnessing their individual strengths and talents, while at the same time fostering crazy ideas that will be tomorrow’s innovations. Someone who can work across campus and out in the community to cultivate collaborations, including developing ingenious ways to celebrate faculty scholarship and creative activities, work with campus units to enhance services, write grants that engage the community, and lead an inspiring tour for a bunch of kindergarteners. If you think you might be a good fit for the Head of Public Services and Outreach at CI, please go to our web site for a more detailed position description and to apply online: www.csucifacultyjobs.com Application review begins on November 1, 2010.

This posting is intriguing both for its imaginative rearticulation of the position requirements, and also as evidence of the need for creative marketing strategies – even in this buyer’s economy – to attract the candidates with both the skill set and the mindset for success in this institution.

Vol. 39 No. 1

Readers interested in leveraging opportunities, in keeping up, in reinvigorating core services, in getting ahead of the curve, in short readers interested in change, but not just change-for-change’s-sake, will find much that is useful in this issue. Here are papers on the fundamental characteristics of information (Hoyer), on the potential of formative assessment (Dunaway and Orblych), and on creative uses of technology and devices (Barnhart and Stanfield, Mikkelson and Davidson). Here too are papers that encourage service enhancement (Park, Mardis and Ury) and service development (Stowe). Here are papers that challenge librarians to step into new roles (Gibson, Ward). And, finally, here are papers that call for rethinking not only what we are doing, but, how we are doing it (Mery, Akers, Collard and Whatley).

Note

Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report, available at: www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues/value/valreport.pdf (accessed 9 November 2010).

Eleanor Mitchell, Sarah Barbara Watstein