One could say that developing good written and verbal communication skills is, across-the-board, the single most valuable skill a professional person can develop. In Information and Library Sciences it is not just a skill that is nice to develop, but rather, a weighty must to already have in place. No matter if your starting out as an entry level Librarian, or you are a Director of Library, communication is essential. Considering the kaleidoscope of scenarios in the library work environment it is something that needs to be practiced and developed until it becomes second nature. Communication can, very basically, be thought of as the ability to take the information or ideas you have and say it (written or verbal) in a way that it can be understood by anyone. I think it is also important to note, good communication skills require good listening skills.
It is critical for librarians to develop these skills for almost every facet of the job. Ultimately librarianship is a job that deals with the public, constantly. Furthermore, the extent of communication that goes into planning, evaluating, and day-to-day operations, to make public service possible, requires an equal amount of communication skills. Librarian's will use their communication skills in the following areas:
- Patrons: You'll tap into this professional nature while working with patrons, either at the reference desk, during programming or services, students and volunteers, storytimes, and diffusing angry or upset patrons, just to name a few.
- Colleagues: You'll tap into your communication skills once again while dealing with your colleagues. Again, a personable, professional, clear channel of communication is a must. You'll need this skill when dealing with managers as well as when you are in a position of leadership. You'll need to be able to relate a clear expectation and ideas on a daily basis.
- Professional Partnerships: You'll find that being able to effectively communicate can make or break a crucial partnership with an outside organization or government. Government funding, outreach services, grants, partnerships with local school, charities, even the Friends of the Library, all require a professional line of communication (both written and verbal).
- Virtual: With the inundation of the internet and social media a librarian must be sensitive to social and communicative etiquette online. They also must be able to formulate professional E-mail and online communicative skills. Virtual communication skills are equally as important today as traditional verbal and written skills.
Demonstrative Works
In Artifact 1, I present a mock correspondence letter created for LIBR 261 Young Adult Programming and Services. In it we were supposed to hone our professional ability to relate to an outside partnership to enrich our Teen patronage and services at the Library. In it we were supposed to compose a follow-up letter to a principle of a Middle School regarding a meeting that we were all in attendance to. The meeting and follow up letter deals with a new forging of partnership between the Library and the Middle & High School. It outlines follow-up ideas and is copied to all professional forces that are involved in the project. They include the Library Director, The Public Services Manager, The Branch Supervisor, and The Principle of the Middle School. It demonstrates my ability to be positive, clear and proactive while at the same time keeping everyone involved in the communicative loop.
In Artifact 2, I attached my personal philosophy of leadership and management written for LIBR 204. I do this because I truly believe that communication is one, if the THE, most important part of supervision, management, and leadership. I believe that the traditional idea that a manager should make their expectations clear and be able to communicate for themselves is a must. But I believe it goes deeper then that. I believe that key to management and leadership is allowing others to be leadership and having communicate flow freely from both ends. Both listening and clearly verbalizing yourself needs to exist on both sides. This artifact shows that I understand that teamwork and group work is an outcome of effective line of communication in both management and the team as a whole. And listening is fifty percent of one hundred percent communication. It is management's job to open those lines of communication and embrace leadership across the board. Without communication their can be no progress.
Artifact 3 is a unique example of communication that I am proud to present it. It illustrates my ability to communicate with other professionals in unique situations outside of the workplace. For this assignment we had to seek out a Teen Librarian and interview them about their job and the Teen Zone within their Library. In order to do this we had to arrange an appointment by going through the Library to reach the Teen Librarian. This is a delicate situation because nobody knows who you are, and you need to quickly, and clearly, explain who and why you needed to speak with the Teen Librarian. In my case, I connected with her as she was leaving for maternity leave and in a rush to delegate jobs while she was out. Luckily I communicated what I needed and how organized I was so that she felt she could spare the time to meet with me. I then was able to communicate with her and present questions to her in a professional way, explain who I was and why I was doing the interview, and then listen to her responses and write them down in a way that would communicate her answers after I had left.
This was a special exercise in communication, both written and verbal, and it demonstrates that I can be professional and thorough in communicating my findings and while speaking to professional colleagues.
Artifact 2: Philosophy of Management and Leadership
Artifact 3: Professional Interview with a Teen Librarian
No comments:
Post a Comment