Today I attended the Kentucky SOLINET Users Group (KSUG)/Kentucky Virtual Library Users Group (VLUG) Joint Conference (conference link is .pdf).
It involved the business meetings of the two sponsoring groups, updates from some relevant organizations, and breakout afternoon sessions. I attended a session covering new databases offered by the Kentucky Virtual Library (KYVL).
Not super-educational overall, but if I learned anything today, it’s that I’m not particularly adept at networking. Granted, I’m not feeling particularly well and am not my usual outgoing self. Nevertheless, I wasn’t really feeling any connection to the other attendees or much compulsion to forge those connections. I did meet a few interesting folks, but couldn’t muster the determination to engage some of the bigwigs in attendance (such as the State Librarian).
Oh, and tomorrow is our dreaded summer reading kickoff and I have the privilege of being supervisor all day long. Joy.
Posted by: Greg Schwartz in Career
OK, I owe y’all a little more than that meager update.
The new job has been going very well. Today we make our quarterly report to our Assistant Director, which seems to be a very big deal. Every fiscal year, each supervisor must set a list of objectives to work on. This being the report for the 3rd quarter, I had nothing to do with the creation of this year’s objectives for my position. And having not been in the position for too long, I’m not really accountable for the activity of the last quarter. Thus, I have the opportunity to look forward to the next period and discuss my plans for the upcoming months.
Some of the things I plan to mention have already been accomplished. I’ve already implemented a Collection Status Report, which assesses the orderliness of the various sections of the collection and serves to communicate my awareness of this condition to the rest of the library staff. I’ve also already helped draft a guideline for selection of materials to be displayed in our Popular Materials section.
But as you can imagine, there is still much to be done. One of the objectives for my position is to develop means to reward page victories. We’re looking to get away from the Page of the Month system that’s currently being used (1 winner means 18 losers, at least that’s how I see it) and replace it with something we’re tentatively calling “Caught in the Act.”
In essence, if a page is seen doing something notably good, they are rewarded with a coupon redeemable for some small incentive: a longer break/lunch, a free soda, a “Get out of jail free” card for lateness, etc. This way, we can reward good performance in the moment and provide instant gratification for the pages. I’m optimistic that this will go over well, but am still seeking a worthwhile list of incentives to make it exciting. Any ideas?
Anyway, off to work. I hope I can find time to bring you more info about what I do as a “Circulation Support Supervisor,” whatever that title’s supposed to mean.
Posted by: Greg Schwartz in News
Just a quick minute out of my busy life to mention that the URL to my Blogs for Libraries article has changed. If you happen to have it in a bibliography or otherwise, you may want to update your link.
