View from 39,000 feet: Reflections on the 2019 American Library Association Midwinter Conference

While airplane trips make some people anxious, they make me reflective. As I write, I’m flying back to Los Angeles from Seattle, having been to Seattle for the American Library Association Midwinter Conference. Once again I was privileged to have my daughter Rachel with me: her 6^th time to an ALA conference. She is building a network of colleagues as she starts her career as a librarian.

While some people in the library profession do not enjoy going to ALA Midwinter or ALA Annual, I have always found the conferences interesting, provocative, and an opportunity to build a network of interesting, informed, and sometimes raucous colleagues. As always, the conference provided an opportunity to catch up with other library leaders from across the country and to meet new ones. I was able to attend sessions on Virtual Reality, research support, and building 3-D exhibits, the FOLIO library services platform, as well as half day,  catching up with a variety of shared print initiatives across North America. Meeting with vendors, as well as participating in the ARCL Leadership Council and the International Relations Committee, rounded out the conference.

One of the wonderful things about both ALA Midwinter and Annual are the major national/international speakers that come to speak. This year, with a bit more flexibility in my schedule I was privileged to hear four speakers. Here are a few reflections on this year’s speakers.

Melinda Gates, provided the opening keynote, sharing some of the work she has been doing to create transformational improvements in the area of global health. In a conversation with noted librarian and bestselling author, Nancy Pearl, Melinda shared from her forthcoming book “The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World”; personalizing her perspective on the role that women have in the world, and how by supporting women and giving them a full voice, raises the whole of humanity. For me, the most poignant point was Melinda’s struggle with her own Catholic faith, and the need to provide contraceptive help for millions of women in the developing world. This needed contraceptive help allowed women to not have babies they could not support and feed.

The most difficult and challenging talk was by Robin DiAngelo, the author of the New York Times best-seller “White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism”. This challenging talk challenged me and others to exam how my own white race has shaped my world view and the view of others. No one wants to think of themselves as racist. DiAngelo helped us to see how racism is built into our social and government system and that we must work to break down those systems to give people of color and other marginalized people a chance at full participation in our society. Certainly, much to think about.

One of our favorite events every Midwinter is the early Monday morning (6:30 am) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance and Sunrise Celebration. A time of reflection on MLK’s work, but also the continued need to work on overcoming the systemic racism that still marginalizes and oppresses African American’s and other minorities in the United States. This year’s speaker, Dr. Jeanne Theoharis, shared from the research of her latest book, "A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History", which details the ways in which we have created a hero myth around MLK and Rosa Parks. This hero myth simplifies MLK’s role to showing the US the problem of racism and in the spirit of American Exceptionalism, the white majority solved it with the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and the Voter Rights Act of 1965. Not only is this untrue (eliminating racism), it ignores the real and sometimes very violent and uncomfortable struggle that was the Civil Rights movement. Theoharis shows that when white leaders try to downplay the activism of current groups, like Black Lives Matter, by appealing to MLK, they ignore the historical MLK and the activist struggle that he led. Just like today’s members of Black Lives Matter, MLK was asked/told to be quiet, to be more circumspect, to accommodate. Today’s appeal to MLK’s nonviolence ignores both King’s actions and how he and his work struggled against white dominance and hatred. Once again this celebration was a clarion call to action to combat racism in all of its forms.

Noted British CNN journalist Isha Sesay closed this year’s ALA conference. Born and raised in Sierra Leone, a daughter of professional parents, educated at Cambridge, worked 13 years as a front-line correspondent for CNN International, often reporting from difficult and dangerous places. She talked about her forthcoming book “Beneath the Tamarind Tree”; the story of the 2014 kidnapping of 276 girls in the Nigerian village of Chibok by the Boka Haram. She was captivated by the story of the kidnapped girls, and the fact the government was doing little if anything to find them. She worked to keep the story alive and when half of the girls were released she visited them to provide help for them to re-establish their lives. Since the return of the girls, Isha has stepped away from her career at CNN and established a foundation to work with girls in Africa; providing leadership training so that girls have opportunities to flourish and change their world.

In spite of the strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion at the conference, I was disappointed to hear of the ways that people of color attending the conference were mistreated and their contributions minimalized. We still have much work to do.

Seattle, also known as the Emerald City, is a fascinating city with its mix of historic and new; the Pike Place Market and the ultramodern Seattle Public Library. It is also a city of Coffee, with a Starbucks on almost every corner, including the very first Starbucks store. While known for its gloomy weather and copious rain, our five days in Seattle sported not a drop of rain, and on our final day, there was not a cloud in the sky.

At the end of the conference, we went to the University of Washington to visit the Research Commons and tour the libraries. Visiting the Research Commons was a way to discover how the UW was providing research support for graduate students. Certainly an interesting space and set of services.

After our meeting with the Research Commons manager, we took time to visit the Suzalo Library, UW’s main research library. Visiting the historic reading room one can easily see the manifestation of the metaphor “library as temple of knowledge. It was interesting to see students in that grand and reflective space and how moving out from the reading room, the library merged into more active and social learning spaces.

Our visit later in the day to Seattle’s iconic glass and steel Central Library provided an interesting juxtaposition of library metaphors. The library’s glass and steel structure provide open and interesting public spaces, living rooms of sorts, while the print collection is showcased in a multi-story book spiral that allows users to interact directly with the collection. The library is a mixture of “library as living room” and “library as public square”; allowing the city to see the library as a central intellectual hub.

Next up: ALA annual in Washington DC!!!. Hope to see you there.

Not only through a rearview mirror: Martin Luther King, American Library Association, and Diversity

“Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last”. I was only 7 years old when Martin Luther King made this famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I do remember many of the news reports on his work and clearly remember the news bulletin of his death on April 4, 1968. Martin Luther King raised the consciousness of the nation with his plea for civil rights and his commitment to non-violence. While MLK galvanized the work on civil rights, there was a legion of individuals, some well-known, such as Rosa Parks, the Freedom Riders, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), others who have faded from history’s spotlight. Even in my home town of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada, a courageous black businesswomen, Viola Desmond, refused to leave the “whites only” section of the local movie theatre. Long, seemingly relegated, to the dust bin of history, her story, like Rosa Parks, has been told, and Viola now appears on the Canadian ten dollar bill.

We are now almost 56 years past MLK’s famous speech, and while some progress has been made, we all too clearly see the overt racism that is part of our society; more clearly since Trump became President. Our cultural institutions, schools, libraries, and museums should be forces that speak out against racism in all of its forms. While I cannot speak for schools and museums, I can, I hope, say that libraries should, and often do play a positive role in combatting racism. While the American Library Association, in the past did not speak out about segregated libraries, in the past 25 years has been making a conscious attempt to combat racism and be more diverse and inclusive. We certainly have work to still do, and I hope, that members of the Association who are from underrepresented and marginalized groups will hold us all responsible.

I am looking forward to heading to the American Library Association Midwinter meeting in Seattle (January 25-28, 2019). For me, one of the highlights of every Midwinter meeting is the Martin Luther King Sunrise celebration on the Monday of the conference. This year’s speaker is Jeanne Theoharis, a Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College. Her book The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks won a 2014 NAACP Image Award and the 2013 Letitia Woods Brown Award from the Association of Black Women Historians. I love to see the wide diversity of the audience, each person, in their own quiet or insistent way, making a difference in their libraries, and in their communities. We always end the celebration by singing the “Black National Anthem” – Lift Every Voice and Sing.

On this Martin Luther King Day when we are called to remember, I don’t want to see Martin Luther King only through a rearview mirror; incomplete, distant, in the past. Too much is at stake for the United States and the 327 million citizens, and the myriad of visitors, immigrants, and asylum seekers. American society will continue to become more diverse, and unless we want another civil war, we must learn to understand, live, and love each other. A diverse United States is not something to be feared, but something to challenge our preconceived notions of the other. We must forge a United States where we all are respected and have the same rights.

We may not see another Martin Luther King Jr. in our day, but we can each make a difference in our families, our communities, and our country. We must not see our democratic values, and the cherished words of the constitution “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” to be ideas only seen through the rear view mirror. They must be in front of us and empowering us to change the world for the better.

The Job Search for Library Deans/University Librarians: Advice to Provosts and Search Committees

The “Sound of Silence” is a somewhat haunting song and one of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel tunes from the 1960s. “Hello darkness my old friend” and “sounds of silence”, poignant words from the song, are certainly appropriate and telling phrases that sometimes describe the job search and the love/hate process it invokes.

I don’t think I have ever met a person that said they love looking for a new job. For many people, the job hunt is one of those activities that are approached with fear and loathing. Some of this fear and loathing comes from the actual interview process, but the whole process can have steps that cause anxiety for the job seeker.

Having been involved in a large number of job searches, I have some advice for Provosts and Search Committees that can be helpful in making the process better for potential job candidates.

Advertisements: Crafting job advertisements that reflect the breadth and complexity of the position while also satisfying the requirements of campus HR is difficult. As some online ads charge by the word, there is also pressure to be precise.

·         Most job ads for Library Deans/University librarians have an aspirational tone and information about the library and the university. Include URLs for specific things like the library or university’s mission and strategic plan. Provide a link to a more complete description or position profile if there is one.

·         Education: Be clear on the educational requirements, especially as they related to an ALA-accredited MLIS. Be specific if other related education is in addition to the MLIS or can be substituted for it. If a having a doctorate is important, specify if it is required or preferred. Be upfront at what point academic transcripts will be required.

·         Experience: Be clear on the number of years of leadership/management are expected as a minimum. Be specific if the leadership is within an academic library or if leadership/management experience from other areas will be acceptable.

·         Soft skills: All job ads include at least some soft skills. Be as concrete as possible as to how candidates might demonstrate these.

·         Diversity and inclusion: A request for a statement on diversity and inclusion is becoming more common. Be specific if this is part of the documentation that should be submitted.

·         Submission requirements: Some job ads require submission of application materials to the Search Chair as well as applying on the university HR site. Make it clear to candidates what is expected.

Repostings: Jobs often get reposted for a variety of reasons. It is helpful to potential candidates to know that an online ad they see is a reposting, especially if the deadlines for the application have been extended or changed in some way. This can be made clear in the reposted advertisement with a simple statement.

Search firms: Many universities use search firms who create detailed position profiles. While it is not feasible to include that much detail in an online advertisement, providing a link to the full profile and the search firm is helpful. Provide detailed instructions for applying, especially if the materials are submitted to both the search firm and the university.

Nominations: Often job advertisements for Deans/University Librarians and other such high-level positions, invite nominations from the larger library community. Make the nomination process clear, whether that is through the search firm, or through the campus search chair.

Deadlines: Include deadlines for receipt of applications and a date when the committee will start reviewing the applications. If the application is opened ended, then a preferred by date should be used.

Visas: Be clear, in the advertisement, if the institution is providing Visa assistance for applications outside of the US. The visa statement often appears in the universities HR system, and not in the job advertisement. If the University is not providing Visa support it is helpful for potential applicants to know that upfront before they take the time to write a cover letter, update their CV, etc.

Airport interviews: Search firms and some campus run searches will use an airport interview for the first round of candidates. Contrary to the name, the interviews are not at the airport but at a nearby hotel. While this method involves a fair amount of expense and logistical planning, it is, from the candidate’s point a view, a valuable option. Meeting with the search committee in person and being able to see body language and how you are connecting with members of the search committee gives a candidate a richer experience.

Video interviews:  It is common to conduct preliminary interviews via Skype, BlueJeans, Zoon or another video technology. My experience with video interview is quite uneven, due to poor planning, poor location, and technical issues. Most often the glitches are caused by poor or inadequate microphones, a less than adequate camera, and arrangement of the search committee in the room. Search Committees should test all the components of the planned system ahead of time, using someone to play the remote interviewee to ensure that search committee members can be seen and heard.

Confidential interviews: A third option for a preliminary interview is an on-campus interview that is confidential; an interview with the search committee and a few selected others but with no announcement to the campus community. These interviews are about 6 hours or more so give both the candidate and the search committee more information.

Interview questions: Search committees often create very complex and multipart questions. While these questions may get at aspects of the candidate’s experience and philosophy that the search committee wants to explore, they can be difficult for the candidate to remember and answer effectively. It is, in my opinion, appropriate at the begging of the meeting with the search committee for the committee to hand a printed copy of the questions to the candidate. This allows the candidate to refer back to the question if needed while still allowing for a spontaneous answer. This is especially helpful if there are multi-part questions or if a question contains a scenario that a candidate is expected to respond to.

Search committee: In more than 30 interviews I have seen a wide variety of committee structures. Being a member of a search committee requires a significant investment of time, so it is critical to form a committee that is broad, diverse, and highly engaged. For a position such as University Librarian/Dean of Libraries/Director of Libraries, the committee should include librarians and library staff, classroom faculty, someone from student affairs, and one or more students. Chair of the Search Committee should be another Dean or Department Chair from outside the Library, preferably one who is regularly engaged with the library. Make the search committee makeup available to candidates, either directly or via the Library website. This helps the candidate understand who they will be interviewing with.

I have seen a few search committees for such positions where the campus administration has refused to include any librarians or library staff members on the committee.  This is a grave mistake and sends the wrong signal to potential candidates. This stance says that the campus administration does not value its librarians, and it also says that anyone, who may or may not have any expertise or knowledge of modern academic libraries, is totally qualified to judge potential candidates. I personally would not accept an invitation to interview at these institutions.

Campus interviews:

·         Include a tour of the library early in the interview schedule. I have been in interviews that have not included a tour of the library or have put it the very end as part of the wrap up of the interview. Both of these strategies puts candidates at a disadvantage. Seeing the library facility early on, with its various services, technologies, and building challenges gives the candidate time to ask the search committee and Provost informed questions.

·         For candidates that are coming from outside the geographic area of the university, provide time for the candidate to explore the area. This can be accomplished by allowing the candidate to rent a car and provide a half-day for them to visit the area and understand if this would be a city/area they can see themselves living in.  The institution should also have a realtor provide a real estate tour of the area so that the candidate can get a sense of housing options.

·         Interview schedules often include names of groups that the candidate will meet with; e.g. Dean’s Council, Academic xxxx. If possible provide links to the potential people in these groups, especially if it is unclear to the candidate who these people might be.

Presentation: Most interviews require candidates to make a presentation: usually 20-30 minutes followed by a question and answer period. Often these are recorded so members of the larger university community and members of the search committee can review it after the interview is over. If possible the search committee should give candidates a short prompt for the presentation so that all candidates can respond to the same issue.

Interview wrap up: At the end of the interview, the search chair should layout the decision-making process and the approximate time frame for a decision. Let the candidate know the role the search committee plays in the final decision as in many cases the search committee does not make a recommendation but only gives information to the Provost on the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate.

Notification: Perhaps the most frustrating part of the job search, other than hearing you did not get a job offer, is hearing nothing. The “sound of silence” from the university is one of those things that makes the job hunt more frustrating. Here are some strong recommendations.

·         After a Skype or phone interview, notify candidates if they are being invited to campus for an interview. By the time a search committee has narrowed down the pool to a group for a Skype/phone/airport interview, the number of candidates is usually under ten, and it is not an unreasonable burden for the search committee to inform candidates who are not moving to the next level. Notification by phone or email should come as soon as possible after the search committee has made its decision. DO NOT just leave candidates from the preliminary pool hanging without any type of response. This is rude and also gives candidates a negative view of the university. If this is how they treat potential candidates, it might not be a good place to work.

·         When search committees wrap up an on-campus interview, give the candidate a sense of the time frame when a decision will be made and how they can expect to be contacted. Again, DO NOT leave candidates hanging, and do not be so rude that a candidates never receives any response from the university. While this has not happened to me, my daughter and another colleague had on-campus interviews at least 6 months ago and they never heard anything at all after returning home from the interview.

The goal of all of these thoughts is to provide some guidance that hopefully can make the search process better for both the university and the individual applicants.