View Full Version : Feel like crying/kicking something--workplace frustration
ApatheticNoMore
3-21-13, 3:35pm
So I thought I'd try again. I suggested helping our cataloguing librarian (who appeared to be a bit overworked when I spoke to her recently; she even admitted she didn't have enough time to catalog a bunch of books)
maybe you should just ask if she'd like some help directly without even going through the boss.
I spend HOURS a day on the net. Um, 20 minutes a day isn't going to help.
does the boss know how much free time you have? I mean not that you want to make him aware, but I'm just curious is really why I'm asking.
Not to mention, my first thought was, "Wow, what a privilege. THAT'S going to give me valuable library experience if I get my MLS.
might go down easier if you just accepted it as a mundane (dead end or at least good on the resume?) job. Those things usually are structural and not about the people doing the mundane jobs being stupid or anything. Mind you I think you should look for other work. :)
I think what really hurt was his statement that if we were to have a newsletter, the reference librarians would do it. They're already doing the web page, Facebook page, Twitter updates, working in the archives (something I've always wanted to do). In other words, they do anything that smacks of "interesting" and a freaking peon like me should just stick to the boring-a$$ cr&p in my own department.
insulting yea, valuable experience that real companies have paid good money for (writing/graphic design) of no value compared to credentialism and maintaining the existing heirarchy (clique might be the more accurate term here - the little "in club"). This is actually why in some ways I prefer the for-profit world, not that it doesn't waste people's talents all the time also, but it's always come across as less cliquish than what I hear from outside it.
The only real answer is of course: look for another job. See if what library experience you have can be used to apply to a different library or something similar. Yes, you can keep trying valiantly, fighting the good fight, to get the leopard to change their spots but ... they don't seem to be changing. Or just accept the spots "it's lame, it's a living ..."
Life_is_Simple
3-21-13, 4:17pm
Go on the Internet and do tutorials on topics you might want to learn. Maybe you want to learn how to create a web page, or how to do macros in excel. Think about skills you want to acquire, and get them this way.
At least then, your time there will not be for nothing.
I wish we had a stacks manager at our small library. Shelf reading (making sure the books are all in the order they need to be in) takes our staff many hours a week. Maybe you could come right out and explain that you have "X" number of underused hours in a typical week, and that you want to be of service somehow using those hours. If you show the breakdown of the stacks manager job into, say, 3 hours per week, then they could see that you can take on more....maybe in some way that makes him look good?
As it stands, if nothing changes, it looks like you're being paid good money to play online. There are a lot of people who'd envy that situation and there must be some way to turn it to your advantage (learning something, taking a class on Lynda.com, making money on fiverr.com or doing writing or graphic design, writing a blog on a topic that excites you, etc.) Maybe when you're feeling better you can try again to find something like that.
Miss Cellane
3-21-13, 7:06pm
I haven't read your other posts, but I take it you are a library assistant and don't have an MLS? I've worked in two libraries and pretty much all the "fun" stuff was the responsibility of the librarians.
However, your boss has pointed you toward "stacks management." Why not poke around and find a few job descriptions for a stacks manager? See what elements of the job sound interesting and start working on them. Also include some of the boring aspects--shelf reading is not my most fun thing ever to do, but if you have absolutely nothing else to do, then why not shelf read for 30 minutes a day? I'd treat what your boss said as an invitation to start creating a job niche for myself. Maybe examine the check-out procedure and see if it can be streamlined. Maybe take over some database maintenance. Shelve some books. Start memorizing the Dewey or LC system, whichever one your library uses.
There are many on-line programs now for the MLS. Maybe start taking a course or two and use your work time to do the homework? If there are no objections to your just surfing the net, surely they will not complain if you are learning all about cataloging?
Or just take an on-line course. Many state universities offer low cost, no credit adult education courses. So do many towns. It'd be nice if the course was related to your job, but if you can't find one, then just take a course that sounds interesting.
Also, you can try learning all about the various software that you use in your job. Years ago, I used to grab the manual during downtimes and just read it, and puzzle out how to do a few things. This got me the reputation of being a computer guru. (Which I'm totally not.) Nowadays, it's a little harder, because there are no manuals, but Microsoft has tons of info on its website. And there are free on-line tutorials all over the web. I learned how to use the most recent version of Word by messing around on the Microsoft site at a temp job where I had nothing to do most of the day.
Just last month, I had to take a test for a temp agency for a job and scored at the intermediate skill level in Word--based solely on what I'd learned at that temp job a year ago. So never turn down a chance to improve your skills. (I got the one day temp job, and then they asked me back for a week. Today I got a phone call from the temp agency and they want me back for April and May to cover someone's maternity leave. They love my Word skills. Who knew?)
You've just been given this huge opportunity Frugalone to design your own future. Miss Cellane and others have given you some excellent suggestions. You're getting paid to do as much learning as you want. You're getting paid to qualify yourself for your NEXT job. Don't waste it by whining about nothing to do. Get going on a new future.
Thanks for the suggestions. I've considered all of this.
iris lilies
3-21-13, 10:01pm
A newsletter is out of scope for you to do. Most institutions are getting rid of theirs. A newsletter implies continuity and that is commitment from management to put resources into it--it absolutely cannot be dependent upon a lone employee who happens to be in a seat that has lots of down time, and who happens to have editing experience. It's a bad idea all around.
But providing content for the Library's established communication vehicles (website, Facebook, etc) sounds doable so keep that idea in mind--at some point your expertise would be appreciated. Write some sample articles, generic ones, that could be used as filler content or non-timely content for the website. Have them ready for any opportunity that comes up to publish them.
The rest of the ideas--you've got to be able to serve the students who come to check out, so working in archives isn't realistic--you need to be out in the public area. Extensive shelf reading isn't possible unless you have a clear line of sight to the desk where students need help. I like the idea of learning about the ILS system used at your library. Most documentation is online these days, I assume you've got access to that of your system. After working at your job for a few months, can you talk about the policy file? item records? MARC records and their main field? Patron classes? Do you know those thoroughly? Sometimes knowing an automated ILS is a great leg up to your next job. Be able to talk about it, the pros and cons.
I had a job with lots of down time for awhile, but I was able to read at my desk and the library was just down the street, so I'd come in every afternoon with a pile of books. I was happy to have all the free time to learn and entertain myself. I think it's admirable that your boss wants to keep two people working instead of just one in these tough times.
I've pretty much only ever been underemployed, and that was in a time when jobs were a lot easier to find, so I have trouble seeing your low-stress, perfectly respectable position as the unmitigated disaster you portray.
iris lilies
3-21-13, 10:07pm
...I think it's admirable that your boss wants to keep two people working instead of just one in these tough times.
.
ok, whatever. I don't want to know if this is a tax supported institution.
The guy is clearly a dolt.
ok, whatever. I don't want to know if this is a tax supported institution.
The guy is clearly a dolt.
No, it's private. Your tax dollars are NOT at work.
...
The reason I see these as a bit of a "disaster" is that I planned to pursue my MLS. I've been told over and over that if you want to be a librarian, you must get pro-level experience--not this nonsense I'm doing. There is no way I am spending 3 years and $20,000 on a field where I can't even be remotely certain I'll be able to find a job.
I appreciate it that it is "low stress" but this is a bit TOO low stress.
I worked with a page (no professional experience there) who got her MLS and was then promoted to a librarian position in our large county library system, but that was some years ago.
And depending on where you live or have to live, the finances of the library system as a whole may be unstable as was ours. They built a $150 million dollar library and then did not plan adequately for the inreased operating costs. The whole system laid off people, did not rehire, each branch reduced hours and closed one day per week. It is gradually repairing relationships, sorting out finances and slowly increasing hours. But pay and benefits are always an issue as well as who to hire (to pay less).
sweetana3, it does seem as if library sci is not a good field to go into anymore. Then again, what is?
All the institutions with which I grew up, known as "good places to get a job" and stable "forever jobs" are going. The county? Budget cuts. The state? They're now cutting pensions and freezing hires. The feds? Our local federal army facility is threatening to lay off 400 people. Colleges? More budget cuts.
I could go on but I won't. It's all very sad IMHO.
Unlike some, I think this so-called "austerity" is a recipe for disaster. We need monies and revenues flowing in this country, be they from the public or private sectors; we need, above all, a robust economy and as close to full employment as we can get. As far as a safe industry, I guess the medical-industrial complex is as good as it gets.
Unlike some, I think this so-called "austerity" is a recipe for disaster. We need monies and revenues flowing in this country, be they from the public or private sectors; we need, above all, a robust economy and as close to full employment as we can get. As far as a safe industry, I guess the medical-industrial complex is as good as it gets.
Ah...if only you knew how much I wished I had a "science brain." I barely got by in science/math in high school and college. I'm just one of those people with a "liberal arts" brain. My sister is in the medical field and has NEVER had any problem finding a well-paying job.
Ah...if only you knew how much I wished I had a "science brain." I barely got by in science/math in high school and college. I'm just one of those people with a "liberal arts" brain. My sister is in the medical field and has NEVER had any problem finding a well-paying job.
The science/math side of my brain works OK, though I didn't develop it as much as I now wish I had, but I can't be around suffering, which leaves out medicine, as employment aptitude tests reinforced. (At the top of job recommendations: stand-up comic; at the bottom: pediatric nurse. They nailed it.) I could have been a forensic pathologist, probably. It is harder to find work now with a "liberal arts brain," though they used to be in pretty high demand--a couple of years before I graduated with my Arts and Letters degree (which I told everybody for years was a General Studies degree, just like Sarah Palin's. Whatever).
Unlike some, I think this so-called "austerity" is a recipe for disaster. We need monies and revenues flowing in this country, be they from the public or private sectors; we need, above all, a robust economy and as close to full employment as we can get. As far as a safe industry, I guess the medical-industrial complex is as good as it gets.
Ah...if only you knew how much I wished I had a "science brain." I barely got by in science/math in high school and college. I'm just one of those people with a "liberal arts" brain. My sister is in the medical field and has NEVER had any problem finding a well-paying job.
English major here.
I am always reminded of Garrison Keillor's skits on P.O.E.M. (the Professional Organization of English Majors.)
With all the open university courses, could you find a course that you wish to take while at work?
frugalone
3-24-13, 11:40am
Post deleted
Miss Cellane
3-24-13, 12:33pm
If you want to gain skills, go with what your boss has mentioned--stacks management. Sit down with Boss and find out what he/she wants done in the stacks--more shelf reading? faster shelving of returned books? more accurate shelving of books? more frequent searches for lost books? Then go and interview people in the other departments. What improvements/changes in stack management would they like to see? and maybe find out why, as that will cue you into library management problems. How is space made for new books? When books are culled from the collection, how does that affect the stacks?
Then go and do these tasks yourself. I'm assuming with three of you there, you can leave the desk area for an hour or so daily. Do some shelf reading. Do some shelving. Ask librarians for their tips on searching for lost books. As you do these things, figure out what works and what doesn't work. What aspects of each task run smoothly and what aspects drive you nuts with their inefficiency. Then come up with a plan to fix the problems. This could be changing some forms, or freeing a student to hunt for lost books. It might even come down to a change in how things are handled higher up, which you can only make suggestions about. I'd save that for months down the road. You don't want to be the newbie who comes in and wants to change everything.
Also, see if you can work at the desk more. Maybe just an hour a day. But it's one thing to know how to do a job and it's another thing to actually do the job. You may find ways to improve work flow, or a better way of dealing with an outraged patron. And if you have students at the desk most of the time, come finals week, you may have to work the desk anyway, once they start not showing up, or "forget" their changed schedule for finals. And working at the desk, you interact with other staff members a lot and have the chance to make a positive impression on them.
I guess what I'm saying is that your boss wants you do deal with stacks management. It's not what you'd like to do. Let's face it, getting books back on the shelf is not the glamor job in any library. But it is important to the people who use the library, who count on books being where they are supposed to be. (And most of those people will only look at the exact place on the shelf where the book is supposed to be. Looking two books to the left or right to see if it is mis-shelved will simply not occur to them.) If you take on the Stacks Manager role and embrace it, you'll have a chance to interact with the other departments in the library (maybe Reference would like someone to come over twice a day and reshelve books?) and you'll learn the collections inside and out. You'll be seen as willing to work hard and willing to help make improvements in how the library works. You'll be in prime position to apply for other jobs that open up within the library.
This job is going to be what you make of it. It isn't what you thought it was going to be, but you can still learn something from it.
frugalone
3-24-13, 12:45pm
Post deleted
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.