After taking The Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid Leadership Self Assessment Questionnaire and answering all eighteen questions honestly, I found that I operate out of the “team leader” leadership style. Having no prior knowledge of this assessment, I was pleasantly surprised to find out, “the most desirable place for a leader to be along the two axis at most times would be…the Team Leader ” (The Vision Council, n.d.).  I did score slightly higher on tasks, than I did on people. Completing goals and tasks has never been an issue of mine, although sometimes I can procrastinate, I usually aim to complete things well and in a timely manner. Despite this, I don’t feel that I have had much experience as an adult, leading other adults. This year I was named 6th grade history department head, but there are only two teachers including myself. Aside from adult management, I am a teacher that manages eleven and twelve year olds on a daily basis and I do try to be mindful of my practices and attitude towards them always. Going forward I would like to keep doing this, as my goal is to be a school librarian and that includes still working with students, just a larger number of students, on a daily basis. 

The first article I read, 8 Core Beliefs on Extraordinary Bosses by James has several points that could also be applied to a classroom or school library. Two of my favorites were “motivation comes from vision, not from fear” and “work should be fun, not mere toil” (James, 2012). These two quotes are absolutely true and can apply not only to adults in the workplace, but students and classrooms/libraries as well. Additionally, the article, When You’re Not (Exactly) the Boss: How to Manage Effectively in a “Coordinator” Role by Becnel offers some great advice. Becnel suggests many helpful strategies and tips, one of the best being to create an electronic message board that ideas, suggestions, and improvements can be shared on (Becnel, 2011). My school has a Padlet currently where we are able to ask questions and make suggestions and it has been a great thing. Overall, there are many things that can be implemented and also many things that leaders can do to become even more effective and aware. Leadership seems to be a process and a journey that should involve feedback from others and then adjustments. 

References

Becnel, K. (2011) When you’re not (exactly) the boss: How to manage effectively in a “coordinator” role. In C. Smallwood (ed)., Library Management Tips That Work (pp. 28-30). Chicago, IL: American Library Association. 

James, G. (2012, April 23). 8 core beliefs of extraordinary bosses. Inc. com. https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/8-core-beliefs-of-extraordinary-bosses.html

The Vision Council. (n.d.). The blake and mouton managerial grid leadership self assessment questionnaire. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h07zdMPVzfE0jplcCVEqkY_4_rNYyEq/view

At times it can be hard to do things right, while simultaneously doing the right thing. I would disagree that good leaders can’t be good managers and good managers can’t be good leaders, as this statement would be a large generalization. Despite this, it is likely that being able to do both, is what sets apart good managers and leaders from mediocre ones. I had not thought much about the difference between manager and leaders before reading chapter fourteen of the textbook. The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reference by Moran & Morner (2018), as well as the chart provided was helpful in separating the two in my mind.

Doing things by company policy or school policy is usually seen as doing things right, but not necessarily doing the right thing. This of course could be reversed as well, if one is going against policy they are likely not doing things right, but possibly doing the right thing. 

I can think of three bosses/managers that I have had in my life time who do things right, while doing the right thing. When thinking about it now, this is probably how they managed to work their way up into these positions and stay in them. The leaders I am thinking of, knew what to do and when to do it, also they are well respected and popular among their employees. In chapter 14 it states that “An effective leader influences others to move in a desired direction and, thus determines the extent to which the organization and those who work there reach their goals” (Moran & Morner, 2018, p. 335). This statement is very true and the opposite can be said for an individual who is not an effective leader. 

I found it interesting when Winston Churchill was used as an example of being a great leader for a particular set of circumstances in history (Moran & Morner, 2018). He was not the leader that was needed outside of wartime, but he was the perfect man for the job during wartime (Moran & Morner, 2018). With this in mind, there could be instances when managers just are not cut out for one particular job, but that does not mean they should be written off completely. I do think that individuals in positions of leadership need to self reflect and be self critical, so that they do not get too comfortable and continue to grow and develop into an even better leader. As a current teacher and future librarian, I plan to keep this in mind for myself as well, so that I too can be constantly growing and evolving in the best way possible. 

References:
Moran, B. B., & Mormer, C. J. (2018) Library and information center management (9th ed.). Libraries Unlimited.

For my academic library visit, I chose to visit my former community college on a weekday afternoon. Richard Bland Community College primary serves students, but is also open to the public and allows members of the community and alumni to check out books only if they are at least 16 years old. The website is: rbc.edu/library/. The website is simple, clean, and easy to access. A link from the normal college page will take you to the library page. The website lists four links, find items, get help, library services and about us. The staff are listed under the about us section of the website. There are four positions listed, head librarian, access and technical support librarian, public services and out reach librarian and student success librarian. While there is a special collection, it is not mentioned on the website. Users can access the library catalog from the website in two places, under find items or under library services.

The website provides a plethora of information for students like how to conduct research. The website walk students through the process from choosing a topic to actually conducting their research. The website also encourages students to email, call, or even schedule a face to face meeting with they need help with a variety of projects that may be assigned. Rubin says in chapter three that, “community and junior colleges devote almost all of their energies to teaching and continuing education and their collections and services reflect this emphasis.” (Rubin 2016, p. 138).

The library is located on a very small campus and is one of three buildings. The space is welcoming and I was very surprised and excited to see that the space has been updated since my graduation 2016. A section of chapter three “Creating collaborative Spaces: the Information Commons,” talks about this type of space (Rubin, 2016, p. 147). He says that spaces in academic libraries need to be used for group study and collaboration; Richard Bland has done a great job in creating this type of space for students. The space seems as if it is catered towards students having a place to not only study, but socialize as well. The bottom floor has comfortable tables and chairs for students to lounge or study in. It also has one study room downstairs. There is also an area with about 30 desktop computers for students. The upstairs part of the library is reserved for silent study. There are more study rooms upstairs and this is where all of the books are housed. The space is accessible there is a ramp outside of the library and an elevator inside of the library to take patrons to the second floor.

There were no special services or programs observable. The only signage I saw, was TV’s with a series of various messages about the community college being displayed. I was also intrigued to find that the books are housed in movable shelving, I assume to save space. The library is organized by the Library of Congress and there is a poster for students to better understand the classification system and where to find books.

The library primarily serves Richard Bland students and the library is set up for students having comfortable furniture and a study floor. During my visit, I saw no staff, only a student worker. Upon my exit, I noticed that all of the staff were in their individual offices. According to the website there are four librarians with various titles as aforementioned. I know from my time at the school that they do hire student workers. The college itself is very diverse, but while I was there I saw a total of four girls using the bottom floor of the library. Two were on there computers, one was using a study room, and the other appeared to be reading a textbook.

On the bottom floor of the library there was a display and some books for women’s history month. There is one special collection known as the “Virginia Room,” which is a room that contains archives of the college and local area that is accessible by appointment only. Also, they had a table set up with binge boxes that were available for two week checkout. These boxes are a collections of movies and sometimes have the book that the movie is based on.

Overall, I was impressed by my visit to this library. I love that students have a nice modern space to socialize or study. Although this library could use a few more minor updates, I think it is a very nice space to be in at a local community college.

For my second library visit I chose to take a trip down the hall to my school’s library. There is not a website specific to the library, but rather a link from the middle school website: ms.dinwiddie.k12.va.us that will take you straight to the catalog. Aside from the catalog the website does not offer any additional information about hours, but students know that the library is open during school hours, because the library services Dinwiddie Middle School students and staff. All staff of the school are listed on the main webpage including our one and only (amazing) librarian Mrs. Mellick.

The library is located in the very center of the building, directly ahead of the main entrance. The library is without a doubt outdated, but the school itself is really old and in need of remodeling. The library is carpeted and contains a lot of wooden furniture. There are enough wooden sets of chairs and tables to hold about two classes in the center of the library. There is an area in the front of the libraries with sofas and high furniture for students called a learning commons. The shelves are relatively short, but not as short as the shelves in a typical children’s section of a library.  The space is very open and easily accessible for our students that are in wheelchairs.

While I was in the library Mrs. Mellick was showing a student new inventory for our library store that “has everything students need to be successful.” The library has a small case filled with things like mechanical pencils, earbuds, erasers, and other various trinkets. The sales from this store go towards supplementing the library budget which she said was “very limited.” Rubin mentions how this is the case for several school library media centers saying, “in tough financial times…SLMCs often become a target for budget cuts” (Rubin, 2016, p. 134).

There were a few books on display at the circulation desk for black history month, one of which is titled Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson. She encouraged me to read this book while I was there and it was a great book. There are no special collections for students, but there is a room that I was shown on my behind the scenes part of the tour. This room is full of dvd’s for teachers, as well as classroom book sets that she said were outdated and go against the “voice and choice” concept that is highly regarded in my school amongst the English department.

There are about eight desktop computers set to the catalog, a chromebook cart with thirty chromebooks and two iPads to help with self-checkout of books for students. There is also one touch screen promethean board for teachers that conduct lessons or co-teach in the library. Our school is not 1 to 1 in technology and what Rubin mentions in the textbook is true for my school: “school libraries face the same issues as public libraries in trying to maintain traditional services while budgeting for new technologies and access to digital content” (Rubin, 2016, p. 132).

As far as the books in the library go, there is a section of Dewey for graphic novels and the remainder of the books are separated by fiction or non-fiction and then generified or sorted by Dewey. The library does not have many academic collections, but there is a small section of reference books just in case they are needed. However, there is an abundance and a variety of other books that students can chose from. I believe that our library falls under the second viewpoint that Rubin mentions in that materials are not restricted and students can expose themselves to many ideas and perspectives through the books in our school library (Rubin, 2016, p. 135).

I thought it was pretty cool to get a tour of the library as well as a “behind the scenes tour” and find out about all that if offers to our staff and students.

Rubin, R. (2016). Foundations of library and information science (4^th ed.). Chicago, IL: ALA Neal-Schuman.

For my public library I chose Chester Library, which is a part of Chesterfield County Public Libraries. The website for this specific branch is library.chesterfield.gov/153/Chester-Library. The website a county-wide website that allows the user to first choose a branch. Some of the staff members are listed on the website, they mention the branch manager, assistant branch manager, as well as a customer service position. There is a page listed on the website called “just for…” that lists activities, books, and resources specifically for kids, adults, teens and seniors. The catalog for the library is accessible from the homepage. The website is rather nice, it is clean with simple colors and very user friendly.

The library itself is in a town near numerous apartments and townhomes. Upon entering the library I was greeted by the staff at the circulation desk. Inside there are numerous spaces such as a business suite, study rooms, and there was even a movie showing for kids in one of the front meeting rooms. The space was welcoming, but slightly dated. Aside from this the space was accessible, for instance, the children’s books are on smaller and lower shelves so they can reach all of them. I did not observe any areas of limited access or special services.

Aside from the catalog that patrons can access on the website at home, there were also desktop computers with the catalog screen pulled up at the ends of isles. The books were organized by genre, there was signage as to where fiction or non-fiction books were.

This library services the general public. The patrons were very diverse, many were using the computers to do some research and some were even catching a nap in the comfy chairs. The majority of the staff was at the circulation desk, but one woman was putting books back on the shelves. Materials such as dvd’s, cd’s audiobooks, books, magazines and newspapers were all available to the public. As a part of a special collection, the library offered bookbags. These bookbags were themed for instance there are, traveling trunks, local museums, VA state parks, and even tools for success which was full of things to prepare for a job interview.

I though it was so cool that the library had a movie showing for kids and other events throughout the week. There was also a community room with lots of flyers and free information regarding community events and things like job fairs and festivals. Lastly, there was a games corner where games like monopoly, scrabble and trouble could be checked to play during a visit to the library. Overall, I was impressed with my visit to this library as it was my first time visiting that location.