Abstract
In my second year as a new catalog librarian, my library asked me to assume management of a team of five seasoned copy catalogers, all with decades of experience. Such reporting relationships are increasingly common in libraries. This article discusses challenges and strategies for any early career professional librarian supervising veteran support staff, including emotionally intelligent responses to natural awkwardness or resentment, the development of decisiveness while acknowledging gaps in learning and experience, balancing respect for conventions with pursuit of growth, and making incremental shifts in established culture to prepare for evolutions in job roles and responsibilities.
Highlights
In my second year as a new catalog librarian, I was given management of a team of five seasoned copy catalogers, all with decades of experience
There are many factors that support this arrangement, but in general the assumption is that since librarians hold advanced degrees, they can more fairly be expected to assume the extra responsibility of supervision; librarians are connected to peer networks and professional organizations, which keep them more in tune with developments in the field and capable of guiding policy and procedure
I still felt very much like a beginner in most areas of my work; every day still felt like practice, rather than comfortable routine. Such was my level of ability when I took over management of five copy cataloging staff members, all of whom had at least a decade of cataloging experience at the MSU Libraries, and some of whom had been working in their positions since I was a baby! My concerns about this disparity of experience can be imagined
Summary
In my second year as a new catalog librarian, I was given management of a team of five seasoned copy catalogers, all with decades of experience. Such was my level of ability when I took over management of five copy cataloging staff members, all of whom had at least a decade of cataloging experience at the MSU Libraries, and some of whom had been working in their positions since I was a baby! Trotta's 2006 book Supervising staff: a how-to-do-it manual for librarians does tackle some issues that new managers face and offers much practical in-depth advice.
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