Other people's "to do" lists fascinate me. Many people simply jot a list of tasks on a legal pad and mark them off when finished. Others have elaborate systems involving color-coded pens, multiple notebooks, and grids.
I quit writing a "to do" list a year or so ago when I realized a) it was depressing, and b) I was spending time on the "to do" list that I could actually be spending "to doing" instead. But that's another post.
You may not be ready to give up your "to do" list, but some management geniuses think you should work on a "to don't" list.
Come again?
In a fantastic piece this week, Daniel Pink draws from the ideas of Tom Peters and Jim Collins to suggest that we could improve our work with a "to don't" or "stop doing" list. Some of my colleagues have been talking about a similar idea of selective abandonment. Selective abandonment!
In other words, what things can you just not do anymore?
*Things that cause you to lose focus (Tom Peters)
*Things that cause you to be busy but not productive (Jim Collins)
*Things that cause you to spend less time doing good work & on the people you care about (Daniel Pink)
In regard to the library, I would also add the following:
*Things that take time away from helping kids and teachers
*Things that serve as a roadblock to kids or that make the library less welcoming
*Things that misplace the focus of the program
Below are a few items that I would encourage you to consider for your "to don't" list:
*Fines (punitive; sends the wrong message; a hassle)
*Overdue notices (ditto)
*Library orientation (wastes valuable time on procedures & stuff kids won't remember)
*Passes & signing in (your administrator may require this, but if not, why do you?)
*Fixed library schedule (ditto)
*Lessons in isolation (i.e. here's how to use the databases for LATER; not how we learn)
*Assigning the task of checking out to library staff (more efficient and empowering to allow kids to cko)
What would you add to the list?
As with goals, lists become real when we write them down. Why not begin your "to don't" list for the library today?
Great thoughts - as we move to re-inventing ourselves as librarians we need to embrace selective abandonment.
ReplyDeleteHere's a couple of mine:
- collecting irrelevant statistics
- obsessing about cataloging (keyword searches find stuff)
- ignoring google and wikipedia
Great ideas, Tim. Your comment about cataloging makes me think we should also add library jargon to our "to don't" list. Who knows (or cares) but us about the OPAC, for example?
ReplyDeleteAs always Leigh Ann, inspiring! As a first year librarian, I love advice from you. I hope that my library program is modeled after your above mentioned "to don'ts."
ReplyDeleteThank you!
I appreciate you, Nancy Jo! You've had such an amazing first year as a librarian.
ReplyDeleteHere is a different perspective on some items from the “to don’t” list:
ReplyDelete*Overdue notices (punitive, send the wrong message, a hassle)
Certainly, overdue lists are not on anyone’s list of favorite parts of the job. However, they provide a service. What about the people who are waiting for the items to be returned so that they can borrow them? The whole idea of a library is sharing, and it is discourteous to keep something that you are finished with away from someone else who wants to use it. By using the overdue notices—nicely, of course, librarians provide a gentle reminder of a student’s obligations to their peers. If we agree that part of education is to socialize students, and that librarians are ‘teachers” or at least educators, then we have a responsibility to take this part of our job seriously, even if it is a hassle and might tend to make us unpopular for the moment. I would contend that the other students—those waiting for items--are just as important as the ones holding on to them for too long.
Along this same line, students should be learning to be responsible. No one held them at gunpoint and made them check out a book. They checked it out of their own free will with the understanding that they were borrowing it and would return it in a timely fashion. We do students a disservice by teaching them that they really have no responsibility to other library patrons, or by extension, other citizens. This is not the message we should be reinforcing. There is also the point that the materials in the library were purchased with taxpayer funds, and librarians have a responsibility to be good stewards of those resources. It is not always about being popular or taking the easy route.
*Library orientation (wastes valuable time on procedures & stuff kids won't remember)
That depends on what you do during library orientation. I would definitely not recommend database instruction, which seems to be what the assumption here is. If you use orientation to orient students to the library—how to find a book, what the hours, staff, procedures are—they will be more comfortable using the library. You can always keep the orientation part short and use some of the time for booktalks. Never give up the opportunity for facetime with students, I say.
*Passes & signing in (your administrator may require this, but if not, why do you?)
At the risk of seeming cynical, at the secondary level it seems to be the students’ job to try to fool us, and ours not to be fooled by them. Students are supposed to be learning while at school, not roaming the halls. They should learn to be accountable for their time, since they will be as adults. Or, are we not teaching them what the real world is like? They should have permission to leave their teachers’ rooms, and it needs to be verifiable, i. e. in writing. It seems unlikely that government authorities will just take their word for it. I remember having to bring a lot of documentation to get a passport, a driver’s license, etc. That is part of real life. Have you had to show you auto insurance card lately?
Thanks for bringing this perspective to the discussion. One of the great things about being a librarian is that we are able to put our own stamp on the library.
ReplyDeleteI do not let students operate the check out because of my concerns about privacy. Would a student want to check out a book on sexual abuse, homosexuality, sexual diseases, drug use or other sensitive topics if they knew another student, perhaps a classmate, would know they had done so?
ReplyDeleteYour bring up a great point, Deven, and I agree that we should protect the privacy of students for just the reason you mention. In this post I meant that we should consider allowing self checkout, where students would check out their own books. I should have been more clear!
ReplyDeleteI am super happy with having incorporated self check-out to our library program, and the students love it, too! I often hear, "We get to check out our own books? Cool!" Or, "We did this at my elementary school. I didn't know we could do it here." It is surely a time saver for me and an enjoyment for them.
ReplyDeleteAnd it shows them that you trust them with the responsibility!
ReplyDeleteI too have enjoyed watching students at my campus become independent in checking out books on their own! It is extremely fulfilling to watch the kindergarten students in the library checkout (or as they say, "buy a new book to take home" their own books and also help their peers if they struggle with the procedure. This allows me more time to advise other students on great reads or to assist a student in their quest for a book! Thanks for supporting this type of checkout/check in system in our school district.
ReplyDeleteHow fun for your young students to be able to "buy their books" independently. Thanks for creating this learning opportunity for them.
ReplyDelete