My Professional Heroes
Will Manley
Wed, 04/27/2011 - 10:00
Let’s hear it for the front-line grunts who make service happen
PrintWhen I hear the term “movers and shakers,” I think of Donald Trump, Steve Jobs, Sarah Palin, and Hillary Clinton. These are the innovators, power brokers, and pioneers that move us to places where we haven’t been and don’t necessarily want to go. They are the catalysts who wake us from our slumbers and give us a good push out of our comfort zones. They are more than just leaders: They are agitators and change agents.
Ten years ago, when Library Journal unveiled a new set of annual awards for librarians called “Movers and Shakers,” I was delighted. While our professional image is anything but “moving and shaking,” the little-known reality is that librarians have not only endured but actually embraced each new wave of communications technology. Libraries are barely recognizable from their rubber-stamp and card-catalog days. Clearly there’s been a lot of movin’ and shakin’ going on. So why not celebrate those who push us out of our professional comfort zones?
That does not mean that I think the M&Sers are the most important people in the profession. Absolutely not. That honor would go to the “plodders and toilers,” or if you prefer, the worker bees. There’s a lot of grunt work to be done in libraries and someone has to do it. There are books to be shelved, shelves to be read, books to be mended, catalogs to be maintained, storytimes to present, reference questions to deal with, and phones to be answered. These tasks may not “edgy,” but like it or not, these services are what keep us in business.
Of even greater value are the worker bees who work nights and weekends with smiles on their faces. The absolutely worst part of management is motivating library employees to work odd hours. The irony, of course, is that nights and weekends are libraries’ busiest times.
Given all of that, I shouldn’t have been surprised to receive a number of negative comments and e-mails following my blog post about the Movers and Shakers Award. To be pointed about the matter, it seems that many working librarians resent the award. I suppose that’s the case with any award. The winner wins, and everyone else goes home feeling, well, like a loser.
But the comments I received seem to go beyond mere disappointment. Basically they can be paraphrased in six ways:
- The Movers and Shakers Award proves nothing more than the importance of networking.
- A mover and shaker showed up at our library and put on his desk a name plaque that said “Change Agent.”
- I resent that while they are moving and shaking, we are serving the patron.
- We have a mover and shaker on our staff who was fine before winning the award. Now she is a diva.
- Thanks to this annual award extravaganza, the library world has its own little elite clique. Well, I suppose they need the recognition since there are no longer any promotional opportunities.
- If I see the Mover and Shaker Award on a résumé, that application ends up in the circular file. I want workhorses, not show horses.
My guess is that much of the negativity toward the Movers and Shakers has to do with cutbacks in staffing. The line of reasoning here is probably: If you’re not pulling your weight with the public, you’re a slacker.
On the other hand, you’re not a real mover and shaker if you don’t irritate and annoy people in order to bring about change. Every bona fide mover and shaker I have known was an expert at ruffling feathers and stepping on toes, and these are not exactly traits of endearment.
WILL MANLEY has furnished provocative commentary on librarianship for over 30 years and in nine books on the lighter side of library science. He blogs at Will Unwound.
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Comments
6 Tips to Becoming a "Mover & Shaker"
Want to be a “mover & shaker”? Here are some tips for all the plodders & toilers out there who, like Rodney Dangerfield, can’t get no respect:
1. avoid work - esp. anything mundane, boring - leave the drudge work for your colleagues
2. promote yourself endlessly - (on work time)
3. network endlessly - (on work time)
4. run for association executive office - but don’t do any drudge work - leave that for your colleagues
5. know the latest library-land flavors of the month - intersperse these buzzwords in the platitudes that you regularly espouse.
6. inflate the importance of any projects that you’re involved in. (do a conference presentation, then publish an article, then do another conference presentation, repeat as necessary)
Movers and Shakers
I was involved with the recognition when it was new - I thought it was a great idea. I don’t think we recognize outstanding contributions enough - we have great people in the library field. I regret that some ‘awardees’ have not acted in a professional manner post award - that behavior denigrates the recognition and inspiration for colleagues to feel comfortable being chosen.
M&S Curse
While I appreciated and was honored to receive the award nothing could have prepared me for the backlash that would come as a result. Those of us who have received the award and been through this call it “The Curse of the Mover and Shaker Award.”
The comments on your previous post just hit it home how divisive this award has become. Once you receive the award you become labeled and prejudged as many of the commentors on your post illustrated. Others may perceive us as not doing our jobs when they in fact don’t have a clue as to what our jobs actually are. We’re seen as off at conferences when in fact we are taking personal vacation time to attend these conferences. It’s a shame that our profession is so self-destructive that we want to knock down people who win an award instead of celebrate their accomplishments. I think it would be great to see more “in the trenches” staff receive this award. All it takes is for their coworkers to nominate them. For every person who complains about this award I have one question, how many people have YOU nominated. Be the change you want to see. #makeithappen
Mouthers and Slakers
I guess that I am a worker bee, a building engineer and janitor, a book and media technician, a secretary, and, oh yes, a librarian and library director! The library profession should be driven by a philosophy that allows explorers of technology to mingle with those who do the scut work. Sarah Palin, Donald Trump, and other such media vampires are the product of so-called “news outlets” whose experts’ poor taste cannot discriminate between entertainment and matters of significance.
My patrons expect me to spend their money wisely, not scattering funds in wild, digital speculation. You bet that I want proven technology, just like I want medicines that work. One good worker with common sense can run a library; a “mover and shaker” may too easily use resources with poor results. That doesn’t mean that I make no mistakes—but I don’t repeat them! New technology may create as many difficulties as it proposes to solve; so, too, with explorers! As Solon explained to Croesus, no life may be deemed successful until after it had ended.
Success may be achieved by movin’ and shakin’—but you still must show up every day and do the job!
HMMM
Really, does it matter where you are in the spectrum of libraryship? Do we really have to award those who are driven to make changes over those who like the constancy of the day to day? I think that no matter which hat you wear you should be commended.
There is such an award. The Gold Star recognizes those actions that go above and beyond what is “expected” of an individual. The includes helpfulness, innovation and creativity. It is real recognition!
Movers & Shakers
I don’t see why there’s anything wrong with recognizing some who are leaders and innovators in the library community, even if one doesn’t always agree with the specific direction they are moving the library field. The people who do the actual grunt work in libraries, or anywhere else, seldom get much recognition. That’s the way of the world. When I became a librarian, I was happy to be able to do work I really liked doing, the work was it’s own reward. Any recognition was icing on the cake. Now I’m even privileged to be in a position where I can work for free.
Movers and shakers
Catalogers love movers and shakers. They’re the ones sadomasochistic enough to be the first in line to try all the new automation upgrades. While we plodders wait for the software to be improved and the bugs worked out to make it a workable software release.
And my favorite mover and shaker will always Henriette Avram for making marc coding. It may not be as user friendly as more modern coding, but for catalogers the marc coding really aids in finding needed information.
Awards That Aren't
Re: “The winner wins, and everyone else goes home feeling, well, like a loser.”
As a remedy, maybe there should be awards for losers. There could be a second runner-up loser, a first runner-up loser, and the top award (the biggest loser?).
A new award?
I do like your introduction of the terms “Plodders” and “Toilers.” I was always grateful to have several of them, when I was directing libraries. Perhaps we should have a professional award for folks who display aptitude and dedication in these areas (and I’m only partially kidding!)
And seriously, depending on the day, any of us might be a library mover and shaker, or a plodder and toiler.
Battle on, all! We are fighting the good fight in our nations’ libraries.
Need a better name!
Alison, would you really want a plaque on your desk that said “Plodders and Toilers?” Must be a better way to get that point across!
Allison - so true! I think
Allison - so true! I think I’ve done lots of things over the years that were worthy of “mover and shaker” recognition. I don’t have time to tell people at ALA about it though, because the next thing you know someone needs to know where the bathroom is, a student comes in with a book report due the next day, my colleague has a computer related meltdown and there you go, I’m back to plodding and toiling!
I’d love a national level pat on the back, but at the same time, it’s the plodding and toiling type stuff that makes me feel satisfied and fulfilled as a Librarian. Just as celebrity chefs rarely cook the food you eat at their restaurants, movers and shakers may not be the ones you want with you in the trenches. We do need them though, to give us the ideas we’re too tired to think of and push the boundaries of what libraries are and what we do, so that we can -quietly and without fanfare- move society in that direction.
In conclusion, let’s all work together people! Celebrity chefs need people who can actually cook the innovative food they come up with, and cooks need celebrity chefs to bring diners in who will eat their delicious food. I’m happy to be a cook that puts literary food in the hands of the masses. In fact, I love it! It’s my vocational calling. It’s easy to think that the grass is greener on the other side, but realistically I know I’d be miserable spending my time networking, pushing to get recognition for my great ideas and being away from the place that means the most to me - the Reference desk (Info desk, Children’s desk, YA area) where my patrons can find me!
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Becoming a Mover snd/or Shaker
Lawrence Clark Powell, who retired as dean of the UCLA School of Library Service [sic] the year I began my study of libraries and library services, told me to go out and raise hell. I have taken his advice.
Hell Raiser
Pretty good definition of a mover and shaker. Thanks.
Donald Trump and Sarah Palin?
To compare the work of the Movers & Shakers of librarianship to the media circus acts of Donald Trump and Sarah Palin is an insult to the librarians. What change for the better has been effected by Trump and Palin? What person’s life is better as a result of what they’ve done?
Media attention
You and I may not like them, but they have dominated the national political dialog. They ruffle feathers and step on toes. In my book, that’s movin’ and shakin’. You and I might not like her views, but Palin and the Tea Party have changed the political landscape dramatically. Libraries need to deal with it. Instead of condemning, how about engaging in dialog? Are we too proud as a profession to engage the right wing in advocating the importance of libraries? Your comment is very telling. Thanks for making it.
movers and shakers
I wonder if the concern about Trump and Palin is a sense that their major interest is perceived by many as self-promotion rather than espousing a cause. I’m happy that people promote ideas/causes even if I do not agree with them; I’m less happy when it appears to be simply self-promotion.