Pedagogical Reference

Afterthoughts 1

Red flags for those interviewing for Library position:

• Too many locked doors may be a sign of deeper issues.
• Watch out for faculty members that seem too excited about you – they may be desperate for an ally …
• Beware of situations where staff members won’t make eye contact with faculty.
• Make sure to have time to meet and speak with staff, away from faculty.
• Get a clear picture of alliances and ask for in depth information about how decisions are made.
• Ask about tenured faculty attitudes toward new ideas.
• Be cautious of Long-timer Librarians that have been there “forever”. They may have the innate need to control compounded by the feeling their are entitled to control.
• When the outgoing librarian says a co-worker has control issues, explore that comment thoroughly.

Out of Here!

I have cleaned out my office and cleaned up my computer and removed all of my intellectual property from the website. That was fun and funny. Miserly tried to demand that I put it back! I had quite a good laugh over that! He just doesn’t get it – He has no power over me…

Freedom awaits…

Tenure Twisted

Coming from industry where there is a clear chain of command and recourse for harassment, tenure is odd. It is a system that is supposed to protect academic freedom, but I ask “For who?” Certainly not for new un-tenured faculty members who don’t toe the line with their departments. It is human nature for some to fear new ideas, new ways of working – they don’t have the desire or the ability to rethink their positions or to learn new things.

In many departments this would not be a problem. I have even heard that there are department where the tenured faculty members continue to work hard and actually encourage the new faculty members in their endeavors.

The attitude of resistance to new ideas is a recipe for disaster in places like Library, places that can’t remain relevant without keeping up with what’s new.