Week 5: Other Duties as Assigned

This week I was invited to be a member of the Tech Team here, which is a victory for special librarians everywhere. I have wanted to be on it since I heard about it, and would have invited myself after about 6 months, but I am very glad I was invited by the Team leader. I will be helping with software decisions and training, and any other tech issues that come up in our 30-person office. One of the major roles of the Tech Team is to keep our Blackberries running. We all have Blackberries, and there are no real phones here. It's a very interesting way of communicating both in and outside of the office.

There is a certain amount of meeting planning involved in my job. I don't mind this. I feel it is a natural outgrowth of being service-oriented, forming relationships with all the key players (and the lesser-known worker bees), and making sure that information flows freely. Just being in charge of the sign-in sheet is a big advantage in my quest to know who's who and keep the right people informed on the right topics. This week I attended a federal meeting as notetaker and was just as captivated by the content as I was by the dynamic among feds and non-profits coming together.

The research requests keep on coming and I am happy to help. I have also started a Strength/Weakness/Opportunity/Threat marketing analysis of the library on my white board in my office. I'm a bit sheepish about it, just in case someone who comes into my office asks what it's all about, but I know they need to be included and I have to open up my thought process to everyone else's ideas and scrutiny. After all, it's their library!