Government Librarians Get Savvy: A Roundtable

By Cassandra Harper, ASRC Management Services at the Office of Water Resource Center

Government Information Division presented Government Librarians Get Savvy, an interactive session moderated Donna Scheeder, Director of the Law Library of Congress, about marketing librarianship and obtaining new skills co-sponsored by BNA and Elsevier/Scopus.  This session included presentations from two government librarians: Hildy Dworkin of the New York City Human Resources Administration McMillan Library and Roberta I. Shaffer, the Executive Director of FLICC and FEDLINK.  Dworkin and Shaffer provided strategies and practical examples that librarians can apply in their organizations.

Dworkin, who is a solo librarian, discussed how she markets librarianship and information services at the McMillan Library.  She feels that marketing is a core skill for librarians and it must be done routinely.  She stated that librarians are in a unique profession in that there is a constant need to market our services.  For instance, an attorney may need to market their individual skills and abilities to represent a client, but usually do not need to market the value or necessity of legal counsel or the legal profession.  Librarians constantly need to innovatively look at various marketing strategies to promote the profession and services.  Dworkin's examples included: creating library branding, networking, taking on new projects, and emphasizing services to users.

Dworkin discussed challenges that many librarians face in special libraries and practical methods for addressing these issues.  Those challenges involve demonstrating your worth and value to your organization.  Dworkin utilized the Administration's communication department to create a distinctive library brand, including a logo for the library's website and bookmarks to insert in checked out books.  The bookmarks included the librarian's contact information, a brief description of library services, and hours of operations.  Dworkin also developed networks and mentoring relationships among the Administration's senior executives.  She developed network connections through face to face reference interviews with clients, sponsoring training sessions, attending meetings, and accepting new responsibilities that benefit the organization.

The highlight of Dworkin's presentation included how she accepted non-traditional projects that benefited the NYC Human Resources Administration.  For instance, she edited two technical reports and served as the Administration's interim press secretary.  The projects served to promote the library, her technical skills, and develop contacts in other organizations that can be future sources of information.  Dworkin worked to fulfill a need within the organization to create a repository for the agency's history.  She did not shy away from accepting a new task to organize the papers of former Administration's Commissioners.  She feels that accepting new tasks highlight the library within the organization.  She tapped into a need to provide information services to the legal department, which does not have law librarian, by providing training sessions on LexisNexis and research services.  Dworkin's savvy marketing strategies highlight the benefit of the librarian within the NYC Human Resources Administration and the importance of providing the staff with accesses to information.

Shaffer discussed trends in the federal workforce that effect not only librarians, but professionals in general.  Shaffer discussed important shifts to transform the federal workforce from clerical and unskilled workers to highly trained professional workers.  Librarians need to adapt to these trends by mastering new skills to insure that librarians are not excluded from the new structure.  Shaffer spoke about the necessity and urgency for librarians to "think outside the box" and look at mastering new skills that will market and promote the profession.

For instance, she mentioned that librarians need to compare themselves to other professionals and requirements expected in comparable fields.  This may include taking courses and obtaining certificates in new fields such as project management.  Project management is a core skill that professionals in a variety of fields are expected to have; librarians need to adapt this skill to libraries.  Also, Shaffer emphasized the value of creating metrics and statistical analysis to promote the library services.  Librarians who develop metrics can document how specific services benefit their organization.  Librarians need to consider attending non-library conferences and reading non-traditional library literature to learn new marketing strategies and skills.

This session included lively audience feedback and discussion with the speakers.  The audience provided practical suggestions on marketing libraries in government agencies.  Suggestions included encouraging your users to utilize the library as a neutral meeting place.  Also, suggestions focused on adapting the constraints of civil service positions descriptions to allow for accepting new tasks to market the library that may go beyond position descriptions.  The audience expressed a variety concerns about the future of the profession in government organizations, including closures, downsizing, an aging workforce, and outsourcing.

The presentations and the audience comments highlight the necessity of librarians to constantly promote librarianship.  It is an ongoing process that is vital in order for librarians to survive in an environment of "Everything is on the Internet" or "What do we have a library for?"  Librarians have to present themselves as vital to the overall success and mission of their organizations.  This can be accomplished by highlighting library services and mastering new skills to enhance and validate what we do.