How to Make a Special Library Work – 10 Steps to My Solo Success
By Barbara Decker, Research Librarian, Lake County IL
Eight years ago I was hired as the research librarian of a county government planning
department library. It has land use information for urban planning proposals, census
statistics of county growth, historical maps and current newspapers for the staff and
public inquirers.
I vividly remember that first day of work when I walked into this small room. The floor
was covered with debris -- shelves empty. It was a library of boxes. How could one
person make this work as a library?
1. Stake out your space. Without a place to sit, I asked my boss for my own space. He
gave me an empty office. Then I opened every box, file cabinet drawer and manila
envelope. I scanned department correspondence, census records, news clippings as well
as the urban, transportation and water handbooks, zoning ordinances, and 52
communities’ miscellany.
After I sorted the material, I asked my boss for help. He requested community service
volunteers from the jail next door; they moved shelves into place. To further complete
the library, I convinced the division heads to accept library standards of safety storage
and lighting guidelines.
2. Display historical articles. I selected items showing early staffers or quirky news
which drew staff and administrators into the library space. They’d stop by to comment
and chat. I began building important relationships.
The director and the heads of the planning, development review, zoning, community
development, building and engineering divisions met amidst the mess and told me what
they wanted. They specified which outdated journals to toss or send to other sites. They
articulated their vision from which I developed a survey and created a library plan and a
mission statement.
3. Build on your skills. I had trained as a census survey taker right after graduation; I
built on that by attending a census information session at Chicago’s Northwestern
University. Other librarians there fired questions at the regional census director about the
upcoming decennial survey. I was able to join in with my ideas as well.
4. Accept support from the staff. A veteran cartographer told me about the most
valued holdings of all--soil surveys-- engineers needed these for doing building
inspections and environmental impact studies. I emailed the engineering division and
offered to give them extra copies. They went like hotcakes. This was a turning point in
drawing resistant readers.
One deputy and a cartographer lent their expertise by reviewing oversized map books
lying unused in another office dump site so I could catalog them. By identifying key
material and attending planners’ meetings I learned what was important to my clients.
5. Accept the discards. Recycled “bakery shelving” from the Recorder of Deeds
Office, assembled by the cartographer, and a spare cabinet from a building head were
used to house part of the map collection. Donated plants have also added to the library’s
décor.
Numerous discards from staffers’ spring cleaning have proved valuable. In one case, the
County Clerk returned volumes of Building and Engineering Standards. While opinions
differed strongly on the standards among the advisory board members, the building
deputy was ecstatic when we agreed to keep them. Using uniform title I got them on the
shelf in a short time. This year staff will come in for the planning department’s copy of
Illinois Compiled Statutes housed in the library. The library is now the official record
site. It has become a library that works.
6. Bring in pastry. Homemade pastry shows my appreciation of staff help and support.
I display some new finds and invite them to view it while enjoying a treat. My nickname
is Betty Crocker.
7. Teach library concepts and collaborate with non-librarians. As a solo librarian,
creating effective library tools required educating and collaborating with my co-workers.
I learned the InMagic catalog at a tutorial. Working with my boss, we set up search
terms and for a public catalog he could access from his desk. I also got assistance from
the law librarian in the building to produce the new catalog. At the suggestion of a solo
librarian listserv, it was dubbed CATCOLA{Catalog of the County of Lake Area}.
8. Reach out to other libraries. I joined a new librarians’ support group and a business
interest network at the North Suburban Library System center in Wheeling. Through
these groups, I learned trends, gained confidence, shared resources and made friends.
Two Waukegan area librarians became my mentors: the reference manager next door and
the County Discovery Museum director in Wauconda.
My boss and I toured the Harold Washington Library to see how their city planning
materials were accessed and stored and we got acquainted better. I attended two ALA
National Conferences in Chicago where I saw former colleagues and met other librarians.
In San Antonio, for an SLA conference, I toured the famous Alamo Library and saw it as
the perfect model for our planning library. They shelved a wide array of materials side by
side rather than isolating formats and their city planning office displayed aerial maps. I
asked them to mail their city and county map samples to Illinois. I suggested that our
county planning department display maps and the advisory board agreed. I hung Lake
County aerial maps on lobby walls for customers to see and added a large welcome sign
over the library door.
9. Understand your financial issues. On my first day at the library, I learned that
keeping track of housing starts was essential. Our income at the planning library is
derived from building permit fees. Housing starts reflect how money may be distributed
through the county departments.
I keep my eye on finances, by obtaining free copies of intergovernmental agreements and
zoning/planning materials in municipality files for public perusal and staff study. I have
cut purchases and joined a reference resource recycle program for small libraries to
maximize our budget.
10. Read the library literature. The Library Journal, other national publications help
me stay on top of new ideas and issues that may affect my library. One issue I’ve been
following is the appointment of non-librarians to library management posts. This issue
touches on the roles of politics and financial experience in such hiring. Being aware of
new trends allows me to provide innovative services for my clients in the planning
department.
Creating a library that works at the Lake County Planning department has been an
arduous journey at times and an extremely satisfying one. I enjoyed the challenge of
doing the detective work for my clients. My colleagues and coworkers’ continual support
of my efforts delight me. They have welcomed me and my ideas. Most of all I like
contributing to neighborhoods and family growth in Lake County.