Management of
Media Staff
Beth Clark & Dana Turner
December 8, 2007
EDIT 6900
Dr. Fitzgerald
Value of Media Clerk
“Both professional personnel and support
staff are necessary for all library media
programs at all grade levels. Each school
must employ at least one full-time technical
assistant or clerk for each library media
specialist.” (American Library Association,
2006)
“Your Media Clerk directly affects your
ability to excel as a LMS by taking care of
many necessary daily activities." (Franklin
& Stephens, 2006)
Describe Problem
• Media Specialist are given the responsibility of
managing the media clerk(s) and may have little
experience or training on managing adults. They
may not be prepared to address problems that arise
among staff or know how to effectively
communicate concerns over job responsibilities.
• As the MS role continues to progress into one that
puts them out from behind the circulation desk and
into the classroom, the role of media clerk
becomes more important. Good management of
clerks is important in helping the MC meet the
goals of the MC and school.
Research Question
What strategies can a Media Specialist use to
manage the staff to achieve peak performance
towards the goals of the Media Center and the
school?
Strategies
1. Setting Clear Performance Goals and Job
Expectations
2. Communication
3. Delegation
4. Coaching to Good Performance
5. Performance Appraisals
6. Recognizing Good Performance
7. Handling Problem Performance
Setting Clear Performance Goals
and Expectations:
• When setting job expectations, follow these
steps:
– First, be clear
– Second, check with district office for
official Media Clerk job description
– Brainstorm a list of current duties and
compare them to what is currently done
and what needs to be done.
Setting Clear Performance Goals
and Expectations:
– Work with clerk to come up with a
reasonable list of duties not forgetting
breaks and lunches.
– Run them by your administrator.
– Make sure the clerk understands the
importance that their job has in the
educational process. (Franklin &
Stephens, 2006)
– Refer to Morris (Morris, 2004)
Defining reasonable, expectations and work responsibilities for your
clerical staff makes a happier, less stressful workplace for everyone.
(Franklin & Stephens, 2006).
“
I think it is important that when you start… you take your para
to lunch and discuss your expectations. How much authority are
you going to give then? … Discuss the atmosphere of your library.
You want everyone to feel welcome. How is the parapro going to
help you with that?? Discuss the qualities you think are needed to
do the job well. Write your expectations, discuss again and give the
para a copy of those expectations. Refer back if needed.
Remember that you could not do your job without him/her. “ Treat
them with respect and appreciate often the job they do.” ( Media
Specialist School #1)
Communication
Communication is key to building trust and
thereby getting support from your superiors.
90% of all organizational problems stem
from ineffective communication. (Trott,
2006)
Communication, cont…
• If there is a problem, address it immediately, and
professionally. Don’t let it build up over time.
• Try to write instructions down and if verbal encourage
your clerk to question you to clarify details.
• Speak in a positive light, but make sure you get your
message across
• Try not to gossip – it makes you not trustworthy
• Watch out for your non-verbal cues. Defensive postures,
Frustrated postures, vs. openness and confidence in posture
• Effective listening skills (Trott, 2006)
Delegation
•
•
•
•
•
Give complete instructions
Grant sufficient authority
Maintain communications
Make criticism constructive
Reward success (Trott, 2006)
Make sure that there is no issue if you leave
the Media Center in the hands of your
Clerk. They should be able to function
without you. (Trott, 2006)
Coaching to Good Performance
• Good coaches work to encourage their staff to do just a bit better
• Focus on short term goals then long term.
• Good coaches have high standards of honesty and integrity
• Strengthens problem –solving skills.
• Coaching is results-oriented.
• Stresses open communication
By…
• Developing clear performance goals
• Providing encouragement
• Making suggestions for improvement
• Providing training opportunities
• Remove barriers
• Assist with career goals
• Source of guidance and advice (Trott, 2006)
Strategies for Inspiring Better
Performance
• One of the best ways to get good performance out
of an employee is to make their workplace a nice
place to be. In other words, create a supportive
work environment: (Economy and Nelson, 2003)
–
–
–
–
Build and maintain trust and respect
Open channels of communications
Make your employees feel safe
Develop your clerk – they are your greatest asset in the
center.
Reviewing Performance:
SLMS will be required to appraise performance
• Check what documentation is used by your
school. The LMS’s we interviewed all
filled out some sort of evaluation rubic at
the end of the year.
• Must start by setting goals.
• Evaluate at all stages of work. (Trott, 2006)
Common Mistakes:
• Keeping sloppy records. You have no leg to stand on. Date and time
all observations. Keep them in a private file.
• Documenting others comments or opinions. Limit to what you have
observed.
• Document only facts, not feelings – remain objective
• Keep the appraisal on job performance and ability to complete tasks.
• Poor goals set or poorly communicated.
• Spending more time talking than listening.
• Lack of adequate training. Most of the Clerks we interviewed said
they had little or no training for their job, but would like some.
• Threatening tone in the interview.
• Not setting enough time aside for the interview.
• Extreme evaluations (Trott, 2006)
Recognizing Good Performance:
• Thank you is always welcome.
• Make sure to be specific about what they
are doing well.
• Do not over praise – it can be seen as
insincere
• Find out what they like in the way of
recognition and do that. Ex. Gift certificate
to Dunkin Donuts. (Thompson, 1995)
“You get what you reward"
(Economy & Nelson, 2003)
Recognition is worthless if it does not mean
anything to the employee. Spend some time
finding out what your clerk likes and dislikes and
tailor recognition around that. Get permission
from your administrator to make recognition a
budget item. Personal praise is always a good way
to go, just make sure the praise is specific to the
action. Don’t’ forget Daily praise – Making a Big
Deal about something little – remember, your
clerk will likely be a woman.
Handling Problem Performance:
• First of all, ask yourself if this is a
performance issue or a communication
issue.
• Next ask yourself if this is really a problem
or just an annoyance for you.
• Then ask yourself is this is a “can’t do it” or
a “won’t do it.”
• If it is a performance issue that you need to
address, have a coaching conversation:
(Thompson, 1995)
Coaching Conversation:
Tips for giving negative feedback (Thompson, 1995)
• · Be factual.
• · Explain how the behavior is not forwarding the Media Center towards it’s
goals.
• · Keep in mind that you want to correct the behavior
• · Focus on the behavior, not on social judgments about why it is happening
• · Avoid all or nothing language.
• · Echo what the staff member says to make sure you understand what it going
on. There is no room for misunderstanding in these conversations.
• · Ask suppose questions. “Suppose you were in my shoes…”
• · If they are not communicating with you, draw them out by reflecting on
what you think their reaction is. “You seem a little frustrated, confused, etc…”
• · If they deny or get upset, stay on course and make sure your message is
conveyed.
• · Listen, Listen, Listen.
• · After the discussion, go with business as usual.
Immediately document all that was said.
Clerks who are there before you come in think they
know everything about the Media Center and how it
should run. They probably do at this point, but you
know your vision for the center. Accept their advice
and help, but do not let them run the program. If you
let them do everything, they will. Professionally go
ahead with your plans and include them. There will
probably be resistance, but remain positive and on
course and they will likely adapt. If a problem
develops, see advice from other administrators or
Media Specialists. (Wasman, 1998)
What SLMS and Clerks have to say:
• Survey
Strategies to being a good
Manger - Action Plan
–
–
–
–
–
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Good communication
Make expectations clear
Address problems immediately and privately
Praise good work
Set good example
Always let clerk know where you are and when you’ll
return. If possible provide a way to be reached.
– Don’t micro manage
• Let the clerk do it their way as long as it is productive
(Rogers, 1993)
Action Plan Cont…
• You must cultivate an environment in which:
(Trott, 2006)
– There is an atmosphere of pride
– There is positive energy
– You easily manage change
– People are kept informed
– Everyone knows who is in charge
– You know what it going on
– Your staff knows you will protect them
– When you delegate, be sure you are clear in
your instructions
– Admit mistakes
– Try not to complain
– Be respectful- use please and thank you
– Ethical and honest
“More important than any skills a clerk has or doesn’t
have is the relationship between the two of you. You must
work together on a daily basis and it is imperative that the
two of you work well together. Skills can be taught, but it
is hard to move past personality conflicts. Ask your
principal if you can be involved in the hiring process to
enable you to have input in the final decision.” (Media
Specialist, School #5)
Extras…Good information we think you
need to know…
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Interviewing:

If possible, be involved in the interview process for a new Media
Clerk
Make sure you are aware of the interviewing process in your county
(what to ask, what not to ask, etc.) Maybe decide ahead of time
which areas you will cover in the interview – maybe concentrate on
specific Media stuff.
Listen, Listen, Listen and take good notes which you will keep in a
file to justify your choice of candidates. You can explain ahead of
time that you will be taking notes just to make sure you remember
everything correctly.
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Try and look for the following
characteristics:
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Hard Working
Good Attitude: see how much the complain about their previous
employers
Experienced
Go-Getter: Does this person show initiative?
Team Player: can this person work with others?
Smart
Responsible: what has this employee been responsible for in
the past?
Stable (Economy and Nelson, 2003)
Be careful not to mention the following. Don’t even
comment if they bring these issues up themselves:
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Applicants race or skin color
Applicants national origin
Applicants sex or sexual orientation
Applicants Marital status
Applicants religion
Applicants arrest and conviction record (you should know this from
a background check)
Applicants height and weight
Applicants debts
Applicants disability (Economy & Nelson, 2003)
Try to check your biases at the door. Be objective and judge on
qualifications and interview answers alone.
• Your most important job is developing
relationships with the people you work with. The
first step in achieving this is by caring about them
as people. (Line, 2002)
• The SLMS and Media Clerk should work together
as a team. Make the Media Clerk a stakeholder in
the MC by making them feel they are helping to
meet the MC and school goals. (Castiglione, 2007)
Bibliography
• American Library Association. (2006, September, 27) AASL Position
Statement on Appropriate Staffing for School Libraries. Retrieved
November 22, 2007 from:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/positionstatements/aaslpositio
nstatementappropriate.cfm
• Castiglione, J. (2007) Self-managing work teams and their external
leadership: A primer for library administrators. Library Management,
28, 379-393. Retrieved September 30, 2007, from Emerald Insight
database.
• Economy, P., & Nelson, B. (2003). Managing for dummies.. Wiley.
Indianapolis.
• Franklin, P., & Stephens, C.G.. (2006). Managing clerical staff in the
library media center. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 23:3;
46-47. Retrieved September 15, 2007 from ProQuest database.
• Line, M. B. (2002) Management musings 7: no-one will tell bosses
what they are like. Library Management, issue 23, 252-253. Retrieved
September 30, 2007, from Emerald Insight database.
Bibliography Continued
• Morris, B. J. (2004). Administering the School Library Media Center.
Libraries Unlimited. WestPort, Connecticut.
• Rogers, S. L. (1993) Out of theory and into practice: supervising
library employees. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 19, issue
154-157. Retrieved September 30, 2007, from EBSCOhost database.
• Thompson, B..( 1995) The new manager’s handbook. New York:
Irwin.
• Trott, M. (2006). Supervising staff: A how-to-do-it manual for
librarians. New York. Neil-Schuman.
• Wasman, A. M. (1998). New steps to service: Common-sense advice
for the school library media specialist. Chicago. American Library
Association.