1 Ruffin Revised Professional Values Statement

Introduction: Putting Love in It

My mission as an information services professional is to facilitate the

information needs of patrons, treating each one with respect and dignity. In my
ideal vision I state, “I strive to at least be able to say to myself, there is love in it.
This one statement outlines the vision that I have for myself as an information
service professional, whatever I do, whether it is the dreaded cataloging project
or answering a tough reference question I will strive to put love in it.” (Ruffin,
2010) In choosing to become an information services professional a whole new
world of thought and relating has opened for me. I still value the same things,
but now I have a greater understanding and broader knowledge of how to
navigate in my new field. In LIS 650, Library Administration and Management, I
was able to outline my personal and professional values: Integrity, Kindness,
Servant-hood, Grace, Personal Innovation, Positivity, Understanding, Excellence,
and Enthusiasm allowed me to focus my energies during my time in the LIS
program.
Being able to state my values is important to the development of my
professional persona. The core of my professional and personal values really
can‟t be expressed in academic terms and it is this, to put love in everything
thing that I do and to actively look for areas in need of growth in order to stay
true to that value. Sharing a space with that key value is diversity and
innovation. Without these values at the center of my professional philosophy I
feel that I would fail as an information service professional. My time at UNCG
and my time in the military have really given me many opportunities to grow
and develop as a person and as a professional. Three key elements have been the
focus of my studies: the ethical treatment of patrons; diversity; and technology.

Ethics in Librarianship: It is Always about the Patrons, except when it isn’t.

LIS 600 taught me that the key to providing good service is remembering
that are in the business of serving people and that all forms of our service must
be tempered with the ethical treatment and consideration of those we serve. The
business of being an information services provider is a very personal one. In
chapter 2 of Foundations of Library and Information studies, Richard Rubin states
that “people prefer personal rather than institutional sources.” (2010) The
individual must always be held in mind when considering how we provide
service.
The difference between a bookstore and a library, are the librarians and
the staff who support them. A good librarian wants to assist in the total
information process. If a patron gets a book that they don‟t understand how to
use a librarian can help them with comprehension or lead them to a text that will
expand upon the one they need. Libraries need money to operate, but the end for

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libraries aren‟t profit margins, but maximizing resources and making sure
information gets into the hands of those that need it or want it. Ultimately, a
libraries profit is the people who use the information provided.
We must consider out patrons as our equals, if not out betters at every
opportunity we get. Not bogging ourselves down with judgment, but rather with
an attitude of service.

Engaging Patrons through Reference, Collection Development and

Information Literacy: Diversity in and out of the Stacks

The twenty-first century librarian has many issues to contend with in

order to stay relevant in a world where access to information is at an all time
high. In Reference and Information Services in the 21st Century: An Introduction the
authors state, “Librarians and their users are constantly bombarded with a wide
range of information choices that must be evaluated for authenticity”(Cassell &
Hiremath, 2009)“ Someone asked me, how are librarians handling the ease of
access to information because of the Internet. My answer is that because there is
more information librarians are needed more now than ever. Today‟s reference
librarians are information services professionals. We help people filter and shift
through the piles of information in order to find what they need in order to meet
the demands of their specific tasks.
It is one thing to have easy access to information, but it is another issue
when it comes to understanding what you as a user has access to. In regards to
creating life-long learners and increasing information literacy, “[College]
librarians, in collaboration with others, engage a diverse group of learners,
provide multiple learning options, and assess out- comes in a way that enables
students to be successful.” (Arp, Woodard, & Warren, 2006) Thus, it is important
that campus libraries work with the faculty and staff to prepare students to not
only graduate, but to become life-long learners. Library administration, reference
and acquisition librarians must always stay ahead of the learning process so that
their users don‟t get left behind.
Meeting every users need is becoming increasingly more challenging.
Diversity is more than an issue of race or gender for university librarians.
College students come in all shape, sizes, and colors along with a variety of
information needs. Ensuring that each unique user has not only the ability to
access the information, but also to use it is one of the greatest challenges that
libraries face. Libraries also want to create an environment where most users feel
comfortable. Therefore, recruiting reference librarians who are sensitive to and
represent the populations the libraries serve is central to establishing a
welcoming educational environment. Libraries of all kinds must stay attuned to
their customers‟ needs.
Reference librarians can identify customer needs by having librarians get
out and really be a face of the library. They can also do this with regular

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customer surveys, focus groups, and comment boxes online and with paper.
They can also hold community forums, bringing faculty, staff and students
together giving users an opportunity to speak up for themselves. Librarians
should also look at regular snapshots of the overall community and the
communities within the greater community to ensure they meeting their patrons‟
needs. Librarians can also look for trends in circulation and patron visits. In
order to identify customer needs libraries have to be proactive about seeking
patron input and ideas. And then be just as proactive about meeting those needs
and concerns. Through regular assessments of customers needs a library will be
able to spot trends and meet needs before they become points of contention.
Putting the focus on the customer can be a good way of setting a quality baseline
of expectations. By identifying customer needs and concerns you can keep your
library from participating in ineffective work. Knowing what the people you
serve want you can meet their needs plus extra.
Armin Nassehi in his essay “What do we know about knowledge? An
essay on the knowledge society” writes, “...the truth of expertise has to be
identified by the audience of demanders, not by the suppliers of
knowledge.”(Nassehi 2004) People are at the center of this profession. As
librarians we cannot afford to keep patrons out of the collection or services
development process. For without them there would be no need for all the
information that our grand libraries amass. Without patrons we are just
purposeless professionals. We must always consider that just as there are many
kinds of people there are many ways of thinking and doing. Donald Case writes,
“There is no nice, neat, logical delineation of [the diversity of users‟ information
seeking practices], as human behavior itself is not completely rational or
uniform” (Case 2002).
We must also be careful to not make arrogant assumptions about
individuals who do not use information the way that we believe they should or
who do not find benefit in the information that they provide. It is not the tools
themselves that make us smart as Donald Norman posits, but rather how we
make connections between the tools and knowledge that we have at our
disposal. The greatest added value that librarians bring to information
interaction is the ability to bring the tools of information provision to users
thereby connecting them to possibly unknown resources.
While it is not our jobs to make users understand and comprehend the
information that we provide it is important that we ensure through different
policies, programs, and assessments that the information available takes into
consideration our real patrons and not the patrons of our minds.

Information Technology=Innovation: Keeping Librarians in Style

With many colleges requiring that students have a laptop and the 24-hour
nature of our world, university libraries have to rise to meet the challenges of the

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day in which they reside. Jeanette Woodward in her book Creating a Customer
Driven Library suggests that the library‟s e-services should serve as an extension
of the library‟s brick and mortar building. The website should be “highly
informative, service oriented, and just plain fun.” (Woodward, 2005) The
library‟s website is an extension of its main body. Time and effort should be
given toward the design and ensuring that all the links and pages are up-to-date,
cohesive, and beautifully designed. Reference links such as “Ask the Librarian”
services, research guides and tutorials, citation guides, and blogs should be
central and prominent parts of every libraries online services.
Both Case and Rubin note that users use the least effort possible to when
looking for information. This is a great opportunity for information professionals
to create information products that efficiently and easily reproduce the
information that users need while also ensuring the integrity of the information.
Something more than Google and a little less than Cliff notes. As cloud
computing practices become more popular there is a role for cloud information
services to fill niche markets rather than being generalists. “Cognitive artifacts
are tools, but how they interact with the mind and what results they deliver
depend upon how they are used.” (Norman 1993)
Librarians must also be creators of information products such as websites,
blogs, wikis, books, commercials, videos, etc. By engaging and creating
information products that users need librarians can broaden and open the
possibilities inside and outside the field. A few months ago Diane Reems and her
colleagues on National Public Radio (NPR) were discussing the Supreme Court
and the two latest additions to the bench. A part of that discussion was the fact
that an individual does not actually have to be a lawyer in order to sit on the
bench of the highest court in America. A discussion ensued regarding other
professions that would make good potential Supreme Court Justice. Personally, I
believe that a librarian would be great to fill that position. We are researchers,
engaged in our communities, conversant in the law, able cite precedence, and a
treasure trove of information relevant or otherwise. I shared that story to say
this, librarians of the future and now need to consider what other arenas our
skills and abilities translate into. While libraries will probably not become
obsolete they are definitely changing as our economies and users change. We
have to be innovative in our thinking about the growth and development of the
field.
Technology is only as useful as the user‟s ability to use it and the
functionality of the tool itself. A paintbrush in the hand of an ape may produce a
few recognizable images or two, but in the hands of Michelangelo, the dome of
the Sistine Chapel is painted into an iconic sublime image. At first glance, a
paintbrush is an easy tool to use; just dip the brush bristle-side down into the
paint, lift onto canvas and you have a painting. In the untrained hand, the brush
and paint combination can become a great mess rather than one of the greatest
masterpieces of human existence. However, Michelangelo did not become an

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artistic virtuoso purely by happenstance, but rather by training and by having an

instructor who made the use of the tools of the artist‟s trade transparent and
accessible. The tools themselves matter in the creation process. A frayed and
rough paintbrush is not up to the task of being used to create a magnum opus,
neither is a banana.
Individuals are no longer constrained to pen and paper; paint and canvas;
billboards and television screens to express their ideas and to sale their products,
no the worldwide web allows users to shrink the distance between themselves
and what they want to know or acquire. In the article “How Twenty-Eight Users
Helped Redesign an Academic Library Web Site A Usability Study” the authors
write, “In fact, most libraries depend upon their Web sites to link their users to
everything from online references to interactive tutorials on how to use those
references” (Cobus, Dent, and Ondrusek 232). With the invention of the Internet,
the landscape of how people access and view the world has changed and so do
the tools and modes of interface. Because of this, libraries of the twenty-first
century and beyond must adapt their web materials to meet the needs and
abilities of their users. The concern for users‟ ability to effectively navigate a
website is called web usability. By going the process of creating my own website
and performing a usability test I have learned the unique challenges of that
process.

Leadership and Management in librarianship: From the Front and all the
Places in between

At the beginning of LIS 650 course I set five goals for myself:

1. Add new leadership skills to my portfolio

2. Learn how better operate in groups
3. Develop a greater sense of my followership/ leadership style
4. Listen to the inputs of my fellow classmates
5. Learn some new conflict resolution skills

Of the five goals I set for myself before starting this course, listening to the inputs
of my fellow classmates and developing a greater sense of my
followership/leadership style were two of the most important for me. In their
book Friedman and Yorio write, “Examine yourself. Look honestly at your
performance and your own communication skills and see if you can make
changes to your approach so you will get a better result.” (Friedman & Yorio,
2006) This program has been an opportunity for me to examine myself and to
look at my skills honestly.
Over the years I have made some mistakes in my communication skills as
a leader. When I first became a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) in the USAF I
first attempted to lead by having an iron hand. I was a woman in a male

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dominated field. I was young and even though trained insecure in my ability to
lead and manage. I was the classic control freak of Coping with Toxic Managers,
Subordinates and Other Difficult People because I wasn‟t quite sure what I was
doing I tried to control my subordinates and every aspect of projects I was in
charge of. Sometimes dealing with toxic people means dealing with you first. The
7 Habits of Highly Effective People states, “The place to begin building any
relationship is inside ourselves, inside our Circle of Influence, our own character.
As we become independent—capable of building rich, enduring, highly
productive relationships with other people.” (Covey, 1989) I have to change the
voice that I use with myself and not be overly critical because I am often that way
with myself. So opening myself to listen to the voices of others helps me to not
focus too negatively on myself,
I have learned that I had to learn how to not only listen, but to talk to
people. Having spent most of professional life in the military it is easy to be
brusque when speaking to others particularly in a work setting. But even while
in the military I had to remind myself that well trained though they may, be our
military members are people to. In The Girl’s Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being a
Bitch) the authors‟ write, “You have to remember that there‟s a human being on
the other end of a conversation.” And “Be sensitive to other‟s communication
methods.” (Friedman & Yorio, 2006). With that I realize that as a leader or
manager how I speak to people whether they are my co-workers, boss, or
customers is important. I have the power to set the tone of my interactions not
just because of my position, but also because of who I am.
During these two past years I have been able to better define myself as a
leader. I have gained a greater sense of my leadership/followership skills as
well learning the difference between management and leadership. In one of the
first class meetings I realized that I am a “visionary leader, who moves people
toward shared goals and a commanding leader, who can give clear direction an
emergency” (Chow, 2010) By coordinating and serving as co-chair for the “Un-
Hushed” conference, I was able to lead my fellow LIS students in creating and
participating a fun event that was also educational.
Ultimately I cannot and have not accomplished accomplished any of this
alone, to paraphrase John Donne: No [woman] is an island entire of itself; every
[woman] is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away
by the sea, … [anyone‟s] death diminishes me, because I am involved in
[humankind]. It is important that I establish nurturing friendships and
associations that bring out the best that I have to offer. And as I grow and
develop as a person who will continue to manage and lead others I hope that I
am always open to personal development and change.

Conclusion: Bringing it all to Together

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A lot has happened since I started the Masters of Library and Information
Studies (MLIS) program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
(UNCG). When I first applied for this program I wrote this in my personal essay:

“With the advent of new technologies that

allow greater access to information the library is still a
central hub in the information sharing process. And at
the center of the library are not the librarians but the
individuals that use the information that is available.
Librarians are there to help assist in the exchange of
information. As our world and human relating
becomes more mediated through technology the
human touch is still needed to help manage, translate
and ease access to information. I feel that my personal
role would be to help others navigate the information
available and to let library patrons know what
information is available for them and how to access
it.” (Personal Essay)

The emphasis on the patron is the most important thing that I have taken away
so far from my experience. In his book Case quotes Dervin, “‟instead of studying
what information does…for people‟ we need to focus on „what people do to
information.‟”(Case 2002) The user is the reason for the profession and not the
information that we provide to them.
The law of least effort states that, “People seek the most convenient source
to meet their needs, even when they know that this source might produce
information of lower quality than other sources.” (Rubin 2010) We have to be
more convenient for users to access our training and skills. If we stay behind the
comfort of a desk we retain the relevancy and efficiency of a book left on the
shelf.

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Bibliography

Arp, L., Woodard, B. S., & Warren, L. A. (2006). Information Literacy in

Community Colleges. Reference & User Services Quarterly , 45 (4), 297-303.

Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (1999). First Break All the Rules. New York: Simon
& Schuster.

Buckman, M., & Coffman, C. (1999). First Break all the Rules: What the World's
Greatest Managers Do Differently. New York: Simon And Schuster.

Case, Donald (2002). Chapter 1: Information behavior-An Introduction. Looking

for information: A survey of research on information seeking, needs and
behaviors. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 3-16

Cassell, K. A., & Hiremath, U. (2009). Reference and Information Services in the 21st
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Chow, A. (2010). Lectrue 9: Leadership Styles and Use of Technology Spring

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in Personal Change. New York: Free Press: A Division of Simon And
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Friedman, C., & Yorio, K. (2006). The Girl's Guide to Being a Boss (Without
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Greer, J. (2010, June 17). 4 Reasons Why the Library Should Affect Your College
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college-choice.html?PageNr=1

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Lubit, R. H. (2004). Coping with Toxic Managers, Subordinates and Other

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Nassehi, Armin (2004). What do we know about knowledge? An essay on the

knowledge society. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 29(3):439-449

Norman, Donald (1993). Chapter 3: The power of representation. Things that

make us smart: Defining human attributes in the age of the machine. pp. 43-75

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Ruffin, I. (2010). Assignment 2: Library Adminstrator and Organizational Ideal

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Course in Miracles. New York.

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