(This is adapted from a brief presentation I gave at the Support Staff Division conference, the theme of which was Growing Together. )
Growth isn’t necessarily good: consider weeds, or the national debt.
But Jim has been instrumental in fostering the growth of library support staff in Oregon
It’s import to note that Jim has also been instrumental in not growing a few things – his beard, for instance. But even that he did for a good cause, as a fund-raiser for the library’s charitable fund drive (and beat several staff member, including one with a handle-bar moustache)
And he actually did stop growing something else. One thing that’s popular, currently at least, in government is to cut down on the number of managers. OSL stopped growing its number of managers long before it was popular. Switching to team management was a huge undertaking on everyone’s part. Jim showed willingness to change and grow in his ideas of what team management would look like as we struggled (and still sometimes struggle) to define our roles in a collaborative environment. Balancing between empowerment and exploitation can be a very tricky thing. But I think we have grown, as an organization and as individuals, over the years of learning team management.
In terms of fostering growth, SSD is at the top. It’s an organization that has given many of us the opportunity to grow, learn, and expand our horizons – not to mention making a contribution to the Oregon library community, plus getting to meet and work with some great folks. However, we can’t grow is we’re not given the right environment and necessary support (as anyone who gardens knows). I was lucky that, from the beginning, when the Library Support Staff Round Table first started, there was no question that I would be given the same opportunities to participate as my MLS colleagues. Jim not only provided the support I needed to become active in OLA, he set an example for other managers and library directors to follow. We didn’t feel like second-class OLA members, but like important co-workers and colleagues.
So thanks, Jim, for all you’ve done to foster growth in the Oregon library community. I know you’ll keep growing in retirement!
Jey Wann
Oregon Documents Coordinator
Oregon State Library
Thank you Jey. You have been and continue to be such an asset to the Oregon State Library. I appreciated your remarks at the SSD Conference so much. In my retirement I will continue to grow ... tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, peas, arugula, radishes, squash, garlic, blackberries, etc.,etc. I may even take the plunge and have backyard chickens. We'll see.
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