Sarah Davis, MLIS Candidate
Leadership Potential
The opening of the recent movie “The Public” about a public library features a short clip from what appears to be a 50’s-era librarian recruitment film. Over the course of the clip, two questions are posed in a cheery tone: “Do you love books? … Do you love people?” I saw this movie with fellow library employees and the theater filled with laughter at both of those questions. Why? Because those in attendance knew the importance of both of those questions to our field of work and they knew how misunderstood both of those questions are in the context of libraries. Who working in libraries hasn’t been told, “Oh it must be so nice to read all day at work!”? Who working in libraries hasn’t had a difficult experience with people they need to help professionally? Books and people are pillars of the library profession. Much time is spent highlighting the people-pillar for a number of reasons, but often because library professionals do not want to fall into the stereotype of being “just about books.” Yet that book-pillar exists for a reason: books are what draws many of us to libraries in the first place.
My childhood was filled with books and libraries. I read widely and voraciously: Clubs of both Babysitter and Saddle, Little Houses on the Prairie and beyond, American Girls, Cam Jansens, Dear Americas, Annes, and more. I read my way through the children’s area of the Martin Regional Library and of the many books in my own home. I learned about the horrors of the Holocaust, the traumas of Japanese internment, and the wild conspiracies about presidential assassinations (the children’s books of the 90s were wild and yes one of my favorite childhood books was They Shot the President: Ten True Stories). My love of reading was fostered by my parents as well as the public library. From this childhood reading, I developed a robust sense of justice. As I grew up and experienced more of the wider world, I learned that nothing was quite as simple as they happened in the stories I loved. Everything is complicated. Yet those books and that love of reading carried me through many difficult and challenging times. I would turn back to books I loved or find new ones to learn from as a way of either finding comfort or learning more about something that had become important to me. Enter the library and the people. On April 21, 2014, I started working at my childhood library, Martin Regional. After months in Mexico learning Spanish (and also reading many e-books: Thank you to TCCL’s robust downloadable collection), I was ready to restart my life and try out a new career. At the same time, though, I became very sick and spent most of those first months working at the library figuring out my eventual diagnosis of a chronic kidney disease. As I navigated this new world of a chronic illness, I also entered another world at work in a public library of briefly experiencing other people’s pain. While many interactions with people at a public library are simple or positive, many are also difficult and complicated. Other people’s painful stories are not mine to tell, but suffice it to say that by working in public service I have been confronted with individuals’ pain. Sometimes they tell me their stories, sensing correctly that I care yet also not understanding that it may not be appropriate. Sometimes I figure out hints of the pain when I help someone struggle to send a difficult e-mail or put torn pages through the fax machine. I value their privacy but cannot (or at least, have not yet become jaded enough to) ignore their pain. Working up close with people in a public setting has introduced me to stories and circumstances I had not experienced before. Though the books of my childhood and young adulthood had given me windows and mirrors into the lives of others, the stories are not the same as watching pain play out in real life in front of me. Yet, to explore these deep and systemic issues, where did I turn? I chose books and eventually a graduate degree in Library and Information Studies. The public library had opened up new windows and diverse corners of the world into my life. I needed to learn more about these topics through reading to be able to support my work, my own health, and my professional and leadership development. Learning is uncomfortable. In reading more about children’s literature, I did not expect to look back at some of the books of my childhood and see racist and xenophobic content that led me to re-evaluate me perception of those stories. I realized that there were more, better books I could recommend beyond what I had enjoyed as a child. In reading more about the history of the experiences of indigenous and black people in the United States, I did not know how many details and facts my previous history education had ignored. As I continue to read, learn, and listen, I do not know what other ideas will be disrupted or supported in my life. Yet, the discomfort that learning causes is necessary for growth. The library has made me a leader. As I started my career at TCCL, I looked at the leaders around me and realized: “I could do that.” Many of these people saw that leadership potential in me and encouraged me to pursue my MLIS. They gave me more responsibilities and opportunities to demonstrate that potential and I did my best to live up to those expectations. As I’ve moved through my MLIS career at OU-Tulsa and my journey at TCCL, I have gained the skills, the experience, and the confidence to move forward as a leader. My leadership philosophy is encapsulated by a phrase I found on a pin that I now wear: "We Rise by Lifting Others." I arrived at this idea from a variety of experiences. The good books I have read from my childhood until now have shown me that we are stronger together. The leaders in my personal life and at TCCL who lifted up me and others to help us grow and learn have been a valuable example. I have seen the sacrifices that good leaders make for the people around them and hope to model that example. I look forward to participating in future leadership learning and job opportunities at TCCL. Further, I am excited about what books I will read next. |