In-basket Assignment
ILS-565 Library Management Fall 2011
Professor James M. Kusack
Kimberley Weber
November 20, 2011
It’s Monday morning at the Metrono Public Library, and as director of this fiscally strapped town institution I have a little less than two hours to sift through my inbox and decide which issues require my immediate attention before I head out of town for a conference. First I send out a short reminder memo to my staff telling them that I will be out of the library until after lunch on Tuesday (tomorrow) and that Al Jonakin, head of Public Services will be in charge while I’m away.
Now it’s time to get to work. I read through all of my mail sorting the messages into three categories; immediate action, Hector, and staff gripes. Immediate action items are anything relating to the safety and well being of the public, staff, and/or library building. Next are concerns raised by my boss, Hector who is the chairman of the Library Board. Frequently his concerns involve legal or personnel issues, things that require more thought and research. Any communication with him needs to be viewed as a political document of sorts so words should be chosen very carefully. Because he is my supervisor, Hector’s issues always need a timely response. The third category, staff gripes, are also important but they do not usually have the urgency of the first two categories. Personnel problems account for a large percentage of the problems in my inbox both directly and indirectly and while they can’t be fixed on a Monday morning when time is short these issues are extremely important to me. The tech services director spot is vacant and the heads of reference and circulation do not work well together. Team building, cliché as that sounds, is a must especially with the personnel cuts and spot audits coming our way per Hector. The friction between directors is trickling down and causing sniping between others on the staff. There is no question that several of the issues in my inbox stem from real staff discord. Having Merle (Access Services) take on some tech service duties would be a great help, and it would get her out of her office where she is not working efficiently. Getting Al involved with some IT duties could help things run more smoothly too, currently he spends too much time worrying about what his coworkers are doing.
Below are the twelve different communications from my inbox listed in order of importance. The first three messages require immediate action and the last five can definitely wait. The middle four do require attention but were less urgent. I’ve listed what action needs to be taken and by whom. At the end of each task I’ve given a short explanation of my reasoning.
1. Exploding toilet: - phone call made by me immediately to plumber
Call Stan the plumber from Public Works to fix the toilet this a.m.
Rationale: requires immediate attention, public health issue and call coming from me rather than my secretary emphasizes the urgency.
2. Broken PCs: email to Al – delegate task
Email to Al (Public Services), cc: Diane – Do some troubleshooting with the two problematic office computers, if you can’t get them working quickly call IT for onsite visit. Rationale: Requires immediate attention for office to function today and Al has strong IT background, plus he’s a guy so the sexist IT guys won’t push him around.
3. Porn on public use PCs: memo written by me to staff – delegate task
Interoffice memo to entire staff explaining the situation – staff needs to be out on the floor watching for illegal use of public PCs. Also asking staff to think of ways to reconfigure the public PCs for better monitoring. Rationale: quick response necessary because of public safety and legal issues, requires even more deft handling in light of Hector’s heads up on spot audits and internet misuse. Filters not an option on adult computers in a public library.
4. Personnel cuts memo from Hector: memo by me to Hector
E-mail to Hector, recommendations on staffing will be in to him Tuesday, EOD. Rationale: high priority as boss is asking for a speedy response but highly political decision needs some time for reflection.
5. Phone call on dirty windows: Delegate to Elmo
Email to Elmo with a cc: Hector – Have the two adults who need community service hours for their DUIs get to work on library windows. Please have windows finished by Thursday. Rationale: not a high priority but we have free manpower this week, the sun is shining and a nice visual for Hector.
6. Heads up from Hector on financial malfeasance and internet misuse:
Need additional information – phone call by me
Phone Carol over at town hall to get more information, mention possible spot audits, internet misuse etc. Report this to Al and Merle at Wednesday’s department heads’ meeting. Rationale: Important but immediate action not possible until more facts are known.
7. Tattling employee/t shirt business - visit to Merle by me
Visit Merle in her office, tell her she needs to spend more time supervising her employees. Also needs her to step up involvement in Tech Services. Rationale: Hector’s warning about misuse of computer time bumps this one up in the queue and Merle’s poor work habits need to be addressed….
8. Cost cutting committee report from Merle: Action – Have secretary schedule a meeting with task force
Have secretary email entire committee to schedule a meeting for next week to discuss findings. Rationale: issue is worrisome but can wait until next week. The committee is crazy and really bungled this. Need to get them back on track. Would it be too passive aggressive to include mission statement of the library?
9. Deadbeat patrons: No action today
Next time I see (next day or two) tell Merle I support your handling of the deadbeats and trust your instincts on this particular case. Glad you recognize the library policy on forgiving fines. Rationale: not a high priority but feedback is important. Merle is head of circ and I stand behind her decisions (as long as she’s not too mean).
10. E-mail re: Late employee - No action today.
Ralph is coming up for review in six months and this type of behavior should be brought up then. Rationale: This can wait until next week but direct supervisor should get involved. There needs to be documentation on Ralph’s tardiness.
11. Too hot and 12. Too cold - No action today
By end of week talk with both Mia and Sylvia face to face and together. Thermostat needs to stay at 68 to control costs. Appreciate their hard work, impressed on how well they are doing their job without a direct supervisor. Bring a sweater or personal fan, whatever is needed for personal comfort. Rationale: No immediate action needed but hope we can shift responsibilities once the cuts have been made and fill Tech Services position.