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August 23, 2007
Blogging about your own library's experience: career suicide or honest sharing?
Hmmm...career suicide or honest sharing. I'll go with both.
Dorothea Salo blogged recently about her thoughts on being a blogger and working at a library. Should your manager highlight your blog? No. It's done on personal time and has nothing officially to do with your work. Should you blog about your library's day-to-day activities? No. It's done on personal time and has nothing officially to do with your work.
And therein lies what I see as a problem with the biblioblogosphere. I am by no means the first person to point this out, but it is a shame that those of us working at real life libraries cannot or will not share our work experiences out of fear of reprisals. Because of this, we do not see many of the real life problems and opportunities facing our libraries. We see the happy-ending projects in our libraries reflected in the biblioblogosphere ('cuz we're allowed to blog about smiley face things without getting screamed at). But anything that would induce a "WTF?" response from the blogger in his/her work environment cannot see the light of day online.
As Dorothea says:
Don’t you dare write anything personal that someone else might get angry or squicked at. Don’t go too far outside the norm (and lest we forget, the blog-norm is gendered, racially weighted, heteronormative, ableist, fat-hating, class-bound, and a few other ugly things picked up from the society it derives from). And don’t have opinions on matters libraryish that differ too much from your boss’s. Asking for trouble, that.
I have certainly received a bit of squicking and trouble from various bosses for asserting opinions in this blog about products, vendor practices, and services. Think of it: your library participates in some project or product -- and you say, in your professional blog that it is total crap. It then becomes very difficult for your manager, if (s)he reads your blog (which would be advised), to differentiate between your at-work attitude toward that project and your blog attitude, especially if the two differ radically, which they may if you have a hose-beast of a boss. *tee hee, I said "hose beast*
As a manager and a reporting employee, I too can see both sides of the glass here... And yet, I still feel that it is a shame that bloggers with so much wonderful at-work experience end up not sharing those things because of this fear. I do believe that much information is being lost as a result of this disconnect and clash of priorities. I think we're not seeing as many honest opinions and evaluations of products as we would if we were more open about what we think. We would be able to use the biblioblogosphere as a Yelp of sorts to help us evaluate potential service and resource purchases. As it stands though, we don't see as much negative information as I think is out there--the positive is definitely too heavily weighted, because writing a smiley face all over your library's project is much easier on the career-advancement-path than a frowny face.
I don't know that this will ever be solved, but the self-published nature of much of our professional information now has created this clash. At the very least, we should be aware of it even if we can't come up with a solution.
August 23, 2007 | Permalink
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Comments
Interesting post, and thoughtful replies. I don't post much about my library on my blog -- it's more what I think about libraries in theory (as a piece of my part-time teaching job) and what I think about cognitive science.
But until recently, I posted anonymously because I didn't want to upset my employer, even tho' I don't say much about my full-time work. This reality -- that employers (reasonably) don't want us to post negatives about our work -- sometimes result in us posting anonymously, which also weakens our voice.
Lots to think about!
Posted by: Stephanie / cogscilibrarian | September 3, 2007
Hi, Sarah--I don't remember employee "non-discussion" of the HCL and MPL merger being expressly stated as a policy or even a request (at least not on the HCL end)--my manager at the time it was decided just told us to answer patron questions without editorializing. Very few people in HCL seem to talk about it AT work, let alone in the 'sphere. Maybe no one wants to be the one to start. I know I don't, particularly [grin], and in a way don't feel I've earned the right to an opinion, yet, having only been with HCL since 01/07. It's just kind of interestingly quiet all around.
I felt equally famous when you mentioned Shelf Check on your blog [grin], before I ever alluded to you in it. Thanks.
Posted by: Emily Lloyd | August31, 2007
Emily, thank you for your comments. I too wondered why no real comments on that merger had made their way out into the biblioblogosphere. It is an audible silence, one might say. Is it a library administration request or policy on either/both sides of the merger? People just playing it safe so as not to get fired during this time of transition? I do wish you luck in your efforts to get people acquainted...I do think that encouraging open expression will help. If people keep any of this bottled up, as with most things, an explosion of some sort is likely. Also, Emily, thx for the mention in your comic. I felt famous for a day :)
Posted by: Sarah Houghton-Jan (LiB) | August27, 2007
Although we shouldn't say anything on a blog we wouldn't say in person, the reality is that even our most innocuous comments can lead to personal discrimination by an employer. The hiring decisions at my library are based on what they determine is "best fit". So although one may be qualified, have demonstrable working abilities, and otherwise be perfectly capable to carry out job related duties, so is everyone else who applies (I'm not talking about professional positions, just the others). Therefore they hire based on who they 'like' better, which lately has been the meekest people possible. And yes, this has been said at work, and by other people! I want, on my blog, to be able to be free without feeling like I always have to maintain a professional tone or express only 'correct' workplace viewpoints. It's the Internet!
That being said, I've also never seen the point of flame wars or other juvenile behavior. We all have opinions, I like to still try to challenge myself to be somewhat logical in what I blog. And I'm certainly open to criticism, that's what's great about the internet - different viewpoints! But until I feel secure in my profession and any particular job I may have, or until I'm passed the point of caring, I feel more comfortable being anonymous.
Posted by: The Eeyore Librarian | August24, 2007
One big issue facing my library system that I'm sorry library staff won't be blogging personal responses to is the merger of the Hennepin County and Minneapolis Public Libraries. Patrons of both systems have been pretty outspoken with their opinions on the merger--but librarians? Not a peep. I'm joining a committee to facilitate HCL and MPL employees "getting to know one another," but I would like to know what would be said in a more informal context--mostly because of what might be learned from it (a little out of sheer curiosity).
Also interesting is when you consider blogging "personae" that are separate from the persons blogging--one might embellish or emphasize or de-emphasize one's opinion, and many do when writing for "the public"--for effect, or tone, or entertainment's sake. In my case, I'm blogging a cartoon character (I write the library comic Shelf Check), so by default there'll be a bit of "enhancing" and irreverence...I share a number of things in common with the strip's protagonist--but not everything, and not (often) attitude. (Intentionally, her library's ref staff of only two people in no way resembles mine). A number of my co-workers read the strip, and my spouse (after only 64 strips) has warned me about career suicide. This morning was the first time I deleted something I had written and changed it to something less "strong."
Thoughtful post and comment thread. Thanks.
Posted by: Emily Lloyd | August24, 2007
Andrew--that's very true. One shouldn't blog what one wouldn't (or hasn't) said to one's colleagues at work. I strive for consistency, though often my opinion may not be sought on particular issues in the work setting, so I put it out here... I'm not sure where that falls in the scheme of consistency.
Posted by: Sarah Houghton-Jan (LiB) | August24, 2007
I'd like to work for T. Scott too. Any openings? :} And Edwin--you get 8 hours a week to blog! Wow! I think I'd like to work for your boss too!
Posted by: Sarah Houghton-Jan (LiB) | August24, 2007
Thanks so much for bringing this up, Sarah. It's the very issue that keeps me from discussing library issues (except in the most oblique way) on my personal blog. Some of the most provocative bloggers I read (like Jenny Lavine, Michael Stephens, Jessamyn West) are folks who have a bit of freedom in that they aren't linked too directly with one specific library. But that does also give the content a bit of distance. You actually walk this line pretty well, but as you point out, you don't use specific day-to-day examples.
I'd love to work with someone like T. Scott though. He seems to have a pretty reasonable attitude about this kind of thing and a work environment in which he can navigate such issues.
Posted by: Scot Colford | August24, 2007
I Agree that it's a thin line we walk upon but I try to be as honest as I possibly can. My boss offered me 8 hours to blog and still 80 % is written when @ home. I talk about personal emotions as easily as about new gadgets and websites.
And in between the lines I attack and defend. Carefully.I don't want to hurt people with unkind words but there are many good reason to open up a bit.
The hidden agendas, the ignorance. Now and then you just need to pay attention to those things.
But some things just can't be told and I'd wished many times that I had a blog that was really independent. That would unleash the real words indeed...
Posted by: Edwin | August24, 2007
I think there's a difference between making comment specifically about your organisation's services and policy, and sharing personal successes / frustrations about one's own experiences and one's opinion about the wider industry. One is very unprofessional, whilst the other, IMHO, is a necessary path toward building one's knowledge of the industry.
Of course, if one were to attempt to read between the lines, I could see where a boss/supervisor might interpret one's evaluation of challenges in the industry as direct criticism of their management, but then again, that's a little paranoid. Personally, I don't tend to blog anything that I wouldn't say openly to my colleagues at work or in professional association circles - consistency is important, otherwise it just looks like backstabbing.
Posted by: Andrew | August23, 2007
I agree with T. Scott, I would prefer a staff member come to me with an issue than vent on a blog. Yes some vendors really suck, but it is better to work with them to improve the problem than to torch them online. They definitely won't want to work with you then.
Posted by: Jeff | August23, 2007
I think about this quite a bit, although, since I'm the director, I guess my situation is a little different. I know that many of the people who work here read my blog. It's possible that my provost and president read it, although I don't know that for sure. I have sent links to particular posts to various deans or department chairs when I thought it was relevant. It's not "reprisals" that I worry about, it's being misunderstood. If I am critical about the progress of a certain project, do I unintentionally raise the anxiety of the person who may be in charge of that project because he or she thinks that I think that they are at fault? (I may, in fact, think they're doing a fine job in the face of a difficult situation). If I really think that there's a problem, then I need to be addressing it confidentially with the people that I think are responsible, not griping about it in a public forum.
On the other hand, if one of the reference librarians thinks that we're doing something really stupid or if they're feeling very frustrated by some decision that I've made, should they post it on their blog? Sure. I hope that they'd also communicate it to me and not just use their blog to blow off steam. But I also hope they'd be careful about what they write and think about how it affects their working relationships with their colleagues. Again, it's not so much a concern about reprisals as it is a concern about unintentionally messing up work relationships because something that's been said ends up being misinterpreted.
So I try to share what I can, and to use examples where I think they're appropriate. But I am always cognizant that the people that I'm writing about may very well be reading it, and I try always to be alert to potential consequences, good and bad.
Posted by: T Scott | August23, 2007
