the newbie hat

the newbie hat

Your TL degree is so new and shiny that the dust hasn’t had time to settle on its frame yet, but in a few short weeks you are going to be stepping into your dream job – the one you’ve been thinking of for years and have undertaken hundreds of hours of gruelling study to achieve.
Yet even though you might have excelled in your assignments and learned that being a TL is so much more than being a reading expert and circulating books, where you once thought you had this thing mastered, suddenly your brain is empty and you’re wondering where on earth you start.  There just seems so much to do, and that you want to do but where to begin?
Firstly, go back to your initial learning about information literacy and recall the work of
Carol Kuhlthau
who examined the affective domain of taking on a new research task. (If you’re not familiar with her work, then that should be your first professional learning task because it will give you great insight into how students feel and respond.)  Understand and accept that the feelings of being uncertain and overwhelmed are natural and common, take a deep breath and
be kind
to yourself.
Information Search Process
One of the reasons that we do feel as though we’ve just hit a wall is because we have so many ideas that the starting point is not clear. This is the time for clarity of thought and action and the best way is to break the task down into immediate, short, mid and long term goals.  Time management is critical and
Stephen Covey’s Habit 3
of putting first things first is a very useful mantra., as is his matrix for managing tasks.
Time Management Quadrant
Learn to ask yourself these questions…
Does this need to be done now or can it wait?
Is it more important than what I am doing right now?
If I don’t do it now, will that have an impact on other tasks that must be done?
Is it more important that the other things I have planned for today?
Will doing this help me achieve what needs to be done in the short, medium and long-term?
Does it require my time and attention or can I delegate?
If it helps, document the tasks you need to do and the ones you want to do so you don’t forget and when it comes time to develop
a strategic plan
to develop and manage the library’s growth all those big ideas are not forgotten or overlooked.
But first things first… what is it that needs to be in place before the first staff and students come through the door on Day 1?
There are two different scenarios – are you moving into an established library or are you starting a brand new one – but the tasks merge very quickly. If it is an established library, see if there has been anything left for you from the previous TL; if it is a new library then you have a clean slate and will have a little more to do. But the focus is the same – having a facility that is up and running efficiently as soon as possible.
people
Relationships are the most critical part of the job and the impression you make first up will be the lastin…