Colleague Roulette

Those of us working in academic libraries tend to get a little jaded about the interviewing process. Today we had a perfectly reasonable candidate interview and next week we have another well qualified candidate. It is always pleasant when you have more than one standout candidate. On occasion, I have sat through an interview wondering if the candidate had done any preparation at all.

I am chairing a different search committee and it seems almost random as to the quality of candidates applying. I have been on search committees that should have been embarrassed by the richness of possibilities and others where it seems we were hit by the applicant version of spammers.

It is fascinating to me to watch the process and to remind myself what it is like to be on the other end. In my course, Academic Libraries, I go over the academic library interview in the context of my organization briefly and often hear the question, “But how do we know what you are looking for?” Short answer, you don’t. You can guess, try to surmise by divining institutional priorities from the website, or by asking people who already work there.

What it usually comes down to is a combination of factors including; obvious preparation and thought about the position, learning about subject area resources if you aren’t already familiar, well paced and interesting (admittedly subjective) presentations, and attitude. Yes, we have had people interview with the obvious assumption that they are doing US the favor by interviewing.

Ideally, an interview should help both candidate and workplace discover whether there is a match, much like dating. Professional goals, support to achieve those goals, and leadership that will create an environment where professional growth can and will occur should be considerations by the candidate. Professional promise is deemed to be critical by the workplace for entry level positions if candidates are lacking relevant experience. This encapsulates the “je ne sais quoi” of whether people within the workplace liked that candidate and felt that they would be a good colleague.

Even if all those are present, it often comes to that day and its interactions that determine whether an interview will be perceived to be successful. This is why they are indeed stressful and why preparation is so key to success for all parties. It takes a lot of time and effort to have a search end successfully and if either part of the equation isn’t on their game, it is obvious.

Even for those of us who have been through this process and have been successful it doesn’t always end in wedded bliss. I am saying goodbye to another colleague, Jane soon and it saddens me to say goodbye to another fantastic colleague while at the same time being happy for them and their future endeavors. It goes to show that like any relationship, the employer and employee need to feel a connectedness to the same goals and priorities for happiness to flourish. I look forward to my next colleague, whomever that might be and I hope for them a similar professional experience that I have enjoyed in the past. And hope for again in the future, but perhaps in a different context.

American Cities I love

I have just finished watching Season 4 of The Wire on DVD. David Simon’s love for Baltimore has filtered through every frame of The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Street, and The Corner. He has been criticized for showing only negatives about Baltimore such as extreme poverty, drugs, and the multiple malfunctioning bureaucracies. How is it that these critics don’t also see his optimism about and hope for the people of Baltimore? I visited Baltimore on an all too brief trip last June after a conference in Washington DC. I missed the National ACRL conference which had been held in Baltimore last year as I was in Cambodia with family. There was no way that I couldn’t go to Baltimore, already being in Washington.

I will be the first to admit that television programs can never give you the same understanding of a city that visiting it can. But without David Simon’s work I will admit that I may not have fallen in love with Baltimore. A friend of mine grew up in inner city Washington DC and told me stories that made the hair on the back of my neck literally stand up. One of the advantages of traveling to new places is that you have no preconceptions of what to expect. That was not the case with Baltimore I already had my head full of visuals. I chose not to stay in the Inner Harbor area knowing that it would be sanitized and packaged for me. Instead I stayed at a lovely B & B, Wilson House that represented the Victorian age of Baltimore far better than any chain hotel ever could.

Over the course of my short trip I was never treated with anything but courtesy and kindness. I took public transportation and walked all over Baltimore until my feet begged for mercy. My payoff came in the form of a greater understanding of the Wire’s Baltimore down to the view of the Inner Harbor seen by a drunken mayoral candidate. We had sat on the very same bench! I will also admit to a minor thrill when another tourist asked me for directions. Now, that could have simply been a measure of their own desperation but I imagined that perhaps I had fit in for a moment. I will go back to Baltimore and spend more time exploring that area of the United States.

David Simon related in his commentary for the last episode of Season 4 The Wire, a comment made by a cast member. They said, “Your city falls down so beautifully.” That comment breaks my heart and I can only imagine the strength it takes to live through this “falling down” process.

Another city that inspires me in ways I can’t explain is New Orleans. I have not visited it enough and Katrina didn’t change my feelings it just intensified them. New Orleans is the most unique city that I have ever visited in the US and it would be a crime to not allow it to be re-established. What country could allow this city of creativity, warmth, and culture to fail? I am guessing that there is a theme here with my choices of cities to love. There is such amazing potential in Baltimore, New Orleans and even Houston. It is easy to look at statistics and judge these cities but I have learned to look and listen before making presumptions. It is very easy to love beautiful cities like San Francisco less so to explain your fascination with cities that have failing schools, crumbling infrastructure, and crime rates that make national headlines. I didn’t expect to take these cities to heart as much as I have but they will always be special to me.

Walking the walk…

I have asked the students in my Academic Libraries course to start a blog.  Not knowing if any of them already blogged already I was pleasantly surprised that while all of them were blog novices they were game novices nonetheless.  It can be very hard to try anything for the first time, never mind in a  class  with everyone else watching.  It also reminded me that I have allowed my own blog to languish so I will try to be more regular with my posts.  There are some days I have to remind myself that I did lose six weeks or so of last semester with my broken ankle.  I suppose its not shocking that I have fallen behind in some areas but I will make a concerted effort not to allow blogging to fall into that category.

Inadvertant offence

Oh Canada, how you manage to offend without intent.  A recent story on CNN.com related the fact that the United States was listed as a country that tortures prisoners in some internal Canadian Foreign Affairs training materials.  Other countries mentioned; Afghanistan, Syria, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, and Israel.

US Ambassador, David Wilkins stated, “We find it to be offensive for us to be on the same list with countries like Iran and China.  Quite frankly it’s absurd.”

I am sure those in Guantanamo and elsewhere might disagree.