Competency M

Core Competency M: demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for professional work including collaboration and presentations.

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Introduction:

The idea of a librarian as a person who simply sits at a desk and reads books all day is a very dated and incorrect view. The role of a librarian has always been customer service-oriented; with librarians interacting with library users on a regular basis throughout their workday. In any type of library setting, librarians must also often work with other staff on various job activities, projects, or presentations. All of this work involves communication. Communication is so important in library work that many LIS-related job postings request people with strong communication skills (Fraser-Arnott, 2013). Of course, just being able to talk with others is not enough. What is needed of LIS professionals is effective communication through both oral and written means.

One of the principles of effective communication is “clear communication.” Clear communication occurs when the meaning of the message is understood by all parties involved. This seems relatively straightforward, but can be quite challenging when dealing with diverse environments and diverse clientele. “Meaning” is generally understood through interpretation. How people interpret the meaning from oral or written communication is generally dictated by their culture and their own experiences (Deetz, Tracy, & Simpson, 1999). A second principle of effective communication is respectful communication. The tone of voice used and the type of language used (i.e. casual or professional) influences how communication is perceived, and if it is appropriate for the types of people involved.

Both of these principles play an important role in effectively communicating orally with library users, which can include very young children, seniors who are hard of hearing, and individuals who have limited knowledge of English. Librarians need to be able to adjust their language when speaking with different individuals—you would not, for example, use “baby-talk” when talking to an adult; which would be read as insulting and patronizing. Librarians should also be sure to provide clarification as needed, to ensure that library users understand the meaning of what is being communicated. This involves practices such as defining any possibly complicated vocabulary or jargon, explicitly indicating when one is switching topics/subjects, and allowing library users the chance to ask questions if they are confused.

Clear and respectful communication is often much more difficult when conversing through written means, such as e-mail, chat, or texting services. This is because it is difficult for library users to “see” the facial expressions of the librarian or “hear” the tone of the intended message through written words. Communication through these mediums requires that the librarian choose their words and structure their sentences carefully to avoid unintentionally coming off as “rude” towards the library user. It also requires the librarian to be adept at picking out subtle clues in library users’ texts/writing to determine what library users are actually asking help for.

Clear and respectful communication is also important when conversing with other librarians/staff members. However, many additional principles of effective communication are required for collaborative projects/presentations. Before work on any collaborative endeavor occurs, teams need to carefully discuss roles, responsibilities, expectations, and deadlines. It is vital that this step is taken, so that everyone is aware of what their tasks are, what the goals of the project are, and when deliverables are due. This step is also needed to establish the preferred method(s) of communication, and what should be done in cases of emergency—such as when a member of the team is unable to fulfill their duties for the project because of an illness.

Effective communication in collaborative scenarios also involve regular and timely communication between team members. This can be done easily enough in settings where librarians and staff work together in person, and can thus converse through oral means. However, virtual collaborative efforts are on the rise due to advances in methods of virtual communication (B. Bergiel, E. Bergiel, & Balsmeier, 2008). Thus, collaborative projects may now often include team members who are distantly located from one another. In these cases where teams are “virtual,” all team members need to be “active communicators” (B. Bergiel, E. Bergiel, & Balsmeier, 2008). Virtual teams often converse through asynchronous written methods. This requires team members to be much more diligent and proactive in responding and sending information to one another, as time zone differences often come into play in virtual environments (B. Bergiel, E. Bergiel, & Balsmeier, 2008). It is also even more important in virtual teams that team members regularly communicate, to ensure that everyone is “on the same page” when it comes to deadlines, duties, and responsibilities.

Coursework/Experience that Prepared Me for this Competency:

I have had much experience working in teams in my previous occupation as an assistant engineer. As an assistant engineer, I was often involved in team projects involving long and sustained coordination among employees. This required much back and forth oral communication while we worked. I only really started having experience with virtual teams and virtual collaboration once I was enrolled in the MLIS program. Thankfully, I had many chances to participate in group/team projects over the course of my time in the MLIS program. This has helped to strengthen my written communication skills and given me experience in navigating virtual collaboration and presentation projects.

References:

Bergiel, B. J., Bergiel, E. B., & Balsmeier, P. W. (2008). Nature of virtual teams: A summary of their advantages and disadvantages. Management Research News, 31(2), 99-110. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01409170810846821

Deetz, S. A., Tracy, S. J., & Simpson, J. L. (1999). Leading organizations through transition: Communication and cultural change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Fraser-Arnott, M. (2013). Library and information science (LIS) transferable competencies. The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, 8(2), 1-32. Retrieved from https://doaj.org/

Evidence:

1. Info 261A Ground Rules Chart (Group Project)

The first piece of evidence that I am submitting for competency M is a team assignment from Info 261A (Young Adult Services). This was the first assignment of a three-part project. Including myself, there were two other members on the team. For this assignment, all three of us collaborated together on the text; although I was the person who ultimately edited the text for clarity, to summarize any recurring points, and to correct any spelling/grammar errors. I was also responsible for turning the assignment in to the professor.

This assignment was essentially a written document of ground rules that we (as a team) all agreed to abide by. It was intended to lay out the responsibilities and roles of each team member. It was also a document that included a rough outline of deadlines and steps to be taken if a team member was underperforming/not fulfilling their responsibilities. To create this document, my teammates and I met over Blackboard Collaborate, and spoke to each other through microphones while we edited this document in Google Docs. This document took us roughly an hour to create because it was a collaborative effort—we did not “finish” until everyone was satisfied with the guidelines that had been written down.

We made sure to be as detailed as possible in our ground rules document to ensure that there would be no misunderstandings or misinterpretations. This establishes our ability to communicate our intentions clearly through written text. Our ground rules document also stressed regular and timely communication with one another since we would mostly be conversing through written, asynchronous means. Regular communication is needed for effective communication in virtual teams. All of these points and the creation of this document demonstrate our communication and collaboration skills in a written medium. It also serves as an example of the importance of communication skills for information professionals in a collaborative environment.

I have removed access to this document due to privacy reasons.

2. Info 266 Top Ten Library Improvement Picks (Group Presentation)

My second piece of evidence is a group presentation from Info 266 (Collections Management). For this assignment, my teammates and I were tasked with creating a presentation for a “Mr. Moneybags” who would be giving us money to help us improve our library. (Our library was essentially a “fictional” one as it did not really exist, but we did use experiences/real data from our local libraries for this presentation.) We had to choose ten areas for improvement and make a convincing argument for why these specific areas of our library needed improving. I was personally responsible for creating and presenting slides 3 to 7, which focused on the improvement of the Asian foreign language collection and the implementation of a proper teen space. However, I also helped to edit and put the entire PowerPoint together. We presented this live to our professor through Blackboard Collaborate.

I communicated clearly during this presentation by delving into more detail than what my slides showed, to articulate just why these improvements were needed. I used the Collaborate pointers (i.e. the little pointing hand icons) to point out anything specific in the slideshow photos while I presented. I communicated respectfully by talking in a professional tone, and I avoided slipping into casual language or colloquialisms. All of these points establish my ability to communicate effectively to stakeholder(s) during a presentation. Additionally, this presentation establishes my ability to collaborate with others on a large presentation project. In the weeks leading up to our live presentation, my teammates and I regularly met up to run through the entire presentation (orally) as practice.

To summarize, this piece of evidence showcases my skills in oral communication, collaboration, and presentation. It is also an example of how important communication skills are to information professionals if they want to advocate for areas of improvement in their library. For these reasons, I submit this presentation to demonstrate my mastery of competency M.

Due to privacy reasons, I have decided to omit our oral presentation recording. However, I am able to include the set of slides that I created for this presentation. They can be found in the PowerPoint file below.

3. Info 281-14 Recorded Group Meeting

My final piece of evidence is a group meeting that occurred in my Info 281-14 (Examination of Global Library Issues Using Project Based Learning) class. This was a meeting that we had in the presence of our professor to discuss the results of a team assignment. We used Blackboard Collaborate for the audio and chat functions, but we were all looking at a document on Google Docs. For this particular team assignment, we were all responsible for conducting background research on a specific topic related to library collection development in Guatemala. I was responsible for doing research on the Guatemalan school curriculum, how Guatemalan libraries typically acquired books, and what books they already had. In this team meeting, I had to “present” my research findings to my teammates and the professor. My parts in the audio go from 0:00 to 25:00.

This recorded meeting establishes my ability to communicate orally on a collaborative project. When I presented the findings of my research, I made sure to communicate clearly: I clarified important points (an example of this is when I made sure to explain that I was quoting from a source at around 1:14); regularly asked my teammates if they had any questions, and read chat questions aloud before I answered them. I communicated respectfully to my teammates by talking in a semi-casual manner—it was not an official presentation so there was no need to be overly formal. I also showed my respect by pausing throughout my presentation to give my teammates the chance to type any question or opinions they had into the chat box. This was only one meeting out of many that my teammates and I had in the Info 281-14 class. We had regularly scheduled weekly meetings as we worked towards the completion of our final project, which helped to remind us of our individual responsibilities as well as stay on track of deadlines. It is for these reasons that I submit this piece of evidence to demonstrate my oral communication and collaboration skills.

I have removed the audio recording of this meeting due to privacy reasons. However, the notes that I had created for this meeting can be found as an MS Word document below.

Conclusion:

Even before my time in the MLIS program, I had realized how important communication was—not only when speaking to clients, but also when collaborating with coworkers. As an aspiring public librarian, I am aware that I will likely have to communicate with a diverse array of individuals in my work. I personally believe that communication skills are best honed through constant practice. Thus, I will continually practice communicating clearly and respectfully to library users and coworkers. It is likely that I may make a few mistakes at first, but it is only from these mistakes that I can learn the nuances of effective communication.