ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


J u n e  1 9 9 3 / 3 1 7

M akin g  e v e ry  new  hire count
The Cataloging Services Department at the 
University of Virginia Library has experimented 
with an approach to hiring that seeks to bring 
each new  employee into the best possible lear­
ning environment. We wanted to make the 
socialization and training more effective by 
empowering existing staff to take responsibil­
ity for the success of new  employees.

The program involves working with exist­
ing staff before the employee arrives. The main 
com ponents are (1) including staff in the hir­
ing and orientation process and (2) assisting 
staff in analyzing how  they influence new  em ­
ployees and what they can do to ensure their 
success.

Staff are included on search committees for 
new  hires or meet with candidates during in­
terviews. Staff are also involved in preparing 
orientation/training programs. We use a broad 
base of trainers and have found many ben­
efits, one being the shared responsibility the 
trainers take.

We schedule a meeting before the em ­
ployee arrives to go over last minute details 
o f the orientation. At those meetings we have 
presented the ideas of Fairfield-Sonn (“Work 
G roup Reactions to New Members: Tool or 
Trap in Making Selection Decisions?,” Public 
Personnel M anagement, Winter 1984), w ho

physical condition or w hose uncertain future 
access necessitates urgent attention. Grants of 
u p  to $20,000 are available to cover travel 
($2,800) living expenses (not to exceed $1,250/ 
month) and research expenses. Although the 
first application deadline was May 11, 1993, 
proposals will be reviewed at bi-monthly dead­
lines, subject to availability of funds. Contact 
NEH at (202) 606-8210 or e-mail: nehres®- 
gw uvm .gw u.edu with “archival research” in 
the subject line.

Springer journal p re v ie w  service
Springer-Verlag is offering the table of contents 
and article abstracts of 30 scientific journals via 
Internet three to six w eeks before publication 
of the printed journal. Access to the table of 
contents is free; access to the abstracts is avail­
able for a $20 annual fee payable only by credit 
card. This offer is not available to commercial 
information suppliers. The aim of this two-year

developed a model for predicting the initial 
reactions of a group to a new  member.

He examined two dimensions: group recep­
tivity (how open or closed a group is to the new 
member) and position placement (how much 
power the new member exerts on the group— 
e.g., boss or peer). Based on these two dimen­
sions Fairfield-Sonn predicted four reactions: 
nurturance (open group/boss position), accept­
ance (open group/peer position), confrontation 
(closed group, boss position) and avoidance 
(closed group/peer position).

We ask the group to develop strategies 
which will lead to an open group response, 
thereby encouraging the “nurturance" and “ac­
ceptance" reactions. Discussion of these strat­
egies has a tendency to reinforce positive be­
h av io rs an d  allo w  a s e n se  o f co llectiv e 
responsibility to develop.

With this approach new  staff members have 
been acclimated to the work and social envi­
ronm ent in a m anner that encourages success. 
We tailor the program to the group, but al­
ways include these elements: involve staff in 
the selection process, assign as many staff as 
possible for training and orientation, and work 
with existing staff to develop their sense of 
collective responsibility.— Susanne Glass, Uni­
versity o f  Virginia

project is to prom ote rapid scientific exchange 
electronically. The address of the mailserver is 
svjps@dhdspri6 (inbinet/earn). Send an e-mail 
message consisting of the w ord “help” to ob­
tain detailed information about the service and 
how  to take advantage of the offer. ■

Compile a subject list of 
Internet resources
C&RL News w ould like to print brief subject 
lists o f Internet resources such as the one 
prepared by Jeanne Brown on architecture 
studies that appeared on page 189 of the 
April 1993 issue. If you are interested in pre­
paring a brief list in your area of expertise 
contact: Mary Ellen Davis, Editor & Pub­
lisher, C&RL News, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, 
IL 6 0 6 ll or e-mail: U38398@uicvm.uic.edu.

gwuvm.gwu.edu
gwuvm.gwu.edu
mailto:U38398@uicvm.uic.edu