ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 4 1 6 / C & R L N e w s ■ M a y 2 0 0 0 M y y e a r a s i n t e r i m news C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s S i x t h i n g s I l e a r n e d f o r f r e e b y G a i l M u n d e D u r i n g t h e 1 9 9 7 - 9 8 s c h o o l y e a r , I s e r v e d a s i n t e r i m d i r e c t o r o f a m e d i u m - s i z e d a c a d e m i c l i b r a r y . 1 T h i s w a s n o t a c a r e e r p o s ­ s i b i l i t y I h a d a n t i c i p a t e d , n o r w a s i t o n e f o r w h i c h I f e l t s u i t a b l y p r e p a r e d , g i v e n j u s t 1 8 m o n t h s ’ e x p e r i e n c e a s t h e l i b r a r y ’ s a s s o c i a t e d i r e c t o r . H o w e v e r , n o t h i n g r e a l l y p r e p a r e s a n y o n e t o a s s u m e l e a d e r s h i p o f a p a r t i c u l a r l i b r a r y , a s e a c h i s a s u n i q u e a s i t s p a r e n t u n i ­ v e r s i t y a n d i t s f a c u l t y b o d y . W i t h t h e l i b r a r y ’ s f a c u l t y a n d s t a f f , I b e ­ g a n t o a d a p t t o t h e d i r e c t o r ’ s a n n o u n c e m e n t i n A u g u s t t h a t h e w o u l d b e l e a v i n g a m o n t h l a t e r . I n t h e d i v i s i o n o f A c a d e m i c A f f a i r s a t E a s t C a r o l i n a U n i v e r s i t y , a p e r s o n w h o a g r e e s t o s e r v e i n a n i n t e r i m p o s i t i o n m a y n o t a p p l y f o r t h a t p o s i t i o n , t h e r a t i o n a l e b e i n g t h a t a n o n c a n d i d a t e i n t e r i m i s n o t t e m p t e d t o u s e t h e t i m e t o “ a u d i t i o n ” o r b a r g a i n f o r t h e a d ­ v a n t a g e o f s u p p o r t f r o m t h e f a c u l t y , a n d t h e r e b y r e m a i n s f r e e t o m a k e t h e i n e v i t a b l e u n p o p u l a r d e c i s i o n s . I d o u b t t h i s a r r a n g e m e n t i s t h e n o r m , b u t i n m y c a s e i t s e r v e d n o t i c e t o a l l t h a t n e i t h e r d i d I w i s h t o b e a c a n d i d a t e , n o r w a s t h e r e a n y b u t t h e f a i n t e s t c h a n c e t h a t I m i g h t b e ­ c o m e d i r e c t o r b y d e f a u l t , s h o u l d t h e v a c a n c y b e c o m e u n d u l y p r o l o n g e d t h r o u g h f a i l e d s e a r c h e s . K n o w i n g t h i s t o b e a r a r e l e a r n i n g o p p o r ­ t u n i t y , I o f f e r t h e s e r e f l e c t i o n s o n m y y e a r a s i n t e r i m t o t h o s e w h o m a y b e , o r m a y b e ­ c o m e , i n t e r i m d i r e c t o r s , a n d a l s o i n t h e h o p e o f b e i n g u s e f u l t o t h o s e w h o a r e c o n s i d e r i n g d i r e c t o r s h i p a s a c a r e e r g o a l . 1 T h e i n t e r i m d i r e c t o r n e v e r s l e e p s . W e l l , h a r d l y e v e r . I w a s u s e d t o w o r k i n g l o n g h o u r s , b u t n o t a c r o s s s u c h s u s t a i n e d p e r i o d s o f t i m e . B e c a u s e i t w a s a p a r t i c u l a r l y b u s y y e a r ( o r i t s e e m e d s o ) , t h e r e w a s n o l e t t i n g u p a n d n o r e a l t i m e a w a y f r o m t h e o f f i c e . I w a s s u r p r i s e d t o f i n d t h e w o r k m u c h m o r e e x h a u s t i n g a n d s t r e s s f u l , e v e n t h e f a ­ m i l i a r t a s k s , t h a n t h a t o f a n a s s o c i a t e d i r e c ­ t o r . L o o k i n g b a c k , I w i s h I h a d b e e n i n b e t t e r p h y s i c a l s h a p e a n d h a d m o r e s t a m i n a , a n d I w i s h I h a d d e l e g a t e d m o r e . A t t h e t i m e I t h o u g h t I h a d t o d o e v e r y t h i n g p e r s o n a l l y ; t h a t i t m i g h t b e p e r c e i v e d a s w e a k n e s s o r l a c k o f w i l l i f I d i d n o t a s s u m e c o m p l e t e r e ­ s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r e v e r y o n e a n d e v e r y t h i n g . I k n o w t h i s n o w t o b e t h e m i s t a k e o f a r o o k i e . T h e i n t e r i m h a s a s h o r t t i m e f r a m e i n w h i c h t o p r o v e h e r o r h i s m e t t l e , b u t n e e d s t o r e s i s t t h e u r g e t o b e a l l a n d d o a l l . R o m e r e a l l y w a s n ’ t b u i l t i n a d a y , o r e v e n i n a s c h o o l y e a r . 2 A c c e p t i n g a n i n t e r i m d i r e c t o r s h i p r e ­ q u i r e s t h a t o n e s t e p i n t o t h e b r e e c h . Y o u a s s u m e f i n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , b u t o n l y f o r a l i m i t e d t i m e . T h i s b r e v e t s t a t u s f o r c e s t h e i n t e r i m t o d e a l w i t h t h e s h o r t - t e r m a n d e m e r ­ g e n c y n e e d s , b u t n o t t o m a k e d e c i s i o n s t h a t w i l l h a v e l o n g - t e r m o r p e r m a n e n t e f f e c t , o r c o m m i t t h e b u d g e t m u c h b e y o n d a f i s c a l y e a r . T h e i n t e r i m i s r e s t r i c t e d t o m a k i n g o n l y t h o s e p r o m i s e s t h a t c a n b e d e l i v e r e d i m m e d i a t e l y a n d t o s e t t i n g o n l y t h o s e g o a l s t h a t c a n b e m e t s w i f t l y . About the author G a il M u n d e is a s s o c ia te d i r e c t o r o f A c a d e m ic L i b r a r y S e rv ic e s a t E a s t C a r o lin a U n iv e r s ity , e - m a il: m u n d e g @ m a il. e c u . e d u mailto:mundeg@mail.ecu.edu C & R L N e w s ■ M a y 2 0 0 0 / 4 1 7 This binds the interim to w h a t m a n y s ee as the less-rew ardin g and routine tasks o f lea d er­ ship, i.e., d ea lin g w ith the d ay-to-d ay p e rs o n ­ nel p ro b le m s and disputes, w h ic h take up a s h o ck in g am ou n t o f tim e and en ergy; a p p r o v ­ ing n on recu rrin g exp en d itu res o f the o p e ra t­ ing budget; and adjusting existin g p o lic y to fit the conditions w ithout m aking radical changes. I n ev e r g o t o v e r the k n o w le d g e that I w a s n ’t the “real d irecto r” in terms o f the w o r k that “real d irectors” do: casting a clear v isio n o f w h e r e the library shou ld g o and h o w it sh ou ld g e t there, and gettin g e v e r y o n e to g o a lo n g o n the trip. This w o u ld b e the jo b o f s o m e o n e w h o existed o n ly as a c o v e r letter and vita in the g r o w in g stack o f applications fo r o u r o p e n position; and I felt duty-bou nd, n o matter h o w s o rely I w a s tem pted, to m a k e o n ly th ose d e ­ cisions that w o u ld not tie the hands o f the d irector yet to co m e. This special caretaker status, this “le a d in g in lim b o ,” is the hallm ark o f the interim e x p e ­ rience. E ven those w h o serve as interim w h ile th ey are candidates fo r the p ositio n risk “crash and b u rn ” if th ey act u p o n their truest vision d u rin g the interim period . 3 T h e in t e r im m a y n o t se e h e r - o r h im self as p o w erfu l, but the lib ra ry fac­ ulty an d sta ff do. T h e re m a y b e times that the interim p e r io d is seen as a fresh o p p o r tu ­ nity fo r faculty and staff to fo rw a rd their p et agendas, o r to ask that their w ish es b e gran ted b y the “fairy g o d m o t h e r ” interim. This is natu­ ral fo r th ose w ith g e n u in e and d e e p ly h eld beliefs about w h a t w o u ld im p ro v e the library’s p ositio n and services, but in s o m e cases, the attem pt to take a d va n ta ge o f substitute lea d er­ ship w a s transparent. A lth o u g h I ’m sure I w a s a d isa p p o in tm en t to som e, m ost faculty and staff w e r e sympathetic to w a rd m y position, and a d o p te d a g e n ero u s and fo r g iv in g attitude to ­ w a rd m y mistakes. 4 Speak in g o f m istakes, y o u w ill m ake them . In fact, y o u w ill d is c o v e r y o u r w eakn esses and inadequacies v ery quickly, just as if y o u had taken a crash cou rse titled, “For­ g e t T h in k in g E very th in g Y o u T h o u g h t Y o u K n e w A b o u t H o w to B e the D irector.” A s in­ terim, y o u m a y as w e ll resign y o u rs e lf to this, fo rg iv e y o u rself in advance, and re c o g n iz e that, m ost likely, there w ill b e n o next tim e to “d o it right” during the tenure as interim. O d d ly en o u gh , this w a s the m ost re w a rd ­ ing part o f the interim e x p e r ie n c e fo r m e, and the m ost aggravating. Y o u learn fro m the m is­ takes im m ed ia tely— in that quick, head-slap- p in g kind o f realization— b u t y o u w ill p r o b ­ ab ly not h a ve a s e c o n d ch a n ce to a p p ly that learning o r to dem onstrate to a n y o n e w h a t you h a ve learned. Y o u m a y b e lie v e y o u lo o k like a d o p e to e v e r y o n e , and it is frustrating to b e the o n ly o n e w h o k n o w s y o u are a far w is e r d o p e than b efo re. Unfortunately, there is n o oth er w a y to b e g in learn in g the duties and respon sibili­ ties o f a d irecto r’s p osition w ith o u t actually taking th em on, but fortunately, an interim d 5 ire ctor’s position c o m es w ith s o m e insurance. Y ou h ave a p o w e rfu l n e w boss, p r o b ­ a b ly a vice c h an cello r o r vice provost, w h o w ill protect y o u fro m y o u r faculty, an d w h e n possible, fro m yourself. This p er­ son wants y o u to su cceed and appreciates you r w illin gn ess to step up and take o v e r w h a t is the great a n o m a ly a m o n g the sch ools and c o l­ le g es in a c a d e m e — the library. T h e library director is a difficult va ca n cy to fill o n an interim basis, and o n e fo r w h ic h there is n o c o g n a te d epartm en t o r s c h o o l from w h ic h to d ra w an interim, unless there h a p ­ p en s to b e a s ch o o l o f library and in form ation science. T h e interim director must c o m e from an oth er d ivision library, such health sciences o r m ed icin e, the library sch ool, o r fro m the a ca d em ic library itself. T h is n e w b oss sh o u ld o ffe r as a m inim u m , p ro te c tio n an d su p p o rt fo r the in terim library director. In m y institution, the v ic e c h a n c e l­ lo r fo r a c a d e m ic affairs, to w h o m the library d ire c to r reports, w a s e x t r e m e ly gra cio u s and t o o k pains to p r o v id e m e w ith e v e r y o p p o r ­ tunity fo r e x p o s u r e to, an d p a rticip a tion in, the d a y -to -d a y business o f a c a d e m ic affairs. H e p r o v id e d w h a t a m o u n te d to an in tern ­ ship e x p e r ie n c e b y in c lu d in g m e in all aca­ d e m ic affairs m eetin g s, d e a n s ’ an d d ire c to rs ’ d elib era tio n s, u n iversity adm in istrative c o u n ­ cil m eetin g s, an d all c e r e m o n ia l an d social occasions. I w a s a b le to m a k e an d retain v a lu ­ a b le relation sh ips across the u n iversity that w o u ld n ot n ecessa rily h a v e b e e n p o ssib le, o r e v e n a p p ro p ria te , in m y ro le as an a ssoci­ ate library director. (c o n tin u e d on p a g e 4 2 0 ) 4 2 0 / C & R L N e w s ■ M a y 2 0 0 0 to w r ite about. T h is short p ro c e s s takes the student o n e step c lo ser to in tegratin g the v a ri­ ou s sou rces t h e y ’v e read. I f this w o r k in g b ib ­ lio g r a p h y w e r e p a ir e d u p w it h a statem en t o u tlin e , th e stu d en t can a g a in cut a n d paste th e s u p p o r tin g n o te s o r q u o ta tio n s in to th e o u tlin e a n d b e g in draftin g. The plagiarism epidemic T h e o n lin e re sea rch e n v ir o n m e n t s e e m s to h a v e o p e n e d th e d o o r to a n e w w a v e o f p la gia rism p ro b le m s . A la rger p r o b le m is that o ft e n students d o n o t k n o w th e y are p la g ia ­ riz in g w h e n th e y s im p ly restate s o m e t h in g t h e y ’v e read w it h o u t p r o v id in g th e s o u rc e o f th e in fo rm a tio n . M a k in g students a w a r e o f p la g ia ris m a n d h o w to a v o id it is an im p o rta n t part o f te a c h ­ in g th e m th e eth ics o f research . O n e w a y o f d o in g this m ig h t b e to r e q u ir e students to turn in a w o r k in g b ib lio g r a p h y in w h ic h th e y list th e ir so u rc es im m e d ia te ly f o l l o w e d b y th e n otes, q u o ta tio n s , o r q u estio n s. Students m ig h t also b e e n c o u r a g e d to th in k o f this part o f th e p ro c e s s as w r it in g d o w n w h a t t h e y h a v e le a r n e d fr o m e a c h so u rce. A n y ­ tim e th e y h a v e le a r n e d s o m e th in g n e w , th e y s h o u ld g i v e p r o p e r c red it to that s o u rc e in th e fin a l p ap er. T h is g iv e s students th e o p ­ p o r tu n ity to s ep a ra te th eir o w n a rgu m en ts a n d c o n c l u s i o n s f r o m t h e i n f o r m a t i o n g le a n e d th ro u g h r e s e a r c h .1 D e v e l o p i n g th e resea rch h abit o f w r it in g fr o m a w o r k i n g b ib lio g r a p h y w ill tea ch stu­ den ts to use t e c h n o lo g y to d o b etter research a n d w ritin g . In this case, t e c h n o lo g y is actu ­ a lly u s e d to e n g a g e the critical th in k in g skills students n e e d to b e e ff e c t iv e w riters a n d re ­ search ers. Note 1. B a sic g u id e lin e s fo r c re a tin g a w o r k ­ in g b ib lio g r a p h y can b e fo u n d in th e M LA H a n d b o o k f o r W riters o f Research Papers, 5th ed . ( N e w Y o rk : M o d e r n L a n g u a g e A s s o c ia ­ tio n o f A m e ric a , 1999) ■ ( “M y y e a r . . cont. f r o m p a g e 4 1 7 ) T h is w a s an irre p la c e a b le o p p o r tu n ity to step o u tsid e the lib rary p r o p e r an d c o n s id e r its ro le and rank w ith in the university’s greater structure, as w e ll as to m e e t an d learn fr o m e x p e r ie n c e d c o lle a g u e s w h o w e r e n ot librar­ ians. 6 T h e p la y in g fie ld b e c o m e s the u n i­ versity, n ot the lib ra ry . O n e d e c is io n y o u h a v e to m a k e a b o u t w h e t h e r y o u aspire to b e in g a “ p e r m a n e n t ” lib rary d ir e c to r is w h e th e r y o u w a n t to s w im in this much, m u ch la rger p o n d . I f y o u e n jo y the c h a lle n g e s an d r e w a r d s o f lib ra ria n s h ip p e r se, th e n th e d ir e c to r ’s r o le m a y n o t b e o n e y o u s h o u ld seek. H a v in g b e e n associate d ire c to r to t w o d irectors a n d h a v in g s e r v e d as in terim d ir e c ­ tor, this d esire to o p e r a te o n a b r o a d e r fie ld see m s to m e the singu lar d iffe r e n c e b e t w e e n b e in g an associate d ire c to r an d b e in g th e d i­ rector. Skill, k n o w le d g e , e x p e r ie n c e an d p r e p a ­ ration are im portant prerequisites, but the true m ark o f a d ire c to r is that sh e o r h e is n o t h a p p ie s t in a n y o th e r role. It so u n d s alm ost t o o sim p le, but I ’d b e t that m ost library d i­ rectors w o u ld say that d irec to rs h ip has b e e n th eir c a re er g o a l right fr o m lib rary s ch o o l. T h e “v is io n th in g ” is n ot just h y p e. It is real a n d im m u ta ble to the p e rs o n w h o is o n ly fu lfille d w h e n crea tin g that w h ic h d o e s n ’t exist, rather than w h e n m a n a g in g that w h ic h a lre a d y exists. I r e c o m m e n d the interim e x p e r ie n c e w ith ­ o u t re se rv a tio n to all w h o w o u l d aspire. T h e o p p o r tu n ity c o m e s a lo n g rarely in o n e ’s ca ­ re e r an d it sh o u ld n ot b e m issed. F o r m e, it w a s a le a rn in g e x p e r ie n c e fo r w h ic h th ere can b e n o substitute, an irre p la c e a b le cou rse in s e lf- d is c o v e r y an d a c h a n ce to m easu re m y s e lf against the larger yardstick. Note 1. East C arolin a U n iv ersity is a con stitu ent institution o f th e U n iv ersity o f N o rth C a ro ­ lin a s y s te m a n d s e r v e s an e n r o llm e n t o f 17,800 students. A c a d e m ic Library S ervices consists o f the m a in library, J o y n e r Library, a n d a bran ch M usic Library. D u rin g this p e ­ riod, the c o lle c tio n size w a s 1,030,000 v o l ­ um es/5,500 p e r io d ic a l su bscription s an d the library e m p l o y e d 27 fa cu lty m e m b e rs a n d 76 s t a f f m e m b e r s . T h e l i b r a r y is m a n a g e d c o lle g ia lly b y the d irec to r an d a te n u re d fa c ­ ulty b o d y a c c o r d in g to the Faculty M anu al a n d th e lib ra ry’s C o d e o f O p era tio n s. ■