One of the highlights of my conference experience at
Internet@Schools West was hearing Ken Haycock. He has been a library hero of
mine since the 1990’s, and his wisdom about the need for us to be our own
advocates has been a major contribution for longer than that. I looked forward
to his presentation with high hopes, and of course he did not disappoint.
He stated that he’s been researching why cuts are made to
school libraries and what to do about it. We should think about how we
advocate, with full knowledge that past efforts have been less than successful.
In addition to being a librarian, Ken has public school experience as a
teacher, a librarian, an administrator, and a school board member. He knows
about public schools. One striking thing he said was that when principals hear
the words “librarian” and “advocate” in the same sentence, they run in the
opposite direction. Yes, we have all those studies that show that strong
library programs result in improved standardized test scores. And more such
studies are underway, and likely to strengthen this claim. The problem is,
other programs that are in danger of being cut, such as PE, music, art, etc.
ALSO have studies. Their passion to show worth through studies is just as
strong as that of librarians. He also
noted that even armed with these studies librarians continue to find their
programs threatened. He shared the adage that doing the same thing over and
over and expecting different results is folly.
With this in mind, Haycock has been researching different
ways to advocate. If we are going to use the studies, we need to stress that
the important component is not the library facility or collection. We need to
impress that a certified and committed LIBRARIAN is what is invaluable. He went
on to share some other ways to approach advocacy. First, he suggested that you
make a chart with four columns. In the first you should list all the staff in
your institution that has contact with your program. In the second column you
should rate them by influence, using words such as low, medium, high. In the
third column you should list strong supporters of your program. Then start
building strong ties with those who are at or near the top of your chart as far
as influence and support. Do not worry about the naysayers. We librarians
aren’t in position of great power but DO have enormous influence. To illustrate
this he reminded us that some librarians get followed by money wherever they
go. Such a librarian can build a great program with plenty of funding, but then
leave and go to another school. Within 2-3 years he or she will again be
heading up a library with ample funding and success.
What are these librarians doing? For one thing they are building strong ties
with their principals. He said “every principal has money in bottom drawer or
stashed away somewhere.” That may be a cliché but it’s also true. That money is
always for what they think important. Another
way to make progress with an administrator is something I have learned for
myself through experience. That is to go into any meeting with a solution in
hand. If you are going to your administrator with a request, you should also
have ready some way that the request can be expeditiously granted.
If librarians are going to keep their jobs, they need to
demonstrate and publicize their importance. Being credentialed is great but you
need to be more than “a warm body with a diploma. “ It is of utmost importance
that we are front and center proving our worth. Interestingly he said that one
thing that resonates with administrators is how librarians HELP TEACHERS. That
gets their attention even more than how they are helping kids! Thus, he said,
every teacher librarian should have two essentials:
1.
He or she should be trained for collaboration
with colleagues
2.
He or she should be trained and eager to offer
informal staff development. Principals really like to see informal staff
development via brown bag lunches, before/after school short sessions, etc.
They want to see the librarian as a leader in technology and collaboration
While the first half of his presentation was about advocacy
and kinds of advocacy, the second half was his tossing out gems of wisdom one
after another about how to improve our situation in the future. I found myself
trying to write down every single thing he said! A lot of the things he mentioned are
psychology served up with a dollop of common sense, but are often things we
forget to do. They are about gaining people’s good will and trust. This is key,
says Haycock. I am going to try to get these gems down in a bulleted list.
·
When people trust us to do what we promise, we
get more support.
·
Most principals are evaluating you by your work
with colleagues even more than with students.
·
BURY THE WORD ADVOCACY
·
Use persuasion and influence!
o
Learn how to connect agenda to that of others…you
want to connect with administrators’ agendas. If your principal wants to stress inquiry in
instruction, show how you can help with that. Ask a leader… what do you want in
two years and how can I help?
o
People do things for THEIR reasons, not
ours…understand your target.
o
Advocacy is about RESPECT. The person you are petitioning holds all the cards.
o
Advocacy is like banking. You cannot withdraw if
you never make deposit. You can’t ask for support for program about what they
don’t know, have never seen. As school board member he never once saw
librarians come to a meeting and tell the board thanks for what they do or ask for support. He
shared an anecdote about a meeting he attended where home economics teachers
were asking for support for a project. They said, “We don’t just make muffins
anymore. We prepare young people for the future with financial planning, child
raising, etc.” They got thumbs up from
the board.
o
He went on to say that during his years as a
school board member and then president, he got lots of letters with complaints,
causes, suggestions, etc. In all that time he only got THREE letters expressing
thanks. He REMEMBERS WELL those three letters and who sent them.
·
ADVOCACY IS MEANS NOT END
o
Attitude and behavior are not the same. Person
can appear to support but then cut. You want attitude to move toward behavior
o
So you need to seek who has influence and focus
on those people.
o
Also who are barriers and what do with them?
LEAD with best option, don’t save it for last.
Ask for much but tell them can make work for 1/3
·
6 UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES TO ADOPT
o
How initiate, build or repair a relationship.
THE RELATIONSHIP is the message
o
People will listen to people they like and
listen more closely
o
Reciprocity…we give back to people who we have
given to.
o
Get people to move in your direction
o
Social proof…example principals talk to each
other and do wthat others do..
o
Authority…administrators tend to listen to
people who have authority. Teachers perform to perception of what principal
wants.
o
Consistency and commitment…philosophy of
administrator and prevailing view within school or district. If principal
values inquiry, this affects all teaching. Much easier than principal who
thinks everything is in the text.
o
Scarcity is a non starter…people think
information system is rich and free. Stress your value in this environment. Again
show the need the expertise of school librarian.
·
Liking…we tend to like people like us. We like
people who praise us. Praise is most powerful when giving someone else so
object is 2nd hand. In our building position, think if you ran
someone down and it got back.
·
It works well when doing collaboration if we say
“WE and OUR” other than me/mine.
·
It’s not whether I like you but if you THINK I
like you.
·
Reciprocity—Giving gifts is important. He is not
talking about traditional gifts only. Gifts can be actions, such as
volunteering to chair a committee your principal is organizing. Gifts should be meaningful, unexpected. In
sales it is all about the relationship.
·
Introduce people. Send cards.
·
Say thank you differently. When someone thanks you, don’t say “It’s
nothing. Say I’m sure you would do the same for me…sometime…” NOTE FROM ME…I
love this tip!
·
SOCIAL PROOF…we have our challenges…get opinion
leaders to transmit information. Testimonials—get them. Show up at principal
conferences.
·
AUTHORITY…Trappings count. If you dress
professionally it makes a difference. Hang your credentials on your office
wall. Give business cards.
·
TRUSTWORTHINESS…Be secure enough to address
weakness. Don’t pretend to know everything.
·
SOPPADA… This acronym
stands for Subject, Objectives,
Present situation, Proposal, and Action. This is a template for making proposals
that he recommends.
·
CURSE OF KNOWLEDGE…if we know so much may have
trouble stating succinctly. When answering questions, don’t tell them more than
they ever want to know.
·
CORE VALUES
o
Liking/reciprocity
o
Consistency/commitment…people’s values…try to
find connections…people don’t like to portray their values.
o
Social proof
·
Sometimes we’re so desperate to work with
someone that we end up doing all the work. When working collaboratively, work should
be shared.
·
We need to focus on learning rather than access
to information. Dwindling resource is
authority, influence, of school librarian. Implication of cutting should be
stated.
·
Opportunity is everywhere--Never leave home
without it
·
The 4 Es of interacting with someone you want to
impress:
o
Establish eye contact
·
Extend hand
·
Exchange cards
·
Engage conversation
·
Follow up with your contacts using social media
·
N.E.T.W.O.R.K.
·
ITS HARDER TO CUT SOMEONE YOU KNOW
·
THANK YOU NOTES! What if you wrote one every
day?
·
LIKE the people you work with…OR MOVE ON
Two books to read:
·
Work the Pond
·
Yes! 50 scientifically way
Finally STORIES are what we need to share. He once asked
Mary Matalan and Steve Carville what they thought was importance of libraries.
THEY AGREED FOR ONCE! Mary stated that she wished more people recognized the
worth of libraries. That is what we can and must do with stories. This is more
likely than studies or statistics to gain the support we want and need. Get out
and about and tell your stories every way you can!
