Author: Tony Zanders

• Becoming Layoff-Proof

  There’s no nice way to say you’re eliminating positions that shouldn’t have existed in the first place. But the fact is that growth across many industries was a response to social trends rather than actual consumer or client demand. The antidote is to not conflate whatever society is angry about that day with why you’re being paid. And if you’re being paid because society is angry that day, start developing demonstrable skills with proven demand.

  Being laid off in 2009 taught me this the hard way. I graduated in 2007 double majoring in Philosophy and English following parental advice to “just get your degree”. Fortunately they also said “you’re a grown man” once I left for college. So I had to figure it out on my own. Studying philosophy taught me how to think, how to navigate ambiguity, and how to not give up in pursuit of large questions. English taught me to write effectively, communicate ideas persuasively, and tell stories with an end goal in mind. But neither insulated me from layoffs.

  It was late nights teaching myself not just how to write on wordpress, but the HTML, CSS, website hosting, and domain configuration to build my own websites. Not just assembling PowerPoints with templates, but teaching myself the Adobe products to create my own graphics.

  

  I viewed these skills as just a hobby, not knowing how to add them to my resume without them being used in any job I had. One day however, they came in handy when my employer was struggling to communicate their value proposition while competing for a $7M RFP. It was all everyone was talking about around the office for weeks, and impossible not to feel the energy of how historic the opportunity was. While it was outside of the scope of my job, and without considering additional pay, I took it upon myself to put these skills to use.

  I developed a series of microsites on a custom domain, configured it to be indexed by Google, and began to embed all of the videos and PDFs the marketing department produced but hid behind a login — all before our company had a Product Marketing role or department.

  

  

  I’m sure there were things in the news that would’ve angered me, especially as a Black man. But I’ve never been an advocate of “bringing my whole self to work”, especially when I wasn’t being paid to be. For many including me, work, specifically the office, served as a respite from that. Understanding my company’s goals, and asking myself how could I better help them achieve them, gave me the ideas to play my role in helping us make history for our company, our customers, and our shareholders. That single decision changed my professional and financial trajectory.

  This is also why I’m an opponent of remote work. So many impromptu opportunities for personal growth, development that directly leads to income mobility take place at the office. Slack will never replace this. It’s hard to ask for a “seat at the table” from your living room. It’s also why I believe strongly in democratizing skill development. While we can’t manufacture ambition, we can ensure those who possess it aren’t stifled by antiquated products or policies.

  2023.01.21

• On Imposter Syndrome in Libraries

  Skills inoculate us from imposter syndrome. Consider basketball. Guards aren’t intimidated by forwards because we understand how our role complements theirs and why our unique skills are needed. It’s only when you’re the towel guy or some made up role where you’re intimidated.

  Librarians are only intimidated by researchers if they lack real skills and have to pretend being something they aren’t. Those who have tangible skills such as vendor relations, data analysis, copyright, digitization (eg services researchers need) are not intimidated.

  The solution isn’t to invent roles not core to running a library to accommodate people without skills. That may work in peace time, but frivolous expenses get cut during war. If we care about people long-term, the solution is to create budget and policy for skill development.

  2022.11.14

• On Emerging Library Technology

  Though legacy library tech went cloud over the past decade, it all was built for a library that wasn’t held accountable by users and funders. As a result, it won’t help the library navigate the next decade. Emerging tech was built in response to the accountability and will.

  Emerging technology in libraries doesn’t have a category or label. It isn’t recognized by legacy media like Library Journal or Library Technology Guides. It doesn’t have an existing line item in the budget. But patrons and staff demand the library find a way to subscribe.

  Emerging library tech has seven core components developed with the perfect hindsight of its 10-20 year old legacy incumbents:

  ☁️ cloud native
  ‍️ privacy conscious
   data informed
  欄 collaborative
   socially responsible
   predictable pricing
  ️ strategically aligned

  Emerging library technology promotes new champions, groups who’s voices have been traditionally ignored or undervalued by their legacy counterparts

  • student workers
  • assessment librarians
  • HR managers/training coordinators
  • supervisors
  • professional associations
  • iSchools

  Soon, emerging technology will have its own budget, justified as an investment into the future of the organization; rather than blindly siphoning budget into legacy systems that created the situation libraries are in today simply because “we’ve always done it this way”.

  By 2030, emerging technology will have completely rewired the library org chart away from departments conceived by legacy technology, and reimagined the org chart in response to patrons and funders.

  Examples of emerging library technology include

  • Open Athens for student success
  • Lean Library for patron engagement
  • Consortia Manager for buying clubs
  • Libby for personal library collections
  • Skilltype for library talent development
  • On Cyber for online museums

  Because emerging tech requires different expertise, relationships, alliances and sources of inspiration than its legacy counterparts, it will create an entirely new ecosystem of conveners, consultants, standards bodies, and storytellers stemming from adjacent information fields.

  As with any new generation of software, emerging library technology will also face its share of detraction, critique, misunderstanding, and gatekeeping. But pandemic-induced tailwinds won’t allow it to be stopped. Opponents will simply be replaced by forward-thinking successors.

  2022.11.03

• No room for optionality

  Where we’re headed, people who hedge their bets and seek optionality when the going gets rough won’t make it. Navigating uncharted territory requires an irrational pursuit of something beyond self-preservation.

  In four short years, the ups and downs we’ve experienced writing our own startup blueprint have already proven a bit too rigorous for people merely interested in libraries or working for a startup.

  While neither are as glamorous as you think, both are more rewarding than you could imagine. Understanding your why matters, not just what you’re doing or how you’re doing it.

  Organizations that optimize against optionality outperform those who don’t. Mature industries contain a spectrum of workplace cultures to accommodate the variety of worker expectations. Given the difficulty of the task at hand for Skilltype in the library industry, we are developing an organizational culture structured to meet the vocational expectations of high performing professionals.

  This is akin to the recreational to competitive spectrum within sports. While many organizations create work environments equivalent to the YMCA or local parks and recreation department, who are the NBA, PGA, or USTA equivalents in libraries — organizations consisting of professionals who find joy and reward in the pursuit of excellence and craftsmanship?

  These are the types of organizations that must be created to make progress on the grand challenges facing the profession this decade.

  2022.08.11

• Librarianship is a savannah

  The moment library leaders no longer say “wow that’s a pretty ambitious goal” is when we know Skilltype is successful. Sure we can quantify our impact today. But until the information profession embraces the optimism that anything’s possible, there’s work to be done.

  I remember sitting in Susan & Ennio’s kitchen one morning when the first stream of possibilities hit me for the library profession. Ask anyone who knows me. They’ll be talking about something seemingly unrelated. I have to be rude, take out my phone and capture the adjacencies.

  In time, your vocation becomes a lens through which you see the world. Inspiration hits you at the most unsuspecting moments. You don’t expect everyone to relate — you appreciate them too for what they teach you. But when you find people who do, there’s no need to interview.

  This morning someone shared a podcast on whether cynicism is ruining your organization. In libraries, it’s easy to apply this question to the profession at large.

  I view cynics as a key piece to this puzzle however. Firstly, growing up how I did, cynics are extremely motivating to me. I tend to play to the level of my competition. I will conserve energy and coast if until pressure comes. Procrastinate until the paper’s due. You get it.

  The particularly vocal type of cynicism in libraries today can be overwhelming, discouraging, or downright debilitating. But it’s these environments where I operate at my best. And I now know what to look for in others who do too. We’re usually historically underrepresented.

  It’s why a part of our interview process is understanding what a potential colleague has to prove. Not for the sake of asking what they have to prove, but because our goal is so ambitious that we will need them to find the inspiration to prove it in their work.

  Cynics behave like hyenas. I remember encountering hyenas on a safari in Tanzania when I was younger. They present as friendly and will walk alongside you when alone. But can instantly become aggressive and find boldness in numbers and want to attack.

  

  Maximalists on the other hand behave like lions. They are confident unto themselves, able to peacefully coexist alongside cynics, and will only defend themselves when threatened. This lion playing and exploring the savannah is the perfect metaphor.

  The beauty of the savannah as an ecosystem is that all of these interactions, no matter how tense and uncomfortable at times, are necessary for it to evolve over time. Things expectedly get a bit chippy when the water dries up.

  The digital shift in libraries is a great migration of sorts. We should understand that not everyone will make it. But those of us who do have a responsibility to continue on in the things that sustain the profession, if for nothing else to ensure that others’ work isn’t in vain.

  So while I can’t work with them, I appreciate our community’s cynics. I respect their role and value, and find motivation in how they challenge our status quo. But it takes maturity to keep the vision in mind and understand we’ll never be the same.

  2022.08.05