Creative Staffing at Torrance Public Library
Few things
are more exhilarating to a librarian than being able to add services. So
when the City of Torrance City Council allocated the funds for his
proposal to reinstate Sunday services at the main library, Jim Buckley, Torrance City Librarian, was
delighted. As Jim says, “all cities have a multitude of demands on their
resources, and it’s a tribute to the Torrance city council that they
continually support the purpose and operations of the Library.”
As the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County and headquarters for
major employers such as Honda, Toyota, Epson, and Kubota, Torrance is a
busy segment of Southern California. The three story Katy Geissert Civic
Center Library and five neighborhood branches comprising the Torrance Public Library system contain
over 400,000 books and approximately 900 periodical subscriptions, as
well as audiocassettes, videocassettes, compact discs, books-on-tape,
pamphlets, and government documents. Computerized catalog and
checkout systems provide access to the Library's many resources.
The Library currently offers a mix of electronic and print services,
many of which can be accessed by modem from a home or office computer.
Sunday Staffing Gets Approval
With funding and official approval from the City, Jim turned to the
many operational details that would need to be addressed. Because of the
finite nine-month term and Sunday hours, staffing the three story main
library would not be easy. Senior members of Jim’s staff, led by Paula
Weiner and Norm Reeder, Library Programs Administrators, prepared a
request for proposal (RFP) detailing the staffing requirements, skill
levels of the various positions, and vendor responsibilities including
insurance requirements and human resources policies. Having provided
project staffing at a number of public libraries since being founded in
1984, AIM was able to respond to the RFP quickly and with great
specificity. After some fine tuning, AIM representatives appeared before
the City Council to answer final questions and AIM was approved as the
provider of Torrance Library’s Sunday staffing.
AIM searched its comprehensive database of pre-screened, qualified
candidates to assemble a project team of professional librarians and
paraprofessionals. Due to the length of time and the number of Sundays
involved, Belinda Beardt, AIM Regional Manager, identified backups for
each of the positions. After some discussions with the Library’s
collective bargaining unit, the proposed schedule was posted and
existing library personnel were allowed to bid for shifts, according to
seniority. Once the Torrance employees had made their selections,
Belinda filled in the unclaimed shifts with AIM employees and prepared a
master schedule.
Managing a Seamless Operation
Next to be addressed was training. Since the staff would be working on
Sunday with only one Torrance supervisor on duty, it was imperative that
everyone be thoroughly familiar with their jobs and the resources at
their disposal. The Torrance Library management had done an outstanding
job of preparing staff unfamiliar with the Library. A 77-page
operations manual for each person was prepared. They also budgeted
for two orientation/training sessions for the whole staff, enabling
everyone to meet together and gather answers. “It made everything
go so smoothly,” recounts Belinda.
Marketing, an increasingly important part of every librarian’s job, had
not been overlooked. An announcement was put on the Torrance Library web
site. Bookmarks with the information about the expanded services were
provided to library patrons in the months leading up to the start of the
service.
Following
the first Sunday opening, each week brought its own set of
rewards and challenges. Belinda had to modify the work schedule almost
every week to accommodate family emergencies and illness among both the
Torrance and AIM staff. Being a public library meant having to deal with
the occasional visitor who would not abide by the Library’s rules and
policies. Students with homework questions reminded the staff just how
much more complex school is now than in prior years.
Communication and Flexibility
are Key
Each new project allows AIM the opportunity to build on its experience
while encountering new situations. In this case, it was being
responsible for Sunday services using a blended staff of existing
library personnel and AIM employees. As is almost always the case,
communication and flexibility were the keys to making this project a
success. Jim and his staff always took the time to alert AIM to changes
as soon as they developed, and AIM returned the courtesy. As Jim
graciously put it, “Your flexibility and the many adjustments that you
made helped us greatly.” The result was a win-win-win for the patrons,
Torrance Library staff, and AIM.
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