Leadership

Welcome...

mash — Sun, 04 May 2008 10:16:29 -0600

I have been writing a weekly newspaper column since 1987.

For 3 years, it ran in the Greeley Tribune. Since then, it has run in various subsidiaries of the Douglas County News Press. I still have most of my columns in digital format.

For many years, I only gave myself one rule: try to work the word "library" into every piece. My intent was to think in public about just what librarianship means at the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st.

February 25, 2010 - a new deal for schools and libraries

Jamie LaRue — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:12:31 -0700

After the 2008 election losses, followed by a recession, the Douglas County School District and the Douglas County Libraries had some cuts to make.

The school district chose to eliminate all of its subscription databases -- information resources offered over the Internet. At the same time, the library was looking at trimming its own subscriptions.

So we did something that doesn't happen very often between schools and libraries. We got together to talk about it. Library staff analyzed the cost per use of our subscriptions. Then we asked our colleagues at school libraries to tell us which resources were most useful for student assignments.

February 4, 2010 - Wanted: library trustee

Jamie LaRue — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:05:09 -0700

February 4, 2010 - WANTED: LIBRARY TRUSTEE

Job Title: Library Trustee, a member of the governing Board of the Douglas
County Libraries. There are seven Trustees in total. This appointment fills the vacancy of Stevan Strain, whose term ran through the end of January 2011.

Residency requirements: must live in Commissioner District I, which encompasses the Northeast area of the county. The Commissioner representing this area is Jack Hilbert.

Qualifications: Must believe in the value of strong public library services to the citizens of Douglas County. The Douglas County Libraries is an equal opportunity employer, committed to a vision of a vital and literate community.

January 7, 2010 - build your business at the library

Jamie LaRue — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:51:43 -0700

Byline: The BizInfo Librarians at the Douglas County Libraries

One year ago, Douglas County Libraries launched a service called BizInfo as a way to support the business research needs of entrepreneurs and small businesses in Douglas County. “This initiative is one of the ways that Douglas County Libraries is demonstrating its commitment to adding value to our communities in measurable ways,” says Rochelle Logan, Associate Director of Douglas County Libraries and the project lead.

August 20, 2009 - health care plenty scary right now

Jamie LaRue — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:20:19 -0600

Last week, on vacation, I drove down to Salida to see a friend. In the park across from the library was a health care protest. In tone, it was much like the many wild emails I've gotten lately about the scary takeover of medical care by big government.

I don't claim to be an expert. But speaking as an administrator of a public agency, I can tell you this: it's scary right now.

According to an article in the Washington Post (January 25, 2009), "A growing number of workers in 2009 will pay more for health benefits -- and in some cases receive less coverage -- as their employers grapple with the financial fallout of rising medical expenses and diminished revenue and profits."

July 16, 2009 - DCL is number one!

Jamie LaRue — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:21:38 -0600

Two years ago, it took an average of 48 hours for materials returned to the library to make their way back to the shelf.

That's not surprising. Over the past five years, checkouts have jumped by 98% in Douglas County. More materials means more handling.

But I work with some remarkably insightful and innovative people. Case in point: my Associate Director of Virtual Services, Bob Pasicznyuk, put together a team that eventually involved almost everybody in the library and a good many community volunteers. That team tested, selected, and installed RFID tags, self-check stations, and behind-the-scene sorting systems.

In the past TWO years, we've seen a 31% jump in checkouts. That's almost a million new transactions every year. At the same time, since January of this year we've had a hiring freeze, thus we employ fewer people than last year.

And now it takes just 2 hours to get materials back on the shelf. In some locations, we have it down to 45 minutes.

July 9, 2009 - library hosts small business forum

Jamie LaRue — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:28:55 -0600

Many people, I'm sure you will be astonished to learn, are more interested in themselves than they are in others.

One of the marks of maturity, however, is this: you begin to notice that all our lives are interdependent. That is, an environment where many people thrive is better for you in the long run than one that's just set up for your immediate convenience.

December 4, 2008 - back up to move forward

Jamie LaRue — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:55:14 -0700

Back in my early twenties, I had an unusually vivid dream. I was driving a car, when suddenly, a big concrete wall loomed up in front of me. Crash!

For a moment, I was stunned, stopped, horrified. Then, I gradually realized that I wasn't bleeding. Nothing was broken. I put the car in reverse, and slowly backed up. Everything seemed to be working. I pulled forward around the blockade. And woke up.

The meaning was clear enough. Back then, I had a gift for making spectacularly bad romantic choices. The dream was about another breakup ... that I survived.

I find the image apt for the 2008 library election. Crash! - 52.6% of the county voted down a mill levy increase.

Castle Pines North voted for the mill levy increase at 62%. Parker approved it at 51%. Highlands Ranch and Lone Tree came in at 48%; Castle Rock at 43%, and Roxborough at 38%. But despite regional differences, the total is what matters.

The library was on the road to keeping pace with growth and demand. And after two attempts to make that case to the voters, I think we have to assume that the community has spoken. That road is blocked.

November 27 - what and who is next?

Jamie LaRue — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:31:33 -0700

Many months ago now, I attended a couple of meetings with the deans of two library schools.

We library directors had some ideas about the desirable skill sets of new graduates. The deans were eager to hear from us what public libraries were looking for these days.

After a while, I started to feel a little sorry for the deans. It turns out that all we wanted them to do was give us smart, emotionally intelligent, and experienced project managers who not only had a good handle on their own high ethics and professional standards, but also inspired others to be as good as they were.

To put it another way, what we wanted couldn't be simpler. We just wanted them to guarantee that we would never make a hiring mistake again.

The problem, of course, is that such an expectation is utterly unreasonable. No matter how good any new professional may be, the hiring organization still bears a lot of responsibility.

Professional programs impart a body of theory. They provide an introduction to a career.

The library provides something else: the real career.

October 2, 2008 - it's a good life

Jamie LaRue — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:51:02 -0600

I recently returned from the Illinois Library Association in Chicago, where I had the privilege of giving the keynote address. I was raised in that area and began my career there. So I had the chance to see a lot of old friends, colleagues, and early professional influences.

One of those influences was Dr. Fred Schlipf. Several decades ago now, I took an administrative practicum with him. He was then the director of the Urbana Free Library in downstate Illinois. Recently, he retired, although he still teaches at the university and does building consulting.

I showed up that morning, wearing my only tie (I was putting myself through grad school, and most of my clothes came from Salvation Army), and was told that Dr. Schlipf was in the children's room, downstairs. I went to join him. About halfway down the stairs, I realized that the previous night's rain had flooded the basement.

And there was Dr. Schlipf, jacket off, pants rolled up, a bucket in one hand and a mop in the other. He beamed at me: "Welcome to the administrative life!"

That's a pretty good introduction.