How have working relationships among library employees changed? Has the change been positive?
negative? both? RG: I don’t know. Library employees, both librarian and support staff, must work together to assure the goals of the organization are met. Shrinking funding sources quite often mean that departments fight over the resource crumbs. Further division can occur when professional or staff jobs are eliminated. Each camp can feel besieged and an atmosphere of us vs. them can result. If the library management team helps to create a collaborative atmosphere, the working relationships can be improved. Shared vision is one way to get buy-in for doing our jobs well and functioning as a team. SH: Unfortunately I don’t feel that our working relationships have changed along with the change in the academic environment. We are still a library of frightened people – afraid to take a risk, afraid of change, afraid that our own comfort zones will be rocked, and afraid to relinquish our territory because someone else might crowd us out, or surpass us. We have formed working groups that spen
