Competency M: communication

“Core Competency M — demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for professional collaboration and presentations.”

Introduction

No matter how much or what we know, that knowledge does not benefit anyone unless we can communicate it.  Collaborations in settings such as strategic planning, or those that take place when creating and presenting programs require clear communication, whatever form it takes (as in written or verbal), if the plans are to result in successful situations. Communication is key in creating understanding between participants in any conversation. That communication can extend to signs posted listing the hours that the library is open, or handouts, such as the circulation policy we distribute to people when they first acquire a library card. Because the function of the library is to serve its community, a librarian’s primary role is service. In our branch of the county library where I currently work, we are frequently confronted with communication obstacles. Many of our patrons speak a language other than English. We have several deaf patrons. We even have one patron who has a mental disability which precludes her learning to read; she is physically unable to achieve literacy and relies on audiobooks and DVDs for her information needs.

Oral Communication

Recently, the county library system where I work has begun mandatory customer service training for all employees. The focus of the training is on effective oral communication between staff members and patrons, as well as between staff members and co-workers. It is evident from this training that the best customer service is dependent upon effective communication between people. That means communication between staff members is important as well. Rather than supplying each branch with a service script for handling customer service situations, staff were asked to create our own script or guidelines That way, each branch has this tool to give the most excellent customer service to its unique constituency. It also gives staff members at each branch the opportunity to communicate with each other to create a cooperative tool in order to provide the best possible customer service. Our service script was a collaborative effort (see M_Evidence_1).

In addition to customer service, oral communication can be used to entertain, such as in a storytelling program. Such a program can be used to inform, to entertain, and to communicate ideas. I offer a video of myself telling a story as further evidence of my competency in this area of librarianship (see M_evidence_2).

Written Communication

The most obvious form of communicating in writing, from the standpoint of a librarian, is the book. I have had three novels published (a fourth is in the final stage of editing at my publishers), and sold a short to an anthology (see M_Evidence_3 and 4). I have worked as a professional editor. My favorite way to communicate is through the written word. When I started library school at San Jose State University, one of the assignments was to start a blog. I actually have two blogs, one personal which I use for book reviews and one academic which was used to post assignments for a couple of my classes (M_Evidence_5 and 6). The demands of career and academia have kept me from updating them for some time, but I intend to start again soon.

I used both oral and written communication to collaborate with a team in creating a fictitious Strategic Plan for one of my classes in library school. I have never enjoyed group projects, but I found that when I could use written communication, as in this case, I was better understood by my team members. Part of the Strategic Plan was to keep a journal. I offer that journal to demonstrate my competence in effectively communicating both orally and in writing to collaborate with a team (M_evidence_7).

Conclusion

Effective communication, regardless of whether it is oral or written,  leads to better understanding and is necessary for any successful collaboration, whether it be between members of a planning team, or between a librarian and a patron and the collaboration taking place is working together to satisfy that patron’s information needs. Planning and executing an effective program, such a storytelling event, requires communication skills of both types, but if done well, can inform and entertain successfully.