Everyday Relevancy (1/10)
By Bridget MacMillan
The library world has long been challenged to establish relevancy, and in today’s economy relevance is critical for success.
I have just started my 10th year at LexisNexis®. All this discussion of relevancy led me to think; how do I keep my work relevant after 10 years? My time at LexisNexis is by far the longest tenure of my professional career. Prior to this, I had not spent more than three years in any job. So why I have remained for 10 years at LexisNexis? What has kept me here when other opportunities have presented themselves?
When I think back to my first days at LexisNexis, the challenge and excitement of a new job, new responsibilities, and new colleagues was heady. I recall thinking after 18 months that I was starting to understand my roles and responsibilities. And then after three years, I believed I finally knew what I was doing and understood the intricacies of this job. In previous jobs, the work and responsibilities were quickly mastered, and then I would become bored, confined and restless. But not at LexisNexis. Even after three years, the job was still fresh and challenging. My role and responsibilities did not change, but the day-to-day tasks and the equipment used to handle the work changed. When I started at LexisNexis, software was still the predominant favorite search tool of librarians. I would often have to crawl under desks and tables to plug in the 50-foot phone cord I carried with me. I had my own projector that I toted with me to law firms and law schools for presentations. I recently got a new laptop, and the software is no longer automatically included. I retired the projector and the 50-foot phone cord years ago. I no longer have to bring my laptop to presentations since most institutions have state-of-the-art set-ups.
What has not changed is determining on a daily basis what my priorities are. This job stays fresh for me because every day is different. One day I am preparing for presentations, answering e-mail and attending meetings. The next day I am traveling to a distant city, presenting to a group of librarians, preparing to teach a legal research class, or following up on previous appointments. The tools I use may change, but balancing priorities, being responsive, helping my colleagues and the librarians I support has not changed through the years.
One of the reasons I have enjoyed this job is the challenge of managing my workload in the era of electronic communication. It has been exciting, if not daunting, to be part of the first work force generation that has experienced the shift from a paper-based work place to a pure electronic-based work place. Through trial and error, reading and consulting with friends and colleagues, I have created a system that works incredibly well for me. Frustrations I hear from others related to the electronic workplace are not often experienced by me, which means my frustration with the job is not as severe.
Another challenge of this job, which has helped maintain its excitement and newness for me is the challenge of the home office. I have encountered many misconceptions about working from home. I am asked if I wear slippers and watch television all day. While that may work for some, it is not possible for me. If the television is on, my concentration and focus is splintered, and work is not accomplished. And while I have a home office, I also live in a city where there is a LexisNexis® Business Center, and I live in a city where many of the librarians I support are located, so on any given day I am more likely to be wearing my boots and riding the Green Line downtown than in slippers.
Finally, I believe the biggest reason this job has stayed fresh for me is that there has been new and different opportunities through the years. I have worked on varying projects within my company and within the library community that have engaged, inspired and invigorated me. Projects include ones that have stretched my writing skills, and ones that have allowed me to interact with future librarians by speaking at classes, and those that allowed me to gain a wealth of presentation experience.
On a personal note, I also believe the friends I have made because of this job have helped retain its appeal. Smart, creative, innovative people have made these 10 years fly by!
Back to the question that prompted this soul-searching. How has this job stayed relevant to me for 10 years? How does any job stay relevant after the initial enthusiasm wanes? After 10 years, the three biggest reasons for me are 1) taking the parts of the job that frustrate me and learning to handle them better and minimize the frustration, 2) welcoming new projects that challenge my creativity, like recently serving as an AMPLL Council Member and planning the 2009 Conference, and 3) welcoming new people and new ideas to the team. For five years my team’s personnel did not change. And that stability was a great strength for me and the team. But then over the next few years, half the team left and new members came on board. And these new members allowed us to revisit our roles and responsibilities and evaluate tasks and not give in to the “it’s done that way because that’s the way it has always been done” mentality. They challenged institutionalized behaviors, and they invigorated us!
Succinctly put, this job stays relevant for me by never having a dull moment, by constantly challenging me intellectually and personally, and by providing many laughs and wonderful friends. I can hardly wait for tomorrow!
