Staying Motivated

Posted by: ilabestpractices on: September 27, 2013

• In: AWARDS | Managing
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I ran across an interesting article this month that discussed recognition in librarianship–Micah Vandegrift’s “Rewards and Recognition in Librarianship,” which led me to Valerie Forrestal’s “The In Crowd, or Fear and Loathing in Library Land,” also published this month.

Though many of us consider the library profession a calling, it can be difficult to maintain a high level of enthusiasm and passion year after year strictly from internal motivation alone. What motivates you to do your best work? How have you been recognized, or recognized colleagues or staff, in a meaningful way? Good performance reviews, raises, and promotions are all wonderful, but what about public recognition within the library and beyond? What kinds of things does your library do that you particularly appreciate? Are teams recognized as well as individuals?

I’d love to hear from librarians of all types, including those in management.

Hilary Meyer
Chicago, IL