Webinar: Working With Difficult People

I had an experience in my workplace that I'm not proud of, but that was a learning moment for me. (Nobody was physically touched!) So I requested some training and WebJunction had a nice, 1hr webinar titled, "Working With Difficult People." Below are my notes from the webinar. I definitely needed to learn these new skills because on the pre-test I scored a 30%!

Goal: To deal with the behaviors of negative people in the workplace by moving from emotional reaction to effective actions.

People who use negative behaviors reduce productivity, damage relationships, affect morale and dampen enthusiasm by casting negative light over staff efforts. Typical reactions to these behaviors are:

• Avoidance- due to being emotionally drained b/c the behaviors cause frustration and stress
• Anger- you become obsessed about the situation or apathetic about work

Types of Negative Behaviors (communication in the form of manipulation) and their predictable traits:

• Whiners- "poor me" syndrome- want empathy and attention and seek affirmation of being a victim; typically use "I," "never," always!," "the worst."
• Complainers- tend to identify specific people & issues with problems they know how to resolve; use "do it my way," "you're wrong." Easily identify other people's faults. They view themselves as analysts instead of innovators. May feel powerless to affect change and look for others to take responsibility to make change.
• Blamers- shift blame; justify their reactions by saying they were provoked; they are critical and judgmental and set themselves up as victims. They may blame because they are trying to cover up their incompetence.

Three Steps to Dealing with Negative Behavior:

1. Listen. a) to identify the negative behavior displayed and b) to determine if the issue has validity
2. Demonstrate understanding of their issue. This does not mean that you agree. there is no judgment needed (I dis/agree) to demonstrate understanding, just a simple restatement of the facts of the issue.
3. Resolve the issue by validating their right (not yours) to resolve the issue on their own.

Change is made through positive, consistent solution oriented approach. Don't buy in to their behavior and don't compete with their behavior. Suggested solutions per behavior:

• Whiners- tell them they have the power to change what they don't like; get them to focus on specifics.
• Complainers- get them to focus on solutions.
• Blamers- goal is to get them to accept responsibility. For blamers, specific techniques are required. KNOW: Blaimers see it as a sign of weakness to accept responsibility and view criticism as a personal attack. They fear punishment and seek to protect their ego. To resolve issues you'll need to:
  • Confront: "x,y,z happened. Did you do x, y, z?"
  • When they avoid responsibility, give specific examples and be precise: "it was your computer and it was your log-in, when x, y, z happened. Is there anyone else who has access to your log-in?"
  • Be non-threatening. You have to help them accept responsibility by giving them ownership of the issue and the solution.
  • Use close ended questions (Yes, no type questions). Do not give blamers the chance to reinterpret the facts.
  • Show your co-operation by taking responsibility for the items that are legitimately your fault and by proposing solutions to address those faults.

And then I made it to the end. I re-took the test and got in the 90s, so obviously I was ill prepared for my learning moment, but I gained something from it. I hate tough-love learning situations. Why can't we just all be polite? (complaining! :))

Learning the RC: History Bibs

The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature edited by Norton (016.9 AME 3rd ed v. 1-2) covers books and articles on "every field of historical scholarship" from 1961 through 1992. There is one section on "Science, Technology and Medicine," however the majority of the bibliography is organized around subjects such as the "Theory and Practice in Historical Study," "World History," and various countries and recognized regions in political geography. Each entry includes a basic citation and a 1-3 sentence abstract about the article.

The Dictionary of Historic Documents by Kohn (016.909 KOH) is a list with a brief description of historic documents that have influenced people and events. It skews toward Western history from the past through the date of publication (1991). There is a bibliography of related readings to the documents organized around organized around countries or geographic regions and there is an Index of titles and authors of the documents. There is no subject search to the documents.

Maps of Texas: 1527-1900 complied by Day (of maps cataloged prior to 1964) (016.912 DAY) is a list of maps in the collection of the Texas State Archives in date order (of period represented) along with the title of the Map, its call number and a brief description of the contents of the maps. No actual maps are in this book. This small book also includes an index of titles in alphabetical order as well as other methods of entry, such as by cartographer or geographic name.

Learning the RC: More Bibliographies by Subject

I was looking through the Reference and User Services Quarterly and found that they do a review of reference books at the back of each issue. Yea! It's nice to see samples of what a book review should look like from a reference librarian's p.o.v. and while I'm not necessarily reviewing each book's worth, I am learning our collection by actively putting my hands of each book as I work my way through it, 3 books at a time. First up is:

Twenty Years of Silents: 1908-1928 compiled by Weaver (016.7914 WEA) Silents? What the heck are "silents"?!? Oh! Silent movies. It includes a list of all the actors and their screen credits (the titles of the movies they were in). It even has the actors vital statistics, so if you wanted to know how tall an actor was and what their eye color was, you are set. There are even birth dates of the actors as well as the dates of their films. The same goes for directors and producers and there is even a little listing of production companies. And while it is a little list, it is impressive (to me, thinking that the film industry was just beginning) nonetheless that there are over 100 companies producing silents in the twenty year era covered.

Yikes! at 2376 pages the Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry in Anthologies (13th edition, 2007) (016.8088 COL 2007) makes a great workout weight, if I could wrap my hands around its spine. I've heard other librarians refer to "Grangers," as in, "check Grangers, it might be in there," when someone comes in asking for a specific poem. That's great, but what if we don't have a copy of that book/anthology that the poem should be in? But at least you can also find out who the author is and whether the poem is a selection from a larger work and there's always ILL if we don't have the book or anything by that author. Easy to use and behold! there's also a subject index for people wanting a poem about Japan.

Note to self-
Business:

• I asked no other thing by Dickinson in American Poetry Nineteenth Century v.2
• Cash or Turtle or Heaven by Gibbons in Vespers, Contemporary Poems of Religion or Spirituality
• Dropping the Euphemism. by Bob Hicok in American Alphabets

Climbing:

• Hymn to Holy Women by Balbulus in the Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces 7th ed v. 1
• Surface by Hall, D. Poems for a Small Planet: Contemporary American Nature Poetry 1993
• Bending the Light by Koontz, T. Visiting Frost: Poems Inspired by the life and works of Robert Frost
• Descending thru Dragon Gate by Tu Fu or Du Fu in Crossing the Yellow River: 300 poems from the Chinese

Skateboarding:

• Sidewalk Racer or, on the Skateboard by Morrison, L.in New Treasury of Children's Poetry: Old Favorites and New Discoveries (I think I own this book) 1984 ed.

Ten minutes til we close and I've got one final book: Blood [POW!], Bedlam [BLAM!], Bullets [HOLY BULLETS, BATMAN!] and Badguys [OUCH!]: a Reader's Guide to Adventure/Suspense Fiction by Gannon. I know this book is a reference book, but it might get better use upstairs at the desk that serves the fiction section. 17 Chapters, each on a sub-theme, begin with a brief explanation of that chapter's theme and its appeal factors followed by a list of authors and their titles that fit that theme. At the end is a fabulous appendix listing the film and tv movie versions of any applicable books.

Training!

I've got my degree, but that doesn't mean I can stop learning. Below are some resources for online (and otherwise) learning.

• INFOPEOPLE! (ok, they don't really all caps their name, but I love this resource) Based in CA, but webinars and online classes are open to anyone and they are affordable. Anyone can register.
• WebJunction. A service by OCLC. Webinars, and self-paced courses. Webinars (archived and upcoming) are free, but the actual courses require sponsorship through a library and they only support certain states. Ask your library system for access.
• ALA's eLearning. These you pay for. Sign up at the ALA Store, which also sells books for professional development.
• And then, of course, there are the various resources offered by the (state) library associations, such as their conferences and continuing education. 
• TxLA Continuing Education Corner- swing toward school libraries, but hey.
• and others- CO State Library's webinars come from WebJunction;
• R-Squared (Risk and Reward) Conference- look out for more like this
• My School and other iSchool continuing education classes/ professional development and certificate courses.
• Cool Professional Journals such as Reference & User Services Quarterly and Library Technology Reports.

Jennifer Recommends

Jennifer and my brother are my two "go-to" persons for manga and anime and comics. Here's a few

• On Crunchy Roll: Polar Bear's Cafe
• Hikaru No Go- the anime (on Hulu) ends better than the manga, but the manga is longer
• On Crunchy Roll: Space Brothers
• Old recommendations that I've read: Maus and Gail Simone's comics, since I like chick writers, specifically the Wonder Woman, the Birds of Prey and the Secret Six. (okay, I haven't read Simone's Birds of Prey or Secret Six.)
• Jennifer also says if I like Bat Girl, I should read the Killing Joke by Alan Moore, which will tell me how she ended up in the wheel chair. However after watching Old Boy and seeing the depths of intentional human depravity, I'm reluctant because of that particular story being such a psychological roller coaster ride. But she highly recommends it.
• Adventure Time on Cartoon Network 
• First Second Books- a publishing house. I've actually read several of the GNs from this house, and it never would have occurred to me to read a GN based on the publishing house, but here's another way to promote discover of new authors and stories based on who is putting them out there.

Learning the RC: Am I crazy, or is it just my mental health test?

In case you've ever wondered what it is that your job is actually measuring when human resources has you take a psych evaluation test , we have in the collection a review of mental tests titled The Sixteenth Mental Measurements Yearbook, edited by Spies and Plake (016.3712 MEN 2005). This 1000+ page volume takes a critical eye to the tests and informs readers of:

• the purpose of the test,
• the correct population to take the test,
• how the test should be administered,
• cost, time to take the test, author and publisher,
• and a full review including a description, the development of the test, technical data, and the reviewer's commentary.

When I first saw this, I asked myself, "why does a public library have this?" But upon review of the book, I can see how knowing the science behind the tests may help to understand why they are given, both for the end consumer and for any test givers. Types of tests reviewed cover the following classifications:

• Personality
• Vocations
• Intelligence & General Aptitude
• Behavior Assessment
• Subject mastery (reading, English/language, Math, Foreign Language, Fine Arts, Science
• Neuropsychological
• Developmental, Speech and Hearing, Sensory-Motor
• Achievement

My only complaint is that each yearbook reviews new tests without any mention of older reviews and we only have the one volume (out on the floor- I haven't checked archives). There is not even an index of previously reviewed tests, although there is mention of the website, which is managed by Ebsco and is, I assume, a subscription based service.

Sitting beside the above is a music book. At first I was confused as to why these two should be next to each other, but the answer lies in Dewey 016: "Bibliographies of works on specific subjects." Ah, bibliographies will be sitting next to each other. Of course.

The Book of World-Famous Music: Classical, Popular and Folk by Fuld (016.78 FUL) lists familiar tunes and tracks down their first printing and the associated information about the creators (or at least the person who set the tune to notation). Their example that made it make sense was, "did you ever want to know where Mary Had a Little Lamb came from?"

And then there's the 2nd edition of the Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs of the Rock and Roll Era: 1944-2000. This is a simple enough book comprised of three ways to access the basic information about the songs: by title, by artist and by year. The title index has the most comprehensive information, such as the album the song was released under and which recording company produced it, however there is no information about the background of the song (where it came from, why it was written, but that sort of info could possibly come from biographies of the artists). The introduction was all of 2 pages and I only skimmed it, but I am uncertain as to why or how the titles came to be considered "the most important."

Learning the RC: Computers, Picture books, Magazines

For those wanting to learn about Computer Geeks: (004.0922 INT) International Biographical Dictionary of Computer Pioneers edited by Lee. Alphabetical listing of persons with a brief biographical entry, as well as a bibliography of work about the the person and a list of their significant publications.

One of many, I'm sure, bibliographies to picture books, the Companion to American Children's Picture Books edited by Kirk (011.62 KIR) is an alphabetical listing of "titles, authors/artists and topics of interest." Not definitive, but handy for someone looking for quality picture books. Includes appendices for searching for Caldecott Medalists by title, year, author, and illustrator and a list of the Reading Rainbow books. Some entries have pictures of the books, but not all.

Want to know what are the names of all the serial publications (magazines and newspapers)? There is the four volume set, Ulrich's Periodicals Directory 2013 (016.05 ULR 2013 v1-4). Volumes 1-3 are in subject order and then all titles under a subject are listed in alphabetical order. Volume 4 has

• a alphabetical title order, 
• the subjects cross listed (ex. looking for exercise magazines? try instead under physical fitness),
• titles no longer in print
• look up by ISSN
• and the Dailies and Weeklies.

Oh joy, oh rapture! I may actually use the picture book one, though I'm disappointed that Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp Monster is not included.

learning the reference collection

I'll admit it- I got caught doing reader's advisory at the reference desk (this is a euphemism for "reading"). My supervisor asked me if I knew the reference collection and I'm like, dude, that's over a 1000 books. So he looks at me with that kind of eyebrow lifting expression that says, "get crackin', you obviously have time," and well, here I am starting small, but starting nonetheless with:

• Dictionary of Symbols by Carl G. Liungman- "From early cave drawings to modern corporate logos, graphic symbols have been used to convey meanings both tangible and abstract..." Cool book- Part one is an intro to symbols. Part two are the symbols themselves and their various meanings depending on culture. Parts three, four and five are indexes to aid search, including a graphic search (yes, you look at the pictures, find the one that interests you and then look at the page number to find the description.). These are mostly simple line drawing symbols.

• UFOs and Popular Culture: An Ecyclopedia of Contemporary Myth by James R. Lewis & The UFO Magazine UFO Encyclopedia by William J. Birnes- both of these share an entry b/c they are the same structure with possibly different content/entries. Encyclopedic format of alphabetical entries on UFO related material. UFOs and Pop culture has some nice appendices including a chronology of events and a list of UFO organizations and periodicals. Lack of sources/bibliography list.

Search Bubble

I am a fan of Google. I will admit that. I use them for all my info searches. But I should be aware that as Google tracks my searches and my likes, etc, the filter bubble I'm creating by liking things will affect the results I get. There's an info-graphic reminding me about this created by a Google competitor (I'll keep the source in mind too). So I thought I'd just stop by here and list a few other search engines to try whenever I'm getting too Google focused.

• blekko.com- uses slash tags to curate
• duckduckgo.com- says it doesn't use filters based on your preferences for bias free results
• dogpile.com- a metasearch engine

I need to keep in mind that there are other search engines that search a defined area, such as just Jobs, or just Real Estate. Wikipedia has a list of these specific search engines.

You may note that Bing and Yahoo are not on here. I don't Bing and while the Yahoo interface is nice, as I understand, the results come from Bing.