Please join me in a little experiment. Close your eyes, hold both of your arms out to the side, move them about and then stop them in random positions. With your eyes still closed, bring your hands together. Were you able to do it? Now do the same thing, but this time extend just your pointer fingers, and bring them to touch tip to tip. Were you able to do it both times? Was one task more difficult than the other? Neuroscientists have been studying the body's ability to know how the right hand can find the left hand without being able to see it. Scientists refer to this as some type of sixth sense and call it the limb position sense. This sense allows us to perform activities that require coordination. Even parts of the human body that we do not have voluntary control over coordinate with other systems in the body to function. Thus, when the human body is working together, conditioned and strengthened through training, we are capable of great feats. In this sense, libraries are very much like the human body. Generally speaking, every human has one head, two arms and hand, two legs and feet and a torso to anchor it all together. Libraries are built in very similar ways. As a head, libraries have administration. They provide the thinking to keep the library taking care of its needs. For arms and hands, libraries have reference and circulation departments that actually manipulate and perform the services that patrons rely on. The legs and feet, without which we cannot stand, are the library's technical and IT services. The torso of the library is the building which houses and connects all of these pieces together.

Ideally speaking, the proportions of a healthy human should represent the proportions of your library. The head is small and needs to keep doing those things that promote a body healthy so that each part can do its job. The arms are very reliable and active. The legs are large and have a lot of weight riding on them. The torso needs to be large enough to allow all the other parts to fit properly and in the correct locations. Libraries, like people, come in many different shapes and colors. These shapes and colors are dependent upon the institutions and communities the library serves. The shape of the library represents its organizational structure. The color represents the type of community the library serves. Neither of these attributes is more important than the other, but serves to provide variety and diversity. Join me in this exploration of how libraries are structured, starting from the top.

The head is a very vital part to a library. It houses the eyes, ears, mouth and nose. All of these organs serve to provide sensory input. Library administrators are responsible for understanding what the needs of the library are and relaying that information to the appropriate departments to carry out that function. In order to carry that function out, you need to have a brain. The brain needs to consist of policies, procedures, goals and plans. Regardless of the type of library, administrators determine collection development, establish equitable policies and deal with the business functions of the libraries. They are the voice of the library and are aware that while they may say one thing, the actions of the rest of the body may say another. They purposefully limit their interactions with the general public, because their goal is not to serve the patrons, but to serve the library staff who serves the patrons.

The main role of the administration is to provide that limb position sense. Library administration provides the pathways needed for individual parts of the library to find themselves, to find each other and to work in concert to accomplish the goals of the library. A key to building these pathways is developing good personnel. In my LIBR 204 class, Information Organizations and Management with Dr. Bill Fisher, we studied how personnel can make or break a library and the importance of good communication among staff. When staffing the library, administrators need to consider the personality and skill sets that make each staff member the best at what they do and contribute to the well-being of the library. Administrators should invest in training that promotes the development of interpersonal communication skills. Administration needs to also pay heed to the generational differences among its staff members.

In a research paper I wrote for LIBR 204, I examined the role and effects of generational differences in libraries. Within the next few years over 50% of the current library workforce will retire. My research for my paper showed that many members of the Baby Boomer Generation, who have been waiting their turn and climbed every rung on the ladder, will now be ascending to the positions after which they have been seeking. At the same time, librarians comprised of Generation X and NexGen will be entering in at their positions. This infusion of new librarians has acquired the skills to take librarianship into the future faster than any other generation. They possess high competency in technology and a disregard for the concept of paying your dues in order to advance. They stand as near polar opposites to the Baby Boomer Generation. In my paper, I argue that one of the only feasible ways to keep these two generations from destroying one another is to develop mentoring programs in libraries now. The Baby Boomers will be able to impart the experience and library conservatism they have developed to Generation Xers and NexGeners. At the same time, the NexGeners will share new concepts and theories of librarianship and technology with the Baby Boomers. The result will be the future of libraries.

I have already begun to see the effect of my Baby Boomer mentors on me. They are helping me plan projects through to completion before jumping headlong into them. With me coming fresh out of library school, many of the ideas and theories that were taught to me in class are new to my established librarian mentor. My mentor has also managed to instill in me a measure of the rung by rung advancement concept. I understand the value of working in a position to gain the knowledge I need from the position and experience in developing relationships. I plan to spend time working in the leg position and arm positions of libraries to develop skills I will need to quickly ascend the ladder into library administration.

Reference and circulation services are what make the left and right arms of the library. Libraries, fortunately, are ambidextrous. Neither appendage dominates the other. This is crucial, because patrons do not perceive a difference between circulation and reference. All they see is "library staff." While both of these services are visible and indistinguishable to patrons, library staff knows that there are specific differences between the two. Reference services are to specifically answer librarian-level questions pertaining to research. They need to have intimate knowledge of the library's collections and electronic resources. When reference librarians are not at the service desk, many can be found in the back office of the library respond to online and phone-based reference questions. Circulation staff process item transactions and answers generic item location questions. They also need to know the library's policies regarding privileges, access and other services provided by the library. Both departments require a high level of customer service skills to properly direct patrons to either service or other locations in the library. Both must be able to listen to patron requests and interpret them, responding at a level and in terms the patron will understand.

In order for libraries to serve the community well, they need to have a sure footing. Library technical services and IT departments provide the foundation of the library. Libraries cannot function unless they have items in their catalog, and these departments are responsible for providing them. The work done by these departments requires precision and a wide range of knowledge and use of tools to accomplish their tasks. Catalogers and acquisitions staff process material, enter the records into the ILS and prepare it for circulation. They have little to no interaction with the public, but provide services that allow other departments to serve the patrons. IT staff are charged with the placement and maintenance of technology in the library. This covers everything from the integrated library system to securing access to electronic resources to troubleshooting the library’s computer problems.

The torso is what connects all body parts together. The library building should be in direct proportion to the appendages that are connected to it. Librarians and information professionals, such as records managers and archivists, may be found working side by side to accomplish different goals at the same institutions. They can work in situations where they provide only one service or task day in and day out, or they can be in situations where they are one-man bands, doing everything for the library. Their roles and responsibilities depend on the size of the institution they are working for. If the library is small, it will have a small staff that is likely cross trained to provide all the vital services. Large academic and public libraries will have massive workforces that will be very much compartmentalized.

Since I started library school two years ago, I have been privileged to work at two wonderful institutions. The first is the King Library at San Jose State University. My responsibilities there allowed me to interact with every department of the library. I observed that each department only had to worry about its own responsibilities and did not value the other departments’ contributions to the library as a whole. As a result, each department harbored negative opinions about the others. Library administrators became aware of the contention between the departments and took a modern approach to quell the situation. Dean Kifer implemented a mandatory open house of every department. The open houses would take place before the library opened allowing staff to attend and learn about what work really goes on in the departments. Staff responded positively to the open houses, and soon a sense of cohesiveness prevailed in the library. I believe this intervention method was very effective, and I will add this to my repertoire to use as a library administrator in my future.

I currently work for The California Maritime Academy Library. It is a very small library where all services are provided by six individuals. Each one of us is cross-trained to provide reference and circulation services, while being responsible for specific duties as well. My responsibilities pertain to cataloging and acquisitions. My contributions are a vital part to the operation of the library. The situation has opened my eyes to see the value of a multifaceted librarian. I feel that as my abilities continue to grow at The Maritime Academy, I will be able to take what I have learned and move onto a larger academic library equipped with knowledge and experience of all departments, allowing me to excel in my specialized responsibilities.

With the body parts of a library now outlined, we now turn to what makes them unique and different from one another. Each library has a unique shape to it. This shape represents the organizational structure the library uses to provide services to patrons and staff. Libraries are traditionally a pyramid hierarchy. The staffing of a library represents the hierarchical structure. Employees must know their place in the hierarchy and may have more or implied responsibilities than are in their job description due to their level on the pyramid. Even in small libraries, it is difficult for employees to a find balance between their positions in the hierarchy and experience among themselves. This is a lesson I learned vividly during my first months at The California Maritime Academy Library.

I my September 29, 2006 practicum log I recorded a conflict with a part-time library assistant who had many years of experience at the library. I was in charge of circulation for the morning and the library was experiencing network connectivity problems. Circulation transactions could only be done at the computer workstation of this employee. I placated with her to handle all of the circulation transactions. Her reply was, "That’s what I’ve always done when problems like this arise, if you knew how this place worked." Choosing to let peace abide, I allowed her compliance to serve as the solution to the problem. I know that communication skills are essential to interact with staff above and below your position or experience in a library. I will constantly develop my tact and pre-think my reactions to situations such as this, for I know there will be many during my career as a librarian.

The color of every library reflects the community it serves. This translates to public libraries being one shade, academic libraries another, library media centers being another, not to mention all the various types of professional libraries. Each library would basically provide the same services, but the focus of those services changes based on the community being served. Academic libraries are focused on educating students and supporting the curriculum taught at the institution. Items cataloged for the collection at these libraries tend to include table of contents and description notes that allow users to have greater precision in their searches in the library catalog. Reference librarians take every moment they have to teach patrons to find everything they need and help them to examine alternate or related material. Reference librarians will have subject specialty to support curriculums and be specifically recruited for their subject specialty. Academic libraries may have access restrictions based upon academic program and class standings. Undergraduates at larger universities in the United States are restricted from accessing at the graduate and research libraries on campus.

Public libraries are focused on providing multiple services to their communities. Reference librarians work with patrons to locate items, but are not necessarily focused on teaching information literacy skills. Instead, their focus is on refining the patron's informational need and locating materials pertaining to it. Cataloging librarians in a public library are focused on the sheer quantity of items they have do deal with due to circulation demands, the deaccessioning of items and the handling of donations at the library. Circulation staff at a public library will need to be excellent customer service providers, but also be prepared to serve a culturally diverse clientele.

Professional libraries are focused on meeting their professional clientele. Both reference and catalogers will be specifically trained to items used in that profession. Professions may have specialized subject headings, classification schemes and terminology unique to the profession. Circulation staff at a professional library may be non-existent, with the reference librarian serving as the point man from the time clients enter the library until they leave. It is very common to see access restrictions at a professional library. This is to protect the collection and the clientele they serve. Public libraries are not able to work under that stipulation.

My exploration of the library as a body has been very rewarding. I was able to synthesize multiple ideas and perceptions of libraries and the services they provide into a narrative that effectively covers the field of librarianship. This narrative shows that I am able to examine libraries to classify them in multiple ways, giving me insight to their operation and goals. Armed with this knowledge I believe I can enter and serve effectively in any library, regardless of its type. I will continue to develop a well-rounded approach to librarianship. Library administrators should be well-rounded and have experience working in every department of the library before they reach administration. The experience I have gained thus far has me well on that track, and I eagerly look forward to working in situations I have not yet experienced. Limb position sense is alive and well in well-run libraries. I will make it a point in my career to conduct the same experiments we tried at the beginning of this exploration on the bodies of the libraries in which I work in the future.