By Amber Hatch

During the four years that I have worked at the University Libraries the following type of scenario has played out countless times. I am sitting at my desk working. I get a phone call or an e-mail from a librarian or staff member with a question or request. I get her the information she needs and we both get back to work. I’ve never met the person I just talked; we could walk past each other in the hallway without recognizing each other. I don’t know much about what she does and I am sure she doesn’t know much about what I do. Yet our jobs are interconnected, and we interact over the phone or through e-mail on a regular basis.

Don’t we all have these kinds of experiences? Combined, the University Libraries has more than 600 employees and on a daily basis we work together and depend on each other to be able to do our jobs and ensure our libraries operate successfully, but do we actually understand the value of every job and the roles we all play in getting the job done? Haven’t we all wondered why it took another employee so long to respond to our e-mail or felt overwhelmed by the requests of a co-worker who does not seem to understand the demands on our time?

As the Civility Sub-Committee of the Libraries Diversity Committee we feel like we would all work together with more civility and respect if we knew each other and understood and appreciated the critical roles that we all fill in the University Libraries. As part of Discovery Day 2013, we will be hosting a Speed Networking event. Based on the popular phenomenon of speed dating, this event will allow us speed a few minutes with a wide range of our colleagues; meet them, learn about the work that they do, and share the exciting aspects of our own jobs with them. We can make new friends, expand out networks and next time we send an e-mail to a colleague in another area we will know who they are, what they do, and how we can work together.

We are excited to announce that once again this year our associate deans, Lisa German, Mike Furlough, and Jack Sultzer, will all be joining us at Speed Networking and invite everyone to take the time learn more about someone else’s contributions to the University Libraries.

When: Discovery Day – Friday, March 1, 3:30pm
Where: Foster Auditorium Register at Tech Smart