Service - Balancing Working with Others and Working in a Lone Arranger Shop

By Alison StankrauffArchivist and Associate LibrarianIndiana University South Bend

I’m the Archivist at Indiana University South Bend, the only comprehensive public university in North Central Indiana and the third largest campus in the IU system (of eight campuses). IUSB has 8,590 students.

I’m a Lone Arranger – and split my duties as Archivist for the campus between being one of ten librarians and teaching a required information literacy course each semester.

For me, service is not only something that my particular position requires – but I love it!I feel drawn to service because it allows me to ‘give back’ to my workplace, my campus, students, my community.

And it helps me to connect with fellow archivists, librarians, other faculty members, staff, students, and community members – both local and beyond.

All Images Courtesy of the Walter P. Reuther Labor Archives at Wayne State University, Detroit.

I’ve Grown My Service:

-On the national front – to SAA.

-Regionally – to MAC.

-On the state level – to the Society of Indiana Archivists and the Indiana Library Federation.

- By working with colleagues at other IU campuses.

-By working with colleagues – other faculty and also staff – on my own campus.

-By working with and reaching out to students.

-By working with and reaching out to the area community and area institutions.

Service to the Community Includes:

-Working in an advisory capacity to other area institutions – in my case, the Jewish Federation and the Northern Indiana Center for History.

-Serving on bodies that help steer the collection of local and regional history.

-Being a part of a group of area archivists, museum professionals, librarians who work with historical collections, historical society workers, etc.

Service to My Campus Includes:

-Working with campus bodies to get collective work done that benefits the entire campus and the community, such as my work with our Civil Rights Heritage Center.

-Serving on committees with other faculty members in other disciplines – such as the Student Affairs Committee, the Research and Development Committee, etc.

- Working with students in a number of capacities – beyond the teaching that I already do. Examples include serving as a mentor to Women’s Basketball Team members, working with Honors students, advising Masters students with their dissertations.

The Balancing Act:

-Managing all this service with my regular – and central – work requires having – or developing - a lot of organizational acumen.

- Develop an organizational system that suits you and your needs to balance all your duties. I’ve done this personally by keeping electronic files on all projects and associated correspondence. I back this up with hard copy notes to myself and alerts via my email system.

Service as Power:

- Reaching out to the different publics that I serve benefits my own Archives. It makes people aware of our collections, encourages donations, and promotes interest and good will.

- Service to professional organizations helps to support and promote the profile of lone arrangers and small shops – to show what powerhouses we can be!

- Working with others to accomplish goals is rewarding on many levels!

Recommended ‘To Do’s/ ‘How To’s:

•Get involved in professional organizations – at the national, regional, state, local, or international level. * And if you don’t hear back, be persistent - keep asking!

• Don’t be afraid to ask for letters from those you serve with for promotion and tenure purposes. Make sure to get a good representation of the types of organizations you’ve served with.

• Keep super-organized: - Keep files on all correspondence and

make sure it’sup to date.

- Keep hard copy notes/reminders to yourself.

- Set up an alert system in your email – or some other

method – that keeps you on track daily.