Library Team enlistment

This is how I started the team. It has been several years ago, but it was highly successful and I do not hesitate to share it even now, for when we receive a solution to a problem from the Lord through prayer, you can be assured that it will remain timeless in its application. I will now show the process with just one candidate, and you apply it to each. I sat in choir and allowed my eyes to travel over the congregation, using the prayer technique that I learned as counselor in the Billy Graham Crusade! That training is there forever! When the prayer leader taught us this, it was to use in the stadium during the crusade, but I have used it all my life since on buses, airplanes, trains and as I describe here, at my church in the selection of "certain people" to be on the Library Staff and to fill my place as Director, for I had become extremely busy with going out in the summer to conferences at large, and I needed someone to take my place as librarian, as well as regular staff. I allowed my eyes to travel over the congregation, asking the Lord to stop me at a person that would be a desirable person to contact!!Now, this was not a hurried process. I went about it deliberately. I read my Bible with a seeking heart, and I prayed the 139th Psalm and applied it to the persons that He would give me. In the past, this was supplied by the nominating committee in a hit and miss manner, just calling someone and asking them to be on the library "Committee." however, I wrote up a resolution and got it passed at a business meeting, which allowed me to keep my staff and not rotate off, which is not conducive to our work, for it requires training in skills and you don't want to lose them. I had a staff meeting with the Committee, who were nominal in their commitment to the library and spoke the truth in love. I showed what was required and gave them the option of choosing to stay on as a trainee for permanent staff, or to just drop off as I filled these positions with people who wanted to learn the work. Three were dedicated and stayed on. I carried on with them. So I prayed to the Lord about this matter for several months. As you find one, you simply sit down with that person, man or woman, and explain the necessity for learning the work. I show them the job positions that I am in need of filling, and then I say, "You are the first--second--third (etc)person whom the Lord has given me. I chose you because the Lord pointed you out to me, and then when I sent you a letter of invitation, asking for permission to visit with you about the matter, you readily called me and accepted! So here I am, for I invited you to join me at the library.This is confirmation that the Lord is in this. At this time, I liked to read Prov.1:1-6. Then I pray about this for the church at large, and all of the staff by name, then the library, asking for insight and taking the right path of understanding with this new candidate, (name included) and for myself, as leader and instructor. This sets the tenor for the training, just as the Lord leads. " Now, because of your work with the art and the bulletin boards for the church staff, I believe the Lord would have you follow through with the Church library, but this is a full time job. i go into the books we have on promotion and the church library magazines that we have on file, showing the candidate that they are not empty handed. I show them all the equipment and then I say, "And, of course, I will meet with you in planning a quarterly emphasis" and show the person how we promote materials that will enhance the work of the church, using the church calendar. i show her my budget and explain the amount that I have allotted for promotion, explaining the way we utilize the materials at hand, and purchase additional as needed. I show our bulletin board space and if you have a display window, you talk about how to keep it current. I explain about the Reading Clubs and how the Promotion Director would figure in that promotional plan, and just fill that person in on all that is required of that position, assuring them of your assistance and show how we have the resources of training at the local, state and national levels, and then ask, "Now, is that something that you would like to head up for the Church Library?" If this bit of promotion on your part hits the mark that the Holy Spirit has led you to do, the person will be eager to get started, having all sorts of ideas. etc. After that person is firmly established as the Promotion Director for the library, has two or three successful ventures with lots of church response, then gradually train each one in every phase of the work, just by degrees. After I had several people in place, I began looking for a director-trainee. The one the Lord pointed out replied, "I would love to help you in the library, but I have two more years of work at the bank before I can retire." I promptly joined her S.S. class and began attending with her every Sunday, & her husband was teacher! I cultivated her friendship for two years, at which time, I reminded her that "I would still love to train you to take my place as Church Librarian." I told her, "I am going to Eagle Eyrie in a few weeks and we'll have all sorts of classes you can take to help you, and I will be one on one with you, and train you in every facet of the work, as well as how to train and enlist other people to work. I will continue classifying but I will train you in it." By the time that person was enlisted, I now had 18 people on staff! 3 for bulletin boards, 2 for filing, 1 for picture file,2 to read adult shelves and 3 with 1 Director for Children's shelves. 3 for typing up cards etc. 3 for work with the cassette ministry, including filming and taping the service, helping with selection ,cataloging the collection of videos and tapes which had grown tremendously. Now, after I had this recruit in full training, I met with her and explained a plan whereby she could just gradually take the reins. I showed her a letter to the staff inviting them to advanced library science training every Sunday evening from 5 to 6 p.m. This was an optional course, and I outlined all the matters they would be studying, the texts, the time slots and the fact that they would receive certificates from the SSBoard for every book they completed the hours in. I explained that this class would last from October until the end of February. 9 of my 18 signed to take it. This meant that the cream of the crop, she would have a chance to get to know on a personal basis, and there would be prayer together, study together, and all sorts of fun things, leaving them time to go to our regular discipleship classes at 6:15 which was the sceduled timefor that. At the end of Feb. I said, to my new director, I am now recommending you to the church as replacement for my position, and I have called the nominating chair, explaining all that you have accomplished in training, I asked her to bring your name up at the next business meeting! She was willing and that was perfect, for that left me free by the time summer came along to go on about my travels for SBC. I heartily recommend this method for building a staff of trained library workers who are eager, and willing to do the job at hand. This is rather lengthy, but as we say, aptitude for details is necessary for a librarian! MBLovern

Replies

Lynda Harrington June 1, 2010 20:46

PRAYER!!!! And wait to have the Holy Spirit lead before you ask someone to join you. Be faithful in doing the ordinary, everyday, necessary tasks and HE will be faithful to provide. One thing we have learned is make sure the person loves books and has a passion for reading. The rest of the skills can be taught.
- This reply was deleted.
  - Maxine Johnson Bersch Lovern July 14, 2010 20:39
    
    This is how I started the team. It has been several years ago, but it was highly successful and I do not hesitate to share it even now, for when we receive a solution to a problem from the Lord through prayer, you can be assured that it will remain timeless in its application. I will now show the process with just one candidate, and you apply it to each. I sat in choir and allowed my eyes to travel over the congregation, using the prayer technique that I learned as counselor in the Billy Graham Crusade! That training is there forever! When the prayer leader taught us this, it was to use in the stadium during the crusade, but I have used it all my life since on buses, airplanes, trains and as I describe here, at my church in the selection of "certain people" to be on the Library Staff and to fill my place as Director, for I had become extremely busy with going out in the summer to conferences at large, and I needed someone to take my place as librarian, as well as regular staff. I allowed my eyes to travel over the congregation, asking the Lord to stop me at a person that would be a desirable person to contact!!Now, this was not a hurried process. I went about it deliberately. I read my Bible with a seeking heart, and I prayed the 139th Psalm and applied it to the persons that He would give me. In the past, this was supplied by the nominating committee in a hit and miss manner, just calling someone and asking them to be on the library "Committee." however, I wrote up a resolution and got it passed at a business meeting, which allowed me to keep my staff and not rotate off, which is not conducive to our work, for it requires training in skills and you don't want to lose them. I had a staff meeting with the Committee, who were nominal in their commitment to the library and spoke the truth in love. I showed what was required and gave them the option of choosing to stay on as a trainee for permanent staff, or to just drop off as I filled these positions with people who wanted to learn the work. Three were dedicated and stayed on. I carried on with them. So I prayed to the Lord about this matter for several months. As you find one, you simply sit down with that person, man or woman, and explain the necessity for learning the work. I show them the job positions that I am in need of filling, and then I say, "You are the first--second--third (etc)person whom the Lord has given me. I chose you because the Lord pointed you out to me, and then when I sent you a letter of invitation, asking for permission to visit with you about the matter, you readily called me and accepted! So here I am, for I invited you to join me at the library.This is confirmation that the Lord is in this. At this time, I liked to read Prov.1:1-6. Then I pray about this for the church at large, and all of the staff by name, then the library, asking for insight and taking the right path of understanding with this new candidate, (name included) and for myself, as leader and instructor. This sets the tenor for the training, just as the Lord leads. " Now, because of your work with the art and the bulletin boards for the church staff, I believe the Lord would have you follow through with the Church library, but this is a full time job. i go into the books we have on promotion and the church library magazines that we have on file, showing the candidate that they are not empty handed. I show them all the equipment and then I say, "And, of course, I will meet with you in planning a quarterly emphasis" and show the person how we promote materials that will enhance the work of the church, using the church calendar. i show her my budget and explain the amount that I have allotted for promotion, explaining the way we utilize the materials at hand, and purchase additional as needed. I show our bulletin board space and if you have a display window, you talk about how to keep it current. I explain about the Reading Clubs and how the Promotion Director would figure in that promotional plan, and just fill that person in on all that is required of that position, assuring them of your assistance and show how we have the resources of training at the local, state and national levels, and then ask, "Now, is that something that you would like to head up for the Church Library?" If this bit of promotion on your part hits the mark that the Holy Spirit has led you to do, the person will be eager to get started, having all sorts of ideas. etc. After that person is firmly established as the Promotion Director for the library, has two or three successful ventures with lots of church response, then gradually train each one in every phase of the work, just by degrees. After I had several people in place, I began looking for a director-trainee. The one the Lord pointed out replied, "I would love to help you in the library, but I have two more years of work at the bank before I can retire." I promptly joined her S.S. class and began attending with her every Sunday, & her husband was teacher! I cultivated her friendship for two years, at which time, I reminded her that "I would still love to train you to take my place as Church Librarian." I told her, "I am going to Eagle Eyrie in a few weeks and we'll have all sorts of classes you can take to help you, and I will be one on one with you, and train you in every facet of the work, as well as how to train and enlist other people to work. I will continue classifying but I will train you in it." By the time that person was enlisted, I now had 18 people on staff! 3 for bulletin boards, 2 for filing, 1 for picture file,2 to read adult shelves and 3 with 1 Director for Children's shelves. 3 for typing up cards etc. 3 for work with the cassette ministry, including filming and taping the service, helping with selection ,cataloging the collection of videos and tapes which had grown tremendously. Now, after I had this recruit in full training, I met with her and explained a plan whereby she could just gradually take the reins. I showed her a letter to the staff inviting them to advanced library science training every Sunday evening from 5 to 6 p.m. This was an optional course, and I outlined all the matters they would be studying, the texts, the time slots and the fact that they would receive certificates from the SSBoard for every book they completed the hours in. I explained that this class would last from October until the end of February. 9 of my 18 signed to take it. This meant that the cream of the crop, she would have a chance to get to know on a personal basis, and there would be prayer together, study together, and all sorts of fun things, leaving them time to go to our regular discipleship classes at 6:15 which was the sceduled timefor that. At the end of Feb. I said, to my new director, I am now recommending you to the church as replacement for my position, and I have called the nominating chair, explaining all that you have accomplished in training, I asked her to bring your name up at the next business meeting! She was willing and that was perfect, for that left me free by the time summer came along to go on about my travels for SBC. I heartily recommend this method for building a staff of trained library workers who are eager, and willing to do the job at hand. This is rather lengthy, but as we say, aptitude for details is necessary for a librarian! MBLovern
    - Lynda Harrington > Maxine Johnson Bersch Lovern July 15, 2010 7:08
      
      EXCELLENT formula - - we are getting ready to move to a new church building in a couple of months and this would be the perfect time to implement "requirements" for certain positions in the library - - - a checklist of minimum skills required for different jobs. I had begun that a few years ago with a form that was an achievement-goals to learn as an incentive to stretch themselves and also to insure the persons working a job was doing it correctly. Thanks for the encouragement.

This reply was deleted.