Third Reflection:

My DISC Style, my personality…my integrity…my attitude, my character… my communication style, and, interpersonal relation, all make Me an ID= INFLUENCE and DOMINANCE. Only at the Mortenson Centre Training Program, you deepen on your style.
What is, my style? Yes, I have got Style!
On Monday, June 3rd, 19, we commenced a two-day workshop with Shirley Stillbrink who took us through ‘Everything DISC and Change Management’. The significance of style, its uniqueness to all individuals and understanding our style as leaders/managers allow us to be more effective and achieve organisations goals-results at workplace. Through communication and language, Style reflects our behaviour… it is what we see, hear or feel. She identified different styles to include dominance, influence, conscientiousness and steadiness. Everything DISC is an evaluative personality profile tool, which emphasises the need to discover not just one’s style, but also that of others, it helps to build effective, positive relationship and communication among peers/colleagues. Here I learnt my style is Influence and Dominance (ID).
I learnt about using Collaborative Model (GRR) on how combined efforts lead to goals achievement, each person having a role to play. I understood that it is important for leaders/managers to assign roles, set goals and rules, and work conscientiously with commitment and cut a clear path to get results. The workshop was very practical with series of case studies, scenarios and exercises including puzzles to demonstrate how group dynamics play out in a typical work place, between managers and the led. It was really interesting for me to know because it exposes some of the actions we take for granted. As a leader, I must always attempt to foster peaceful coexistence and harmony, cooperation among staff to improve and build positive relationship through communication.
Being able to manage Change is key to transiting and coping in times of Change. Change is a situation that occurs out of the ‘box’, the ability to adjust in a time of transition at workplace or in the home. It is a line between allowing yourself to learn through self-effort, while doing this cautiously to avoiding stress and being in top form as change in itself can be a source pain. It was very fulfilling as I got tips on stress management; flexibility, adapting, adjusting and other coping strategies we must adopt when under stress as managers.
The session ended with a term the facilitator coined, “96 Minutes”. This is time, set aside to attend to very important things you must not neglect about yourself or office to avoid distractions; what is important is utilizing that time for the purpose it was meant. Planning and being strategic and smart is about everything we do. Lesson learnt, every project before us is a puzzle that needs unravelling to achieve results, it requires the contributions and imputes of all which must be coordinated by a supervisor.
I also observed that effective communication and giving adequate information (facts) to all concern is key to preventing misconception. I felt very fulfilled after several attempts to solve a puzzle, only to learn that the first step we needed was identifying the frame work and the rest of the parts simply fits in. Establishing a frame work for project is essential to getting the whole picture/idea of what we plan to achieve. It is a game and in gaming, you need to be smart and apply strategies that would enable you win. Style, is therefore, how we work, behave, how we talk and think, organize our work, what people see in us, the tone of our voice, body language and it entails sending information to people without hurting them. Understanding our style and others preference help us to get the best from people and reduce stress/conflict thus, winning more interaction.
Thereafter we taken on crowdsourcing by Caroline Szylowicz, Curator, Rare Books/Manuscripts, Illinois Library. She talked on faculty perception of the library/librarians and, the roles library plays; the need to look at what Faculty/Scholars needs/requirements that there are. We were given some research questions and hypothesis, using Ithaka tool for conducting faculty surveys. Very key point of note is using more outreach programmes, networking, consultations, workshops and collaboration.
Arriving Chicago

On June 5, 2019, we embarked on a three-day field trip departing for Chicago at 6.00 am., and, on arrival were lodged at the Club Quarter Hotel. We moved immediately to tour the famous University of Chicago magnificent Dome-Library, Regenstein, and the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, described as “a Mecca for Scholars”. The university prides itself on its unique and old architectural design buildings, with plants sprawling on the walls. It was beautiful sight to behold. We were received by the interim co-AUL, Andrea Twiss-Brook along with her team of librarians, who gave a historical overview of the library after formal introductions and launch. Here, we had a tour of the library known for its famous compact/smart shelving system that houses over 4million collections. The retractable shelving system is operated by pressing the buttons, a move towards saving space and to accommodate more materials. Here I observed how the traditional reading spaces has been recreated into a friendlier learning area, for the pleasure and comfort thus, expanding reading activities; following the variety of services, such as the provision of white boards and markers for students taking tutorial and/or researching. It was evident how the introduction of new services has seen students staying more hours in the library to study.
The is the Library of the Future….

The Reading space standing above the Underground Storage facility.It was a one-time opportunity to see the much talked about Shell library with a Seating capacity of 180 and, the 50ft underground Storage facility,… a masterpiece that is breath-taking. It was just amazing to see how automation has transformed the landscape of library services provision.
Calling up a Book from the High Density Under ground Storage System
The magic moment for me was watching how… just at the command on the computer, a book was called up and the response was the retrieval within minutes from whatever location it was shelved by this robotic machine. The experience was truly overwhelming and, I am indeed, grateful for the opportunity, above all, the Mortenson Centre for the choice, as one the libraries to visit. We ended the day after also touring the Center for Digita Scholarship and Data Preservation, facilitated by Stacie Williams, Director, and a Tour of Media Arts, Data and Design (MADD) Centre, and GIS Hub, by Celia Smith, GIS and Maps Librarian. Here we had more enlightening presentations by these professionals.
This is Little Italy Public Library…a Wonderland of learning resources for all ages
On the morning of June 6th, 2019, we visited ‘Little Italy’ Public Library, located in a Housing Estate, in an Italian community, downtown Chicago. The library facility offers robust services representing collections for diverse ethnic communities and cultures. We were received by Shelly Hughes, Branch manager, who gave us an overview and the historical background of the original structure that now serves as apartments to community members who were affected in the demolition of the original structure.
She told us of how the library furniture were supplied without the impute of the professional staff, thus rendering some of the shelves unsuitable for proper shelving; some of them were either too short or too high for easy access /retrieval. However, these have had to be put to use for variety of other purposes. It goes to tell how the library as a body can sometimes be deliberately or inadvertently be ignored and not consulted before certain policies are implemented. Despite this, the library was a beehive of reading and several learning activities for kids, young adults, the youth, and the old.
Harold Washington Public Library, Chicago,
The Art installation of 58,000 hand stamped replicated dog tags of U.S. soldiers who lost their lives in the Vietnam War
At 12.45pm., we again departed to Harold Washington Branch Public Library. There we were met by Michael Peters who took us on a guided tour in the company of Barbara J. Ford, a former staff of the library who joined on the tour in one of the biggest public libraries in the world. It was amazing particularly to meet a Whiz kid, a 17-year-old Teen currently working on a modern underground train system. Here I saw creative ideas and all kinds of innovations through the different programs designed to occupy and engage various groups, particularly, the Teens and Youth. Here, a lot of opportunity exists for talent discoveries, ideas formed are groomed and nurtured to full potential. It was
An Interactive Terminal for names of Veterans and the location of their hanging tags.
interesting to see parents participating at different levels of engagement and activities in programs involving children summer reading programs. Programs/ activities organised for kids during holidays and the age of most range from 0+ to the aged, including retirees. After over two hours of touring almost the entire complex, we had an evening free to look around parks and museums, and shops. It was an interesting and very rewarding day.
Upshot Marketing Tour
We started the last day in Chicago with visit to Upshot Marketing- one of the first successful business strategy outfits I would be encountering…without the slightest inkling that the Vice-President was a Librarian. It was quite illuminating to hear Liz Aviles, Marketing Intelligence, talk about how, for over twenty years, she consistently and intelligently aligned her profession… librarianship with the priorities of an organisation whose primary focus is product branding, advertising, content marketing and measurement analytics.
Her presentation was, indeed, a call to librarians as managers to focus on priorities and define their roles by embracing smart and intelligent ways of thinking and working differently; by responding creatively to needs of clients and business environment. There is lesson to be applied from this presentation, through rebranding of library products and services you stand the chance of having a competitive advantage as an academic librarian. It has always been my desire to realign my strategy for effectiveness and better efficiency with skills from this program.
American Library association (ALA)
The tour to the Headquarters of American Library association (ALA) was an opportunity to see one of the Worlds renowned professional body for the first time. We were received by Michael Dowling, Director. IRO, CRO at ALA, Delin, Guerra, Program Office at ALA. Michael gave overview of historical background of ALA’s establishment in 1846 with current membership of 5707. He talked about the organizational structure of ALA, with an Executive director and Council membership of 186. He described the various diversified groups with inclusive representation from different ethnic backgrounds and talked about ALA’S activities.
Presentations were made by Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), Delin Guerra, and Head of Research Commons, during a tour of the building. It was a busy time for the association as they were preparing for the Conference at DC, but still it was a nice time having to interact with such experienced professionals who have been in the business of organising annually, the kind of conference with such a magnitude of membership and high level activities including hosting exhibitions from vendors across the globe. It takes only experienced planners with track records of an effective event hosting and management. I hope to learn a lot from this event as it will be my first time of participating at this great Conference and I also look forward to lessons that I can share with my National Association body.
Overall, it was such an eventful activities of field trips with so much achieved. Our trip back to Urbana-Champagne Illinois was fun, though tired. I spent the rest of the journey meditating and pondering over the amazing level of investment in the development of libraries in this part of the world. Here, the worth of information and space to practice librarianship is given a place of pride.